Bio for John Hanks
John Hanks,
a 1980 graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts, teaches
percussion in the Duke Music Department and is the Staff Associate
musician for the Duke Dance Program. A musician for the
American Dance Festival since 1984, he accompanied them to Seoul, Korea
in 1991-92. From 1992-2003, he was percussionist/accompanist for
the Jazz Dance World Congress. He has played drums for the North
Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra and the Gregg Gelb Swing Band since
their inceptions in 1991. As a jazz drummer he has performed with
many notable artists, including: John Brown, Wyclif Gordon, Jon
Metzger, Mose Allison, the Glen Miller Band, Stephanie Nakasian, Butch
Thompson, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache and Mary Lou Williams. Mr. Hanks
is a founding member of the Philidor Percussion Group and has performed
frequently with the Mallarme Chamber Players, the North Carolina
Symphony, and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. He plays for
percussion or drums for many visitng and local Broadway shows, most
recently: the Producers and Little Shop of Horrors He composes
electronic and percussion scores for dance and has released three CDs
of his dance class work: Here Come the Drums (1999), Drumjazz (2001),
and Percussion Jams for Dance (2004). He has also recorded
several jazz CDs with the Gregg Gelb Swing Band, NCJRO, Jon Metzger,
and NCSA faculty Ron Rudkin among others.
John writes: I was incredibly lucky to have had
access to great teachers at different times in his life. At age seven, my first lessons on snare drum were with a
student at Duke University, Frank Bennett, who was also a fabulous Jazz
drummer. After a career in Indian classical music playing
mridungam, Frank is now a busy orchestrator in
Hollywood. In my middle and high school years, I studied with
composer, and former percussionist, David Maves and Fred Jenness. David taught me how to utilize the classic snare drum technique book Stick Control, by George
Stone. Fred drilled me on rudiments and also taught me about musicality on drumset. During the summers in Newport, RI, where my father had a summer teaching job, I studied snare drum with Philip Peletier and I played, at 14 years old, with the Newport Concert Band. I then studied during my senior year in high school with
J. Massie Johnson at the N. C. School
of the Arts. I entered Duke University as a freshman in order
to study with saxophonist and Jazz educator Jerry Coker, who
taught at Duke for one year. I transferred, at Jerry's
recommendation, to the University of Miami. The music school had
a very stimulating atmosphere (1975-76), but I also took lessons
in town with Steve Bagby, who at that time was not on the faculty
there, and harry Hawthorne, who was. Guitarist Stan Samole was another teacher at U. of Miami
who was very influential. I dropped out of school for a year,
returning to Durham where I was able to study with Al Ashley. I returned to NCSA, getting my bachelor degree in 1980.
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