Paul Brook 1955 to 2007

On Thursday the 3rd of May 2007 the world of drumming lost one of it’s great ‘goodfellas’Paul had been very ill for some time with cancer and had battled extremely bravely, so much in fact, that he managed to outlive his own doctors prognosis. This was typical of Paul’s character though. He kept on drumming, in between having various operations – and when he didn’t have the strength to drum, his mind carried on drumming. Even whilst being bed ridden in hospital or at home Paul had a manuscript pad or laptop by his side and was constantly writing down new ideas and beats to inspire others – many of which, reside on the nufusions site. I know when I first met Paul six years ago whilst playing a drum clinic in Leamington spa he had the aura of a ‘Jedi drumming guru’ about him! When I went round to his house to see him play shortly after the clnic he drummed like a Jedi too! He had incredible independence, technical ability AND musicality and was one of the best drummers I’d seen. Since then I forged a friendship with him that helped breathe new life into my drumming as I was truly inspired not only by his fantastic playing ability, but also by his style of teaching. This is how the nufusions column in Rhythm magazine was born. Two different playing styles meeting in the middle.Along with hundreds of other people – in and out of the drumming community I will miss Paul a great deal, but the impact he had on my drumming will never be forgotten and will continue to be a source of inspiration.Paul lived in Leamington Spa with his wife Jenny with whom my thoughts are with.Here is a history and celebration of Paul’s playing career.Started playing drums over 30 years ago on an old Olympic kit. Having upgraded via Maxwin to a Hayman kit, he began by touring abroad with covers bands, before playing in the backing bands for Percy Sledge and later the Marvelettes.During this time, he was very passionate about fusion, his favourite drummers being Billy Cobham and Bill Bruford. Joined a Jazz-rock band in 1980 called Pzazz and made an album and toured extensively, including two tours with Level 42. From there, joined a band called “Mummy Calls”. who were signed for a ridiculous amount of money to Geffen records in 1984, and made a record with Hugh Padgham producing. The band dissolved the following year and Paul co-wrote the track “Beauty Has Her Way” which appeared on “The Lost Boys” soundtrack.In the years from ’85 to ’92 he divided his time between session drumming and programming, working with and for diverse artists including Nick Kershaw, Gary Moore, Greg Lake, Bonnie Tyler, Pino Palladino, Dream Academy, Coldcut, Danny Thompson, etc.In 1992, Paul created the world’s first realistic drum sample CD “Masterkit” which was soon followed by “Masterkit 2”. Soon afterwards, he was approached by Yamaha to create a custom drum library, which appeared on their products over the next few years. Later sample CD’s included “Chemical Beats” (one of Zero-G’s top sellers ever) and latterly “Brutal Beats” (featuring Geoff Dugmore).From 1996 onwards, Paul got seriously into percussion and Jazz where he did gigs at the Montreux Jazz Festival and Ronnie Scott’s.Up until the end of 2006, Paul was working with Coldcut and running his private teaching practice, and lecture in sequencing & production at Mid-Warwickshire college.Paul’s kit:Sonor Delite. – Amber Satin-Oil finish.20 x18 Bass Drum, plus 24 x 8 Subwoofer w/ May internal mic.Toms: 10 x 8 / 12 x 9 & 14 x 12 Snare Drums: Impact Tomcat hand made 14 x 5.5 Maple & Steel snares w/Trick throw-offs.Cymbals:Istanbul 20” Agop Sultan ride, 20” Agop Special Edition Jazz ride, 20” Mehmet Ping ride. Classic series 17” crashes, one thin & one medium thin. Ufip Bionic Series 13” hats and 8” splash. 10” Meinl Mini-hats, plus LP cowbells & jamblocks. E-Kit: Roland TD-6 plus Roland amplification.Percussion:Natal Congas, Cajon, assorted Darabukas, Rain Stick, “Hang” (Swiss-made hand played steel drum), Djembe, Bodhran etc. plus Roland Handsonic. All notation is prepared and published using Sibelius 3 software, running on a Mac G5.