Since his dad purchased his first drums at the young age of six, Omar Hakim has been playing around the globe. His father Hasan was Omar’s first teacher. He was a great influence and source of inspiration to Omar for many years.



From playing in his father's band at age ten to selling out stadium shows with Madonna, Omar Hakim has done it all. His talent and unique style have made him a favorite among drummers and musicians worldwide. So fas Omar Hakim has played with a multitude of talented and diverse artists. A list of his recording and touring credits would be sorely incomplete without mentioning Weather Report, Sting, Victor Bailey, Miles Davis, Joe Sample, David Bowie, John Scofield, Bruce Springsteen, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Mick Jagger and Anita Baker.



A graduate of the New York School of Music and Art, Omar Hakim began his career recording with various pop and soul groups. His father, Hasan Hakim, had played trombone for Duke Ellington and Count Basie and that influence helped to warm the younger Hakim's ear up for the part he would play in one of the most famous jazz fusion acts ever, Weather Report. Hakim says:

"I had a natural affinity for drums and rhythm very young. I started playing drums at about age five, when I got a toy drum as a Christmas gift from an uncle. They strapped that thing around my neck and I immediately started playing one of those marching cadence kind of beats."

In 1982 Omar Hakim joined Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul in recording the critically acclaimed albums Procession, Domino Theory, This Is This, and Sporting Life with Weather Report. As a result of his work with Weather Report, Omar Hakim was a co-winner of the Modern Drummer Magazine readers poll award for Best Electric Jazz Drummer in 1985. During his three-year stint with them, Omar also managed to land the drumchair with Sting for his first solo release Dream Of The Blue Turtles. With subsequent tours and recordings with artists such as David Sanborn, Dire Straits, Marcus Miller, Mariah Carey, Miles Davis, Chic, and David Bowie, he was known as a major force in both the jazz and pop worlds. Omar Hakim explains:

"Sometimes, if people know you from rock, they think of you as a rock drummer and don't expect you to play anything else. Or, if they know you in jazz, then they typecast you as a jazz drummer. I was conscious of the fact that I didn't want people to know me as a rock drummer or a jazz drummer, but as a total musician. So I always made sure I let people know that I was about music."

In addition to being a first call session/touring drummer and clinician, Omar is a well-recognized producer/multi-instrumentalist and has recorded two solo releases under his name.



In early 2000, Omar Hakim released his solo work entitled Groovesmith, which highlights his songwriting, arranging, singing as well as his drumming talents. It is an is an eclectic mix of jazz and R&B, rhythm and funk. Omar remains one of the more potent and creative forces on the music scene today as he always to put his masterful technique and most importantly, his heart and soul into his playing.