Paul Kreibich was born May 24, 1955 in Los Angeles. As a kid, he made his own drum set out of a cardboard barrel and coffee cans. By the time he was a junior at Costa Mesa High School, he was working five nights a week at a local club on Balboa Island. Following a stint at Berklee College of Music in Boston, he returned home to attend Orange Coast College and study with renowned percussionist Forrest Clark. In 1979 at the age of 23 he got his first major jazz gig with the great singer Carmen McRae. Later, he toured with the Ray Charles Band for 4 years. Returning to Los Angeles, his home base, he became first call drummer for many touring artists such as Mose Allison, Red Rodney, The Woody Herman Band, Anita O'Day, Scott Hamilton, Joe Pass, Charles Brown, Rosemary Clooney, Lee Konitz, and others. In 1995, Paul joined the Gene Harris Quartet where he toured and recorded with the group until Harris' untimely passing in January 2000. Paul is now on the music faculty of Cal State Fullerton and teaches privately. Visit Paul's website: www.paulkreibich.com/paul/home.html
There are such an extraordinary amount of really fine players and singers in L.A. that it is easy to take their talent for granted and play favorites. Jazz record companies these days are emulating their pop, rock, and hip-hop counterparts by focusing mostly on new, young talent and creating "mega-bucks" celebrities. The true spirit of jazz has always been broader and more all-encompassing.
Paul correctly says "Get to know the musicians who are experts in playing this great music. The "who's hot-who's not" mentality is very superficial. Anyone who has paid their dues enough to play their instrument well and learn a body of musical repertoire is worth listening to. Enjoy!" Right on Paul: Your excellent post in this LA.com blog makes me think about two young jazz artists that Lynne and I recently heard and befriended. One is a 20-something female trombonist-singer named Alisha Ard and the other is a 20-something UCLA-grad drummer Noah Garabedian. The first thing I noticed about both of these young folks is that they know their instruments, know the jazz lexicon and both are "straight-ahead-and-right-down-the middle" jazz artists. No detours into smooth jazz or pop for these two. That is encouraging to folks like me who like their jazz "chunky" please -- not "smooth." If you see Alisha or Noah around town do yourself and your ears a favor and check them out: two nice folks, nice musicians playing OUR kind of music.
Roger Crane, the Song Scout
01/21/08 11:45 AM
All art is communication of the artist's ideas, sounds, thoughts; without that no one will support the artist.
– Lionel Hampton
Cacophany: composition incorporating many people with chest colds.
