Fred Buda is a member of and set drummer for the Boston Pops and timpanist for the Boston Ballet Orchestra. He has performed under most major conductors. An alumnus of the Herb Pomeroy Big Band and the Woody Herman Band, Buda leads the Jazz Pops Ensemble. He is a Yamaha clinician and supervisor of orchestral personnel for the Wang Center for the Performing Arts and the Shubert Theatre.

B.M., Boston University. Recordings on RCA, Kapp-Polydor, Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon, CBS. Former chair of percussion at Berklee College of Music. Also faculty of University of Lowell.

Drummer Gary Chaffee has worked with Steve Swallow, Tom Harrell, Bill Frisell, Mick Goodrick, Palle Danielsson, Dave Samuels, Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Mike Stern, Ray Anderson, John Abercrombie, and Jimmy Earl, among others. He has recorded with Goodrick and Pino Daniele. He presents clinic programs internationally, and has published an extensive series of teaching tools with Warner Brothers. B.S., SUNY/Potsdam; M.M., De Paul University. Recordings on RAM. Former faculty of Berklee College of Music.

See the Gary Chaffee drumset 'Linear' studies im MusicLab 2000

Percussionist Sa Davis dwells at the cutting edge of a new generation of hand drum technique, developed from the musical traditions of Afro-Cuban, African, jazz, Latin, rock, fusion, hip-hop, and pop drumming styles. He has worked with such artists as Tom Scott, Grover Washington, Jr., Billy Cobham, Freddie Hubbard, and Lalah Hathaway. Davis performed at Carnegie Hall with George Benson, appeared on the "Arsenio Hall Show," and has done special projects for "Nova" and "Adventure" on PBS. In demand as a studio musician, Davis has performed on motion picture and television soundtracks and produced sound effects for the film The Brother from Another Planet. His work can be heard on more than 40 recordings.

Studies at NEC with Ran Blake, Webster Lewis, Jaki Byard. Recordings on CBS/Sony, GRP, Rounder, Rockwell, Blackhawk, Philo, Daring, Green Linnet, Casablanca, Jobiss International, Folkways, Par, Atco, GM, Bridge City, Joncar, Dolce Nuit. Also faculty of Berklee College of Music and NEC Preparatory School and School of Continuing Education.

A native of Amsterdam, Holland, percussionist Frank Epstein came to the United States in 1952, settling in Hollywood, Calif. Having joined the BSO in 1968, he is now in his 28th season as percussionist. Epstein has made recordings with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the BSO, and the Boston Pops, as well as with Collage New Music. As founder of Collage, and music director from its inception in 1972 through 1991, Epstein has overseen the commissioning and performance of more than 200 new works written especially for the ensemble as well as the production of 17 recordings. Along with a new practical performing version of the percussion part to Stravinsky's L'Histoire du soldat. Personent Hodie, a theater piece for two cymbal players, is now available from the composer. Epstein is a consultant to the Avedis Zildjian Company on new product development (including the recent introduction of the Classic Orchestral Cymbal Selection), and as a clinician conducts workshops and seminars throughout the country. He has introduced the Symphonic Castanet and his Cymbelt (bass drum/cymbal attachment system) to the marketplace. Before joining the BSO he was a member of the San Antonio Symphony. Epstein was recently awarded a presidential commendation from NEC for his work with Collage New Music.

B.M., University of Southern California; M.M., NEC. Studies at Tangle-wood Music Center and with Robert Sonner, Earl Hatch, Murray Spivack, William Kraft, Everett Firth. Recordings on RCA, Columbia, Deutsche Grammophon, Polydor, London, Nonesuch, Crystal, Inner City, GunMar, Delos, Sony. Also faculty of Tanglewood Music Center and frequent clinician in the U.S. and Europe.

Visit Frank Epstein's Web site at www.frankepstein.com

Jon Hazilla is active locally in a variety of venues, including 6-Drum Sets, The Be-Bop Guitars, Max-Sweets-Solo, and Jon Hazilla Trio. He has played at international jazz festivals, including Warsaw, Paraguay, the Azores, Quebec, Montreal, Costa Rico, and St. Croix. His recordings as a leader are Chicplacity, with Ray Drummond and John Hicks (1987); The Bitten Moon, with Drummond and James Williams (1995); C.J.Q., with Tom Varner and Billy Pierce (1997); and Saxabone (1998).

B.M., NEC. Multiple Percussion Set with John Riley, Fred Buda, Alan Dawson, Joe Morello, and Max Roach. Performances with Garrison Fewell, Larry Coryell, Billy Pierce, the Fringe, Victor Mendoza, and Max Roach. Endorsements for Sabian, Grover Pro-Percussion, and Regal Tip. Recordings on Timeless Muse, Owl, Soul Note, Arista, Golden Crest, Cadence, C.I.M.P, Accurate. Also faculty of Berklee College of Music.

Will Hudgins has been a member of the BSO since 1990; he won his previous position in the Florida Symphony Orchestra directly after his graduate studies. He performed as soloist in the BSO's world premiere performances of Maurice Wright's Concertpiece for Marimba and Orchestra. Other solo performances include the Boston Pops, Riverside Symphony, Springfield (Mo.) Symphony, and the Florida Symphony. He has taught as a clinician across the U.S. and Europe. Also an avid jazz vibraphonist, Hudgins is a member of the jazz band Pursuance.

B.M. under Walter E. Maddy scholarship, Peabody Conservatory; M.M., Temple University. Recordings on Thinking Man, GM.

Bob "Rahboat" Moses is well known in the jazz world as a performer and composer. He has worked and recorded with Charles Mingus, Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Gary Burton, Mose Allison, Keith Jarrett, Dave Liebman, Dave Sanborn, Jack DeJohnette, Michael Gibbs, Steve Swallow, Pat Metheny, Mike Stern, Lyle Mays, Jaco Pastorius, Bobby McFerrin, John Scofield, Bill Frisell, Eddie Gomez, Dave Holland, Nana Vasconcelas, Ghanaian master drummer Oboe Addy, Danilo P?rez, Chucho Valdes, Edsel Gomez, Hal Galper, John Medeski, Pharoah Sanders, Tisziji Mu?oz, and many others. He created his own label, Mozown Records, in 1975 to release Bittersweet in the Ozone. Moses leads the band Mozamba, which combines funk, New Orleans soul, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, reggae, and African rhythms with his own distinctive melodies. He also leads a percussion ensemble called the Drumming Birds. Moses's most recent recording, Time Stood Still (Rykodisc) got a five-star review in Down Beat. His forthcoming Nishoma features Steve Kuhn, Abbey Lincoln, Luciana Souza, Chris Wood, and others.

Recordings on Mozown, Gramavision, Rykodisc.

Dave Samuels has performed and recorded with Gerry Mulligan, Oscar Peterson, Carla Bley, Double Image, Frank Zappa, Spyro Gyra, and Eddie Palmieri, in addition to his work as a soloist. He is currently touring with the "Caribbean Jazz Project," featuring himself, Paquito D’Rivera, and Andy Narell. He has participated in numerous Grammy-nominated recordings, is a consistent poll winner, and is a former member of the board of directors of the Percussive Arts Society.

B.A., Boston University. Recordings on Enja, ECM, MCA, GRP, Heads Up, Verve. Also faculty of Berklee College of Music.