Here's a selection: Jack Dejohnette, Elvin Jones, Han Bennink, Bjork, Cuong Vu, Radiohead, Duke Ellington, Meshuggah, baseball, Rich Thompson, Ben Monder, John LeCarre spy novels
Sounds Like
Kurt Rosenwinkel: guitar, Aaron Parks: piano, Ben Street: bass, TP: drums >>> Live @ New Morning, Paris
“Mr. Poor is a sharp young drummer who has had the effect, in recent months,
of galvanizing any group in which he plays.”
Nate Chinen
The New York Times
“Adventurous, truly dynamic, and forward-thinking drumming.”
Ilya Stemkovsky
Modern Drummer Magazine
“Ted Poor propels the music with crisp restraint – flexing muscle where it makes sense while helping to shape the emotional arc of each performance.”
Peter Margasak
Downbeat Magazine
“Ted has an uncanny ability to shape the music and a refreshingly unique,
organic approach to playing the drums.”
Jazzreview.com
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Ted Poor began playing drums in 1984 at the tender age of three. He can’t remember his first attraction to the drums, though his parents place it at a Horace Silver concert in his hometown of Rochester, NY. That concert led to a homemade drum set, which in turn prompted a neighbor to donate his old set to the enthusiastic youngster. Ted continued playing throughout grade school and began studying privately with Rich Thompson in 1993. After briefly entertaining the thought of a career in engineering, Ted enrolled in the Eastman School of Music to study music full time – receiving his Bachelors of Music in 2003. While still at Eastman, Ted met acclaimed guitarist Ben Monder, who was visiting as a guest artist. Monder then appeared on Poor’s debut quartet record "All Around" (Trier 2003) and in the fall of 2003 Poor joined Monder’s band and moved to New York City.
Poor has since established himself as a unique and important voice in the NY jazz/improvised music community. Jazz Review writes, “Ted has an uncanny ability to shape the music and a refreshingly unique, organic approach to playing the drums.” This unique approach has caught the ears of many of jazz’s most established musicians and placed him amongst those drummers most in demand. In 2003 Poor began touring internationally with Grammy award winning trumpeter Cuong Vu. Together with bassist Stomu Takeishi, the trio collaborated with Bill Frisell to record "It’s Mostly Residual" (Artist Share 2004) and with Chris Speed to record "Vu-Tet" (Artist Share 2007). Ted has additionally performed