‘Give The Drummer Some’ Annual NCCU Jazz Benefit Will Showcase Percussionists 

Durham, NC – North Carolina Central University (NCCU) instructor and drummer Thomas E. Taylor and New York percussionist/educator Alvin R. Atkinson Jr. will join the impressive gathering of jazz drummers performing at the university’s annual benefit concert Aug. 25.

Give the Drummer Some, an annual jazz percussion benefit concert by NCCU music faculty and alumni, will be presented at 6 pm, Sunday, Aug. 25, in B.N. Duke Auditorium on campus. The event will honor NCCU alumnus and soul-jazz drummer and singer the late Grady Tate, a renowned self-taught session drummer and rim-shot syncopation expert.

Atkinson and his group The Sound Merchants perform regularly abroad and across the United States. He also has recorded and shared the stage with other notable artists, including Ellis Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Don Braden and others. He was house drummer for the 2002-2003 season of the “Emeril Live” television show on the Food Network, performed for the Harlem National Tour at the Kennedy Center, and entertained at the White House for former president George W. Bush.

As an educator, Atkinson has taught in a number of settings and currently serves as director of bands and curriculum specialist at the Promise Academy II in New York.

The Give the Drummer Some benefit also offers percussion and music workshops to the public beginning at 3 p.m. in the Old Jazz Band Room at B.N. Duke Auditorium.

The event is free and open to the public, with donations to the Department of Music encouraged.

For more information, please contact Thomas Taylor at tetaylor@nccu.edu or 919-530-6319.

North Carolina Central University prepares students to succeed in the global marketplace. Consistently ranked as a top Historically Black College or University, NCCU offers flagship programs in the sciences, education, law, business, nursing and the arts. Founded in 1910, NCCU remains committed to diversity in and access to higher education. Our alumni excel in a wide variety of academic and professional fields. NCCU is a constituent institution of the University North Carolina System. Visit www.nccu.edu.