JOHN HVASTA DRUMS

John Hvasta is perhaps the greatest, most original Jazz drummer you've probably never heard of.  I can say that and mean it because I've studied with him - and studied his playing and method - dating back over 30 years, and I've truly never come across a more unique and effective teacher and interpreter/philosopher of Jazz drumming. John has studied with, and studied extensively, many of the most important and ground breaking drummers, including long-time apprenticeships with Jim Chapin and Joe Morello, life, Jazz, and drum lessons with the incomparable Eddie Gladden, and inspirational meetings with Philly Joe Jones on breaks at the Village Vanguard, always inspiring John to play at the highest level - no mean feat to get that from Mister Jones! During the heyday of the New York Jazz scene John did several informal residencies, on special invitation from the drummers themselves due to their respect for John's seriousness, offered a special seat behind the drummers to observe up close the likes of some of the top drummers of modern Jazz history, including Roy Haynes. John had a chance meeting with Freddie Gruber many years ago that profoundly influenced and informed John's playing and teaching.

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What makes John so worth studying with? If you finally want to find your true voice and gain an outstanding array of skills, his teaching philosophy will get you there - full stop. Instead of telling you how to play, what techniques to use, what books to buy, and what drummers to imitate, he'll help you explore You. He'll help you figure out what your hands, arms, and body are best suited to adopt (or create!) by way of techniques. He'll challenge you to decide what sounds you want to coax out of your drums and cymbals rather than teaching you all about imitating someone else's sound. And he'll show you how powerfully you can transform your drumming from beginner or merely good to Great by composing your own practice exercises and books rather than devoting hour upon hour of your precious creative time to what worked for others but might not even apply to how your spirit and body want to approach the drums.  

In short, John teaches you to become a student of You and all the untapped creativity, self-knowledge, spirit, excellence, and, yes, fun trapped inside you just waiting to be set free. That's why John's Youtube channel is called "Illegal Drumming" - because John's way of teaching breaks you out of the personal and music-industry prisons that are preventing you from discovering and becoming your own best self as a drummer. John's teaching liberates as it educates. It truly is a wholly unique New Science of drumming!

- Sammy Markewich, student of John Hvasta's since 1985