Born in Cleveland, Ohio, percussionist/drummer Jamey George Haddad holds a unique position in the world of jazz and contemporary music. Haddad's musical voice transcends styles and trends, and the universal quality of his playing has attracted several international collaborations. He has collaborated and performed with Paul Simon, Simon and Garfunkel, Dave Liebman, Joe Lovano, Alan Farnham, The Paul Winter Consort, Carly Simon, Betty Buckley, Rabih Abou Khalil, Simon Shaheen, and Kazim El Sahir.



In 2004, Jamey Haddad traveled across the U.S. as part of the Fez Sacred Music Festival Tour. He currently teaches at Berklee College of Music, New England Conservatory, Oberlin Conservatory, and the Cleveland Institute of Music. Haddad is a Fulbright Scholar and a NEA grants recipient.



Jamey Haddad is a multi talented percussionist and music instrument designer. He has also accumulated countless drumset and percussion credits, although he tends to play down the distinction: "If the drumset is considered a percussion instrument, then I guess it was my first percussion instrument."



Jamey Haddad teaches both disciplines at Berklee College in Massachusetts and Mannes New School in New York.



"There's nothing that compares with playing jazz time on a ride cymbal," he says. "In that respect, I would prefer a dark, airy sound - that elusive thing that every drummer figures they have. When it comes to World Percussion, it's similar: there's a lot of elusive, "inside" information on any instrument. The people at LP figured out, when they made Batas, for example, how much inside detail they needed to make it special. As far as the instruments I've developed, form always follows function. I design an instrument because of the sound I'm missing and to fit with my technique."