Randy Gloss

"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

"The wrists and fingertips of Randy Gloss, though, once again made an impossible demonstration of what a lone tambourine can do" - 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, N. Scott Robinson, Ph.D.

 Solo album, "...The Ayes Have It" Vol. II - Self Portraits in Percussion

“Randy Gloss's album " .. .The Ayes Have It" -Vol. II is a hand drum world tour exploring modern applications for everything from pandeiro to riq, from congas to aFrame (an electro-organic frame drum). Each piece is thoughtfully written and performed and has a specific and personal meaning and origin for the composer. The album blends acoustic instruments with electronic ones, traditional playing techniques with modern timbres.

The tracks are at times improvisatory and at other times carefully composed. The album serves as a consumable gateway to these instruments for new listeners. Even the drum set solo, "A Little Change in the Pocket Blues;' includes a recited tabla theka in the second half. The influence of traditional Middle Eastern rhythms flows throughout the album, moving alongside the influence of various modern musical styles and the inspiration of other musicians.

The use of various metallic instruments and extended techniques gives a cinematic flavor to many of the tracks. Constantly fluctuating and complex rhythms and meters make the pieces groovy but unpredictable. Track to track, the listener never knows what soundscape will be presented next.

Existing somewhere between ambient music, danceable rhythms, and the avant-garde, " ... The Ayes Have It" is worth the listen for anyone who loves rhythm, is fascinated by the capabilities of drums, or simply loves music that is crafted with both love and talent.” -Marilyn K. Clark Silva, Percussive Notes

“When you dream that a musician will escort you to unfamiliar environs, sometimes the guide just has to be a percussionist or a drummer…This time the trip comes courtesy of Randy Gloss, a long-practiced SoCal slapper and striker of many world instruments, sometimes electronified. In Vol. II of his "The Ayes Have It" series, he focuses more tightly on composition, so we soak up not only the sensuality, flow and expertise of his sounds (which would be enough), but a greater sense of resolution. Take the opener, "The Ninth Anything," which starts as a processional overture and moves through cooking tabla, a bellydance tar bridge, psychedelic rain and dublike echo -- like, yikes! "Led by the Hand," too, is a multipart excursion highlighted by weird twangs on the mysterious electronic aFrame instrument and a traps groove attributed to Led Zeppelin's "When the Levee Breaks"; you're gonna need your subwoofer for this one, and for the enormous kick and ear-tingling cymbals of "Estuaries." The treats keep on comin' with Whitmanesque variety, such as the vibraphone over heavy Afro drums on the Latinate "Super Obrigado," and the electro noise, gamelan clock of doom, and hand drums poking like a carrion bird on "Shadowlight Soundtrack," all arranged just so. But musicians, oh those musicians, will come back for the rhythmic sophistication, as on "Solo for Three Congas," where Gloss circulates a bunch of time signatures and magically resolves them, or "A Folk Drum Solo," where he seems to use a drum, handclaps and a triangle to suspend time entirely -- these are things great jazz ensembles sometimes do, and Gloss is doing them alone. More important, Gloss is doing all this entertainingly. MetalJazz first listened to "Ayes II" on the same night as "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath," "Sketches of Spain" and Lee Perry's "Rainford." Perfect.” - Greg Burk, metaljazz.com

Solo album, "...The Ayes Have It" Vol. I - Self Portraits in Percussion

"The Ayes Have It, Vol. 1. ‘Aye’ might as well have been spelled ‘I’, as Gloss has done it all himself, producing, recording, mixing, and playing a myriad of rhythmic and melodic percussive instruments. Gloss is a true master of almost anything that can be hand-struck, which he so eloquently demonstrates with sounds and textures that blend together in a delicious confectionary for the ear.  It’s as musically compelling and sonically pleasing as a percussion album can be. "  - L.A. WEEKLY

“Not only does Gloss tap a sensually appealing range of instruments, he plays each with extraordinary sensitivity and, most important, arranges the multilayered sounds in compositions that draw you in and take you to a place of involvement and peace. Breathe.” – metaljazz.com

"Randy Gloss's new solo percussion release "The Ayes Have It" is a superb album.  His advanced percussion technique is breathtaking even as it serves the soulfulness, beauty and spirit of his larger musical vision. " - Adam Rudolph (percussionist, composer, bandleader, and author-Pure Rhythm)

