R L HART

Hello , my name is Richard Hart , I am a freelance drummer( yep I'm skint ) - but I do play in a cool band called MonkeyWool - and Stranger - please check out their myspace links . I have played with many musicians in various genres - but my real interest is in Jazz & Fusion . During 2005 I helped start a local Jam session - in the Hat Factory Luton - which is going strong . Perry Loius of Jazzcotech created the whole project and Rob Mach ( MD of the house band ) is a major influence on it's direction - : Due to other projects , I'm no longer the house drummer , but I sometimes sit in . The Wednesday evening session has started to attract some heavyweight jazz muso's - who are backed by the house band . During a recent jam session , I was lucky enough to play with Butch Thomas (tenor sax) - who has worked with Sting and the late great Jaco Pastorius ( thats what we call a heavyweight !! ) & recently Rob Townsend - who is a fantastic Tenor player & good drummer . I have also played with Chris Mach ( level 42 ) Jim Mullen -Mike Gorman - Trevour Walker -Tina May and many more on the Jazz scene within the UK - which is attracting many US based jazz players .I have played on many sessions for BBC radio - Anglia TV - and the local jazz scene . I have just started to use a 'Jungle drum kit ' - they are starting to become popular with gigging drummers - it's basically a standard kit - but the bass drum is only 16 inches ( floor tom size ) - they look like toys - but it's a killin sound and they record great in any studio . I've modified the bass drum , by replacing the metal hoops with Yamaha Vintage wooden hoops and using a Remo Emperor Clear head on the playing side - this allows me to have the head a bit looser on a drum of that size and feels great ( just like a 20inch ) , I have also changed my bass drum beater to a Tama Iron Cobra beater , which has angle adjustment on the beater head and has a smaller contact surface on the felt , which produces a focused funky sound , I still use a Yamaha bass drum pedal , which is solid . Check out the pictures of my kit - I'd be interested in your comments . I have uploaded a few tunes , with my quartet . They are jazz standards , they're quite laid back, except Live at the MU ...thats kinda cookin , but the recording level is low , so you'll need to add a bit of volume , set it to number 11 . I hope you like them . My inspiration is my Ma & Pa , I miss you always .