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There are certain moments of truth that we can all look back
upon - forks in the road where the road chosen truly made all the difference.
For Joel Rosenblatt, it started with his father's ultimatum at age 13: keep his
beloved go-kart or trade it in for his very first drum set!
And so the road was chosen.
 Inspired
by the constant pulse of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass playing from his
brother's room, Joel Rosenblatt began his music career in third grade playing
the trumpet. He stayed with it (and later the French Horn) until he was 19 –
long after another passion caught his attention along that winding road.
Music was strong in his family. In addition to his brother’s music, the sound of
his mother playing classical piano was a constant. More and more, Joel knew
music inspired him, but it wasn't until hearing a drum solo during a school jazz
band concert that he realized where his musical passions were rooted.
After seeing Joel banging around on other students' drums, band director Harry
Owens encouraged him to give drums a try. He began private lessons at age 14.
In college, Joel studied briefly with Ed Soph (North Texas State) and then with
Randy Jones (Maynard Ferguson, Dave Brubeck). It was Jones who instilled in Joel
the concept that music comes first – that technique alone doesn't substitute for
musicality. This concept helped launch Joel’s professional career – and has
driven his unique ability to become the music he is playing.
 After two years at University of Bridgeport, Joel began touring with Matt
"Guitar" Murphy. Of this experience, Joel says “you can imagine my suburban
white butt hanging with Matt, a black man from Memphis who grew up having to
ride in the back of the bus…literally. It was a great experience in music and in
life.”
After that came a few years with Pure Prairie League doing double bills with
bands including Marshal Tucker, Lynerd Skynerd, Alabama and Atlanta Rhythm
Section.
Eventually, Joel got a call from his friend and former roommate Dave Weckl, who
had just started working with Chick Corea. He informed Joel that he had given
Joel’s name to Michel Camilo for an audition. The opportunity meant everything
to Joel, who went on to perform and record with Michel for four years. This led
to gigs with Steve Khan, Paquito D'Rivera, Eliane Elias and others.
In 1991, Joel began what would become a twelve-year ride with Spyro Gyra,
touring the world and appearing on 10 studio recordings. It was Joel’s longest
and most comfortable musical tenure. But for Joel, comfort brought on the fear
of apathy.
“That is the artist's plight,” says the drummer. “Where you are is never where
you want to be. That is what drives us, keeps us searching, improving, creating
– which benefits us and our fans. We need to continually evolve and move
forward.”
And that is exactly what the artist has done – playing a wide variety of musical
genres with the likes of Bill Evans, Steve Khan, Randy Brecker, Lee Ritenour,
Russel Ferrante and many more. He has also become a talented producer.
Music comes first, and Joel’s fearless approach to finding new ways of
expressing himself has never been more real. Not even Joel knows where the
winding road will lead next, but the gifted drummer/clinician/producer will
continue to turn many heads along the way.
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