"...The album is worthy of much praise as not only do we hear Gloss is an impressive assortment of performances, but one can finally hear solo performances by this outstanding musician who for much of his career has been heard in ensemble and soundtrack contexts (which I have always found to be as equally impressive). The recording quality has a humble clarity to it that makes you feel as if you are attending a private solo concert by Gloss, who possesses an unassuming quality coupled with a deep talent to express musically that I have long admired. His varied background in jazz drumming, Western percussion, and a variety of world percussion traditions offers the listener an engaging kaleidoscopic musical experience, and this album delivers impressively in the technical aspects of his performances and the creative genesis of his compositional style.  ...For percussionists, this album is an opportunity to hear one of America’s great percussion virtuosi in a solo context in which Randy Gloss quite literally brings you a percussion worldview few have to offer." - Dr. N. Scott Robinson, Percussive Notes

"A ride through rhythm, texture, and mood:

"Essentially a solo percussion record with few overdubs, Randy Gloss’s debut works as a study piece for the different instruments he uses as well as a soothing collection of music to relax to.  His technical skill with a frame drum is evident on “Suburban Desert Oasis”, on which he works the seven beat pattern with lyricism and control.  On the multipart “From McBean to Hasley Cyn”, Gloss employs a pandeiro (Afro-Brazilian tambourine) to great effect, mimicking the kick drum and backbeat and using the jingles to fill in the space orchestrally.  There are improvisations for electronic drumkit (“Experiment of Nature of Water #1”), hypnotic gong pieces (“Warmer Waters”), and an extended tabla performance (“In a Cycle of Nine”), so you get to experience diverse styles and Gloss’s accomplished execution.  And if the one-man percussion vibe isn’t your thing, you can simply chill to this on a Sunday morning." -  Ilya Stemkovsky, Modern Drummer

RANDY GLOSS ALBUM RELEASE CONCERT AT THE WORLD STAGE:

“Hand drummer and percussionist Randy Gloss had a new recording he could not possibly replicate onstage, so he expanded its vibe instead with an ensemble of his students/colleagues, showing what can be done when a drum circle is truly sphericalized. Fellow percussionist Carlos Niño facilitated the event for his "big brother," and served as co-celebrant in the spooky introductory purification ceremony, where we could feel evil spirits fleeing the vicinity as Gloss elicited strange woozhes from a steel pot and Niño drew eerie plaints from a resonator with a bow. Niño then left the stage to a succession of dynamically constructed jams involving (left to right) Kassandra Kocoshis (pictured), Gloss, Trevor Anderies, Marcelo Bucater and Clarice Cast. Hard to know where to look or listen after Gloss' tablas rang out and began an intense conversation with Anderies' traps, so the answer had to be . . . everywhere at once. To say that Indian, African or Indonesian rhythms dominated at any time would be to understate the breadth of knowledge on display, since few distinctions were being made. It felt like a jam, but it was one composition after another. Interactions this quick and precise made international comity seem no longer a pipe dream. Things that stood out: The way Kokoshis switched from creating a foundation by slapping her sitbox, to defining clear melodic corners by striking those porcelain flower pots. And the way Anderies' wrists generated polyrhythms on the snare without seeming to move. And Gloss' incredible ability to warp sounds out of drumskins by wiping hands across them, and carrying that a step further electronically on the bizarre aFrame instrument, which he can make sound like anything from a jew's harp to a whale's call -- oh, and the spice he shakes out of a tambourine, mgawd, that is just sorcery. Can you listen to percussion for an hour? Find out.” Watch this concert here. Greg Burk, metal jazz.com

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

Larry Karush Quartet at The Blue Whale:

"One could go on about Karush, who ran just as many scrambles (Afro, Latin, Cole Porter) on Saturday with his quartet, but those "sidemen" deserve a word, too. This was Rhythm Night, with substantial swaths devoted to the multi-percussion team of Randy Gloss and Brad Dutz. The pair constantly broke up the beat while driving it forward, switching off among wood block, cowbell, cymbals, hand drums, traps . . . mini-symphony stuff. Facing each other, they also assembled a preconceived multi-instrument duo spotlight that was just ridiculous: Gloss oudoing Alex Van Halen with just tambourine, Dutz clacking like an army of flamencans on castanets. Expressionless during that tour-de-force, they smiled and shook hands at the end, like, "Oh yeah, percussionists don't COMPOSE at all."-MetalJazz.com

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

 Vashti (world percussion ensemble led by Adam Rudolph) at the Electric Lodge:

"The members of Vashti are tastemakers; they communicated effortlessly withoutresorting 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

"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

On tour with Chitravina Ravikiran:

“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

Regarding workshops and clinics:

“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 somehowthat 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