A powerful and relentless searcher for the union of spirit and body in his interpretations of rhythm and melody, Abbey Rader was raised in the Bronx and influenced by swing, bop, and free improv that were prevalent in his upbringing, and has in more recent years researched the handrumming of many cultures.
Mr. Rader lived in Europe in the late seventies and all through the eighties, where he performed with John Handy and Dr L. Subramaniam in quartet, as well as in trio with John and various bassists. Mr. Rader spent 5 years in the Gunter Hampel Big Band often including Jeanne Lee and Marion Brown as well as in the Hampel trio. Mr. Rader performed with Mal Waldron in quartet and trio, and had his own band the “Right Timeâ€, which had Marc Levin, George Bishop, Leonard Jones, Marty Cook, Ken Simon and other guests. Mr. Rader was a clinician for Sonor drums in Europe for many years, and taught jazz drumset studies at four universities in Germany (Detmold Hochschule, TU Gottingen, TU Braunschweig, and Einbeck Musikhochschule).
Most recently Mr. Rader is working and recording in duo, trio and quartet with violinist Billy Bang, and in duo with David Liebman.
Mr. Rader recorded and performed with:
Billy Bang, Ed Schuller, Frank Lowe, David Liebman, Philip Gelb, Luc Houtkamp, Keshavan Maslak, George Bishop, Mal Waldron, Dr. L. Subramaniam, John Handy, Joe Gallivan, Gunter Hampel, Marion Brown, Laurindo Almeida, Herman Foster, Peck Morrison, Ron McClure, Mack Goldsbury, Bob Lenox, Roy Cumming, Marty Cook, Leonard Jones, Jeanne Lee, Peter Ponzol, Marc Levin, Sigi Busch, David Wertman, Leszek Zadlo, Joerg Widmoser, Chris Beier, Rainer Glas, Ken Simon, Kim Mikkelson, Cameron Brown, Joe Zeytoonian, and many others.