Lou Grassi is internationally known for his work in both the traditional and the avant-garde jazz worlds. He has literally played from Ragtime to No-Time: He toured with Ragtime pianist Max Morath and for the past decade has been the leader of the Lou Grassi PoBand.



Biography:

Jazz drummer Lou Grassi was born as Louis Grassi in Summit, NJ on January 21, 1947. He has a middle name Thomas which he took at the age of 13 as part of the Catholic ritual of confirmation, but it was not part of his birth name. His mother (Mary Coviello, 1922-1957) was also born and raised in Summit, NJ. In 1962, three months after Lou began playing drums, his father moved the family to Lodi, NJ.



Lou Grassi studied drumming privately with Richie Moore 1962, Tony Inzalaco 1963, Sam Ulano 1964-1965. While serving in the US Army (December 1965-December 1968), Lou attended the Navy School of Music, Little Creek, Norfolk, VA, in 1966 with private lessons from Kenny Malone. He then served in the 328th US Army Band for the remainder of his service. After his discharge Lou attended Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA September 1969-February 1970 with private instruction from Bobby Gladstone and Alan Dawson.



He studied privately with Beaver Harris 1973-1974 who became a close friend and mentor. Lou then matriculated at Jersey City State College where he studied percussion with Nick Cerrato and eventually earned a B.A. in Music. He also studied musicianship and arranging with Marshall Brown 1978-1983. In 1986 Lou married photographer Karen Tweedy-Holmes (1942, Columbus, Ohio).



Lou Grassi has a wide range of professional experience from Ragtime to the Avant-Garde. He toured with Ragtime pianist Max Morath's concert of American popular music "Pop Goes the Music" from 1985-87. In 1989 played major Dixieland Festivals and clubs throughout East Germany, West Germany, Switzerland and Holland with Warren Vache Sr's Syncopatin' Seven.



In 1984 Lou Grassi organized The Dixie Peppers, a sextet specializing in traditional Dixieland and Swing repertoire. Lou has worked with other traditional and swing artists including Sol Yaged, Eddy Davis and Artie Miller. From the 1970's to the present Lou has accompanied a wide variety of artists including James Garrison, Rio Clemente, Urbie Green, Roswell Rudd, Steve Swell, Sheila Jordan, Johnny Hartman, Morris Nanton, Bu Pleasant, Perry Robinson, Borah Bergman, Eddie Bonnemere, Dardanelle, L. D. Frazier, Janet Lawson and many others. The Reverend John Garcia Gensel, whom Duke Ellington referred to as "the minister of the night flock," made use of Lou's versatility for over a decade during the 1980's and early 90's as house drummer for special events at New York's St. Peter's Church.



From the late 1970's until the early 1990's Lou Grassi was virtually absent from the avant-garde scene. Since 1991 he has done annual tours of Germany with Dresden keyboardist Andreas Bottcher playing totally improvised music.



He's been a full-time professional musician for over 40 years, and was involved with the New York avant-garde music scene in the 1970's when he served an apprenticeship with my mentor Beaver Harris. He was off the avant-garde scene until a couple of years ago when things really started happening for him.



William Parker invited him to join the Improviser's Collective in 1994 and his concert for the collective in 1995 happened to be recorded and the tape was ultimately bought by Cadence Jazz Records and released in 1996 as "PoGressions."



Last year, along with other things, his Po Band performed in both the Vision Festival and the Texaco NY Jazz Festival. He did a tour with Roswell Rudd and Steve Swell that included Chicago, Detroit, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Texaco NY Jazz Festival. He has also done a tour of Germany and Switzerland with musicians from Dresden, Germany and a tour with the Bruce Eisenbeil trio which included Chicago, Detroit, Texas, Washington DC, Buffalo Rochester. His PoBand played the Texaco NY Jazz Festival the next year, as well. While in Switzerland, he re-established an endorsement with Paiste Cymbals, which he had endorsed back in the '70's. His PoBand played at the Rive de Gier International jazz festival in France and he also did a duo on the same festival with Rob Brown.



Lou Grassi has literally played from Rag-Time to No-Time.he toured with ragtime pianist Max Morath and has worked with a host of the jazz avant-garde's finest including Marshall Allen, Borah Bergman, Rob Brown, Roy Campbell, Charles Gayle, Burton Greene, Gunter Hampel, Phillip Johnston, Sheila Jordan, Perry Robinson, Paul Smoker, Steve Tintweiss and Mark Whitecage among others. He has recently been heard with Roswell Rudd's Broad Strokes band and with his own Po Band, often including guests such as Marshall Allen, Burton Greene and Joseph Jarman.



Lou Grassi has also worked extensively as both an accompanist and composer in the field of Modern Dance. Lou first accompanied modern dance in 1971 with the Daniel Nagrin Workgroup. In 1973, he worked as resident percussionist for the Dance Department at Brockport State University, and he has been the dance accompanist at New Jersey City University since 1979, and is also an accompanist for NJ Performing Arts Center (NJPAC).



Lou Grassi has created original music for more than 15 original dance pieces by choreographers including Richard Bull, Carolyn Dorfman, Joanne Edelman, Bill T.Jones, Katharine Kramer, Carol Meisel, Julie Maloney, Lois Welk, Paul Wilson, and Arnie Zane. Lou received funding from Meet the Composer for these collaborations in 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, and 1985, and he has written on the subject of dance accompaniment for Modern Drummer magazine (August 1984).



Lou Grassi has performed and/or recorded with a wide range of outstanding artists, including Marshall Allen, Billy Bang, Borah Bergman, Rob Brown, Roy Campbell, The Copascetics, Jimmy Garrison, Joe Fonda, Charles Gayle, Burton Greene, Urbie Green, Gunter Hampel, Johnny Hartman, Guenter Heinz, Fred van Hove, Joseph Jarman, Mark Whitecage, Sheila Jordan, William Parker, Perry Robinson, Roswell Rudd, John Tchicai and Kenny Wessel, among others.



Lou Grassi continues to keep one foot firmly planted in traditional and mainstream jazz with the Lou Grassi Jazz Quartet and Quintet, the Dixie Peppers, and as a freelance drummer in New York City.



Since 1978, He has been on the staff of New Jersey City University as a dance accompanist, and he has been a teaching artist for New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) since 2001. He continues to teach privately and is available for workshops and clinics.