Bernard "Pretty" Purdie x’s Boston x’s RBMA!

This past week has really been such an amazing one. Myself and the Boston RBMA crew put together our third workshop to bring awareness to Boston about the Red Bull Music Academy being held in Barcelona, Spain this year.

For our third one, we wanted to do something very special. A grand finale if you will, and it was not only that but so much more. A once in a lifetime experience for so many of us. A lesson in history and into the future. We invited Mr. Bernard “Pretty” Purdie into Boston and he was more than happy to come in and help spread his knowledge and history. Now if you are unaware at this point of who I am speaking of, please allow me to quote Mr. Jeff Carvalho when he said:

“Here’s a quick rundown:

1. Bernard is the single most recorded drummer on the planet.
2. He’s performed and session’d with everyone from Aretha to Steely Dan.
3. He’s a believer if the progression of music and does not hate on technology to do it.
4. The “Purdie Shuffle” has been sampled and re-cut thousands of times over.”

We began the week by having DJ Kon, Jeff Carvalho, Seth and Jason all sit down for a dinner to allow everyone to speak and get to know one another. Dinner was at The Beehive in downtown Boston and was phenomenal. I give the food two thumbs up!

Now, I will say right off the bat. When this man starts speaking, people shut up and listen. He is like a human dictionary. A man who has seen so much that it makes you just want to ask questions and speak for days…… And Bernard certainly has no problem keeping you listening for hours. Such a delightful man.. 🙂

We then headed over to the infamous Wally’s Jazz Cafe to hear some of the city’s finest and have a cocktail. Well, not even 30 minutes into being in the room, Bernard was recognized and asked to join in on the session. He killed it!

Moving on to Tuesday, we picked up Bernard for a quick interview over at WERS and then proceeded to the Phoenix Landing where the main event began!

The night consisted of DJ Kon on the turntables, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie on drums, special guests Myanna on Sax and two very special guests from Berklee playing Sax and Trumpet. All those in attendance at the Phoenix Landing had their minds blown! Bernard is by far the most inspirational person I have ever spoken with and it was quite an honor to not only be in his company but to listen to him speak and play for us. We will have audio, video and a lot more pics coming soon. Thank you so much to Jeff @ High Snobiety, the WERS crew, Paul @ Sabian Cymbals, Sean @ Boston Drum Center and most importantly Bernard and the lovely Osa @ 3B’s Music & Records.