The History of Jazz Drums
Mel Lewis & Loren Schoenberg 1989 Archival Series
The History of Jazz Drums is an extensive archival presentation in which master drummer Mel Lewis (1929–1990) and jazz historian Loren Schoenberg discuss the musicians, techniques, equipment, ensembles, and musical evolution that shaped jazz drumming across the twentieth century.
H Project Performing Arts Association preserves and presents this 32-part series as part of its public work in jazz history, archival research, arts education, and cultural documentation.
The complete 32-part archive
Follow the series chronologically as Mel Lewis and Loren Schoenberg trace changing approaches to time, sound, technique, ensemble playing, equipment, and individual style through generations of jazz drummers.
Jazz history through a drummer’s ears
Mel Lewis approaches jazz history from the perspective of a working master musician: how drummers created time, supported ensembles, developed distinctive sounds, responded to changing band styles, and influenced the musicians around them.
In conversation with Loren Schoenberg, the series moves across generations of jazz history through musical analysis, recollection, close listening, and discussion of individual artists and their contributions.
Rather than treating jazz drumming as a sequence of isolated biographies, the conversations reveal a developing musical tradition—one musician learning from, reacting to, and extending the work of another.
Generations of jazz drumming
The series follows a broad lineage of influential drummers, from early New Orleans jazz through swing, bebop, modern jazz, and the musical world Mel Lewis knew firsthand.
Preserving jazz history for public access
HPPAA’s research and archival work extends its educational mission beyond live performance. Historical recordings, interviews, scholarship, video, photographs, documents, and related materials can help preserve the knowledge carried by musicians and researchers and make it available to new audiences.
The History of Jazz Drums is part of a growing HPPAA research and archives program connecting jazz history, scholarship, preservation, and public education.
Jazz, Education, Research & Archives
HPPAA develops and preserves projects connecting performance, education, cultural history, interdisciplinary practice, research, and public access.