Joe Ascione

Take a deep breath and check out this guy's left hand !



Joe Ascione is a good friend and I had the opportunity to take a few lessons with him in 2004 while I was spending some time in New York City. At the time Joe was teaching out of the basement of the Ed Sullivan Theatre (home of David Letterman and the Late Show!) in a drum practice space that was shared by a who's who of famous drummers. Joe is a fantastic musician and heavily influenced by the likes of Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.

Here's a little bio about Joe, a drummer whom I think should be more recognized for his talents and accomplishments:

"Joe Ascione, a first-class drummer in New York City, began playing drums at age two and began playing professionally by age twelve. As a teenager, serving as a roadie for Buddy Rich, Joe soon fell under the influence of the leading jazz drummers of the day, most notably Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich. Joe has played on concert stages around the globe with well known artists such as Cab Calloway, Jay McShann, Al Hirt, Noel Redding (former bassist to Jimi Hendrix), Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan) Eric Schenkman (Spin Doctors), Billy Mitchell, Kenny Davern, Joey Defrancesco and many other jazz, pop and rock musicians. A fixture at jazz festivals since the early ‘80’s, Joe has appeared on over 100 recordings. Joe’s debut recording, My Buddy, is a tribute to Buddy Rich. His latest CD recording, entitled Movin’ Up on the Arbors label, is the disc of which he is most proud. Most recently, Joe has toured as the rhythm half of the “Frank & Joe Show,” a rousing celebration of swing and Gypsy jazz with master jazz guitarist Frank Vignola."