Reviews / Press

"Randy Gloss' work on pandeiro (Afro-Brazilian tambourine) was one of the most amazing demonstrations of concentrated virtuosity I've ever seen." -Greg Burk, metaljazz.com

“Randy Gloss's maneuvering of his frame drum had to be seen to be believed…” -Mina Silverstone, salamworldwide.com

“Bergamo was successful at creating his own pool of students that went on to professional careers, most notably Randy Gloss who remains a highly innovative frame drummer.” -Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume II Performance and Production

Hands On’Semble:
"A Stellar percussion group with extraordinary soloing, and extensive palette of sounds" -Modern Drummer Magazine

“Hands On’Semble plays music that is pure 21st century California, the fulcrum where the whole planet meets.” -World Rhythm Magazine

“John Bergamo, Austin Wrinkle, Randy Gloss, and Andrew Grueschow succeeded in presenting a CD clearly ranking among the most interesting percussion CD's of the last ten years.” -Michael Weil, Percussion Creativ Germany

“...This just might be the best percussion recording ever made. The drumming is of such a high quality that this CD is on my short list of the CDs I can recommend to any drummer or percussionist. It is one of those rare CDs that is wonderful to listen to, and also can be played over and over in order to learn new rhythms and compositional forms… Every drummer should own this CD.”
-Scott Davidson, Percussionmusic.com

“If you have the slightest interest in hand drumming you must have this CD, if you are interested in drumming, rhythm, timing, creating interesting beats and expanding your soloing capabilities this is a must have CD.”
-Paul J. Youngman, jazzreview.com and thelivemusicreport.com

“...The Hands On'Semble always creates music with excellent energy and interesting colors and textures. The music is never so esoteric as to be elitist or incomprehensible, it always grooves. As great as the music is, it is an excellent resource for listeners to be exposed to and learn about percussion traditions from around the world.” -Terry O’Mahoney, Percussive Notes, The Journal of the Percussive Arts Society

Lian Ensemble at the Ford Amphitheater:
“the evening’s most startling moment took place during a percussion interlude featuring Houman Pourmehdi, David Johnson and Randy Gloss, in which frame drums, tonbak, daf, cajon, and bass drum were spontaneously blended into an extraordinary collection of rhythms and timbres.”-Don Heckman, L.A. Times

Lian Ensemble at the Seventh International Oud Festival of Jerusalem:
“Lian Ensemble, a Sufi-Persian aggregation composed of four Iranian exiles who are based in Los Angeles and augmented by an American percussionist, delivered a hypnotic set of their interpretations of the poems of well-known Sufi masters such as Jellaluddin Rumi, Farid al-Din and Sheikh Javad Nurbakhsh…the percussionists--Houman Pourmehdi, who alternated his tonbak and daf frame drums with the ney flute and the stringed setar, and Randy Gloss--added momentum and infectious rhythms... The devotional approach of this excellent ensemble, with their imaginative arrangements of complex Sufi texts, all executed in a refined yet virtuosic manner that never lost momentum, contributed to the feeling of elation that accompanied me many hours and days after this concert." -Eyal Hareuveni, allaboutjazz.com

Vashti (world percussion ensemble led by Adam Rudolph):
"The members of Vashti are tastemakers; they communicated effortlessly without resorting to hotdogging. The ensemble pieces sounded like gently dropping pebbles, the solos working toward a cohesive whole. " -LA Weekly

Adam Rudolph’s Organic Orchestra Web of Light (Featuring Brad Dutz, Adam Rudolph, Alex Cline, Randy Gloss as percussion soloists):
"Entirely magical and mind-expanding." -Steve Holtje – Music Hound Jazz: The Essential Album Guide

Quarteto Nuevo:
“percussionists Randy Gloss and Christopher Garcia multitask via their expert employment of ethnocentric instruments. Ultimately, this wonderful outing signifies one of the major surprises of the year! (Passionately recommended)” -allaboutjazz.com

Chitravina Ravikiran in India:
“A first-of-its-kind presentation held in Delhi and Bombay recently, acclaimed stars from various continents collaborated with the well known Indian prodigy, Ravikiran...The artistes, apart from Ravikiran, were: Jovino Santos Neto, a legendary pianist from Brazil, Randy Gloss, a well acclaimed drummer from USA and Alfred Ladzekpo, another equally exciting drummer from Ghana Africa…
The proceedings commenced with a solo by Jovino on the piano. Next was Ravikiran’s piece, The Singing Swans, based on the raga Hamsadhwani. Then came a fast paced piece from Brazil, Asa Branca which saw a great interaction between all the artistes. Next on show was a piece from Africa, led by Alfred Ledzekpo on his drums. He also danced and sang during this piece, which tickled the imagination of the public in both cities. The fifth piece on display was another one of Ravikiran’s Melharmonic creations, based on Hamirkalyani raga. It was really interesting to see the artistes handling this piece with its Indian inflections so competently. Other pieces included Ferro vino from Brazil, where Randy Gloss showed his mettle with a fine percussion solo, Jamming Saints, an intricate creation of Poovalur Srinivasan and rounded off with another jet-set paced piece from South America, Chamigo.” -KutcheriBuzz, Madras India

Thanjavur at the Irvine Barclay Theatre:
"Thanjavur was the find of the evening. Formed by sitar player Paul Livingstone and drummer Poovalur Srinivasan, Thanjavur plays pieces that are exotic in their mix of instruments and ultimately hypnotic in sound. While their musical influences were clearly diverse, Thanjavur's pieces have a jazz sensibility and an Indian sound. The outstanding guest artists were Pedro Eustache (on flutes, saxophone, and dyduk), Dante Pascuzzo (electric bass), and Randy Gloss (drum set). "-Laura Bleiberg, The Orange County Register.

Hands On’Semble workshops:
“Randy, I've been meaning to write to you and thank you for doing such a great class. I think what really made a difference was that all of you spoke so well and passionately about what you do and why you do it; and somehow that skill in communication really helped break down whatever inhibitions they (the students) had and let their natural curiosity shine through. I wish you lots of good luck with the group.”
-Dan Druckman, The Juilliard School

“Randy, Thank you so much for the excellent workshop and concert at Mannes!! It was the highlight of the semester for the percussionists and for me as well -- I so enjoyed your work and appreciated your 'giving' spirit to the students.”
-Lisa Johnson, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Mannes College of Music

“Randy, I just wanted to drop you a note to tell you how much I enjoyed the group's presentation at PASIC. There is such a wonderful bond between members. It goes without saying that the virtuosic skills of each of you are impressive. But, the most wonderful thing is how the music "feels". Your concert was truly a PASIC highlight for me.”
-Susan Martin Tariq, West Texas A&M University

“I just wanted to thank you for your workshop and concert on Wednesday. You have no idea how happy I am that my students had such a positive experience from your visit. Not only do each of you have unique skills, talents and impressive technique, but HOW you talked to them about your individual road trips through music and life gave them perspective. Some of them haven't been out of Texas so hearing stories about how all of you took chances to pursue something that was an emotional calling helped me open their eyes to the outer world.”
-Paul Bissell, Del Mar College. Corpus Christi, TX.