Drummer Alan Dawson

Alan Dawson's performance credits read like a who's who in jazz. He has played alongside Oscar Peterson, Charles Mingus, Woody Shaw, Lionel Hampton, Dexter Gordon, Earl Hines, and Charles McPhereson, to name a few. Here, Dawson talks about how his life changed after he heard drummer Papa Jo Jones play with the Count Basie Orchestra. We travel back and forth from Boston to New York as Dawson balances teaching, recording, and club gigs. Dawson's former students include Tony Williams, Keith Copeland, and Bobby Ward. We sit in on a lesson at his home studio and experience his teaching style firsthand.

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Producers: Steve Schwartz, Margot Stage
Engineers: Alan Mattes, Jane Pipik

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