Will Calhoun

Will Calhoun is the drummer of Living Colour and of Jungle Funk.

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Born on July 22, 1964, raised in Bronx, New York, graduated from the Berklee School of Music in Boston, where he received a Bachelors degree in Music Production and engineering. He was also the recipient of the prestigious Buddy Rich Jazz Masters Award for outstanding performance by a drummer.

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Best New Drummer of 1988 by Modern Drummer Magazine's Readers Poll Number One Progressive Drummer by Modern Drummer Magazine's Readers Poll three times (1989, 1991 & 1992) Best Drummer Of 1990 by Rolling Stone Magazine's Critics Poll

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Will unique blend of improvisational and hard rock drumming can be found on each of Living Colour's releases: from the ground breaking multi-platinum debut, Vivid, to they last release CollideØscope passing from the critically acclaimed sophomore LP, Time's Up, the 1991 EP, Biscuits and 1993's Stain.

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A prolific song writer, Will has co-written many Living Colour compositions and wrote the critically acclaimed song, Pride, on the Time's Up album and Nothingness on the Stain album. As a member of LivingColour, Will received a Grammy Award in 1989 for Best Hard Rock Performance by a group and another Grammy in 1990 for Best Hard Rock Performance. Living Colour also won an International Rock Award In 1991 for Best Rock Band.

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In addition with this, he has recorded and/or toured with diverse artists including B.B.King, Mick Jagger,Harry Belafonte, Jaco Pastorius, Pharoah Sanders, Jack Dejohnette, Paul Simon, Lou Reed, Marcus Miller, Dr.John, Carly Simon, Herb Alpert, Rolling Stones's Ron Wood, Wayne Shorter, recorded with Run-DMC, Public Enemy.

Related Topics:
B.B.King - Mick Jagger - Harry Belafonte - Jaco Pastorius - Paul Simon - Lou Reed - Rolling Stones - Ron Wood - Wayne Shorter - Run-DMC - Public Enemy

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With Doug Wimbish, and Vinx joined forces in 1995-96 to form the groundbreaking Ambient World Music band JUNGLE FUNK. The group combines mastery of technology with musicianship.

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Will released his first solo jazz CD as a leader in 2000: The Will Calhoun Quintet: Live at the Blue Note. The disc is an adventurous journey through Will's approach to acoustic Jazz, World and Ambient music. The line-up features Bobby Watson-sax, Terrell Stafford-trumpet, John Benitez-bass and Orrin Evans-piano Although this is Will's first attempt at fronting a jazz group, Down Beat Magazine, Jazz Times, and BillBoard Magazine have given the CD top ratings. Drum Magazine's readers poll voted Will's CD 1st runner up for Drummer/Band leader.

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Will worked also with the rapper Mos Def, both as a producer and performer. He has brought together an all-star lineup for this CD, featuring artists like: Bernie Worrell on keys, Doug Wimbish on bass, Doc Know, the guitarist from Bad Brains, and other special guests. The Band is titled Black Jack Johnson.

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Will's latest creation is his follow-up release: Native Lands,

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Native Lands can be described as Jazz meets World, meets trance-inducing Urban music in which Calhoun marries his far reaching interests in a genre-bending collection that taps key expressionists from various backgrounds. Among those contributing are Pharaoh Sanders, Mos Def, Buster Williams, Stanley Jordan, Kevin Eubanks, Marcus Miller and Wallace Roney, as well as Nana Vasconcelos from Brazil and Cheikh Tdiane Seck from Mali. The album includes a DVD with over ninety minutes of music videos and documentary materials that chronicle the last ten years of Will's life and travels. Will is presently touring in support of this project with his group called "AZA", which features various artists from the album and other outstanding musicians.

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Not many artists have the vision and artistic energy to be Grammy winners and contribute to so many genres: jazz, rock, hip-hop, ambient, et al, while concurrently producing, touring, creating new projects, working on films, and continually pushing the envelope. Will Calhoun has this creative vision, and he is doing an extraordinary job keeping music a spiritual and motivating force in his life.

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