Press

Jazz @ Vail Square continues this Thursday, Aug. 8 with the high-energy, seat-thumping sounds of the Tommy Igoe Sextet.

One of the world’s preeminent drummers, Igoe has led the Birdland Big Band in New York City over the last several years, created the beats for Broadway’s “The Lion King” and has toured the world with the likes of Art Garfunkel, Stanley Jordan and Blood Sweat and Tears.

When leading his big band, Igoe charges into each number on his drum kit as all the other musicians – the horn section, guitars, piano and bass – weave in.

Unlike most drummers who hold up the beat in the background, Igoe is always the leader, forever driving the train. Smaller in size than the big band, his sextet promises the same caliber of whistles and steaming momentum. “The small group together has been an answer to the big band,” says Igoe, who now resides in San Francisco. “The big band got so much attention, but it was hard to move around with so many people. I came up with the idea of doing the same kind of thing with the same energy in a sextet form. It follows the same artistic DNA as the big band. It’s much more than just a jazz event; it’s a music event with music from all over the world.”

The Vail show will feature Igoe on drums, Phil Palombi on bass, Matthew Aaron Jodrell on trumpet, Allen Farnham on piano, Nathan Childers on alto saxophone and Rolando Morales Matos on percussion.

While delivering plenty of favorites from the core of jazz, the sextet will also cover pieces from Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and of course, good ol’ American tunes. The vast gamut of musical genres is not the only aspect of Igoe’s profound repertoire.

Barely 2 years old when he started playing drums, Igoe has studied plenty of other instruments but always takes what he learns back to his drumming. “I studied classical piano for 20 years,” he says. “I have a love-hate relationship with the piano because I love to hate it so much. Ha ha! No really, I love the piano. Studying the piano has made me a much better drummer. I studied all the instruments, and it has all helped me on the drum set.”

In addition to conducting and performing in various-sized bands, Igoe spends the other half of his life educating young up-and-coming drummers.

Even as his sticks become a blur as he hits dozens of strikes per minute and magically incorporates additional beats as if he has 20 limbs rather than four, there is one simple piece of advice Igoe offers to all of his students. “I’ve invested a lot of my time and energy into the education field. I’ve made a lot of DVDS and in so many different ways I’ve addressed that whole question – How do you do that and not get tired? And more importantly, how do you not hurt yourself? I’ve found a way to put it in one word: relax. If you relax, you can do anything. Really, anything, anything. You’ll never hear any music teacher say ‘OK students, get ready … get as tense as you can be.’ In any activity – especially anything physical – the secret is relaxing.”

If you’ve seen Igoe rapid-firing with his drumsticks and his entire body moving with his orchestra of beats, you’d never guess he’s relaxing. See and hear it for yourself this Thursday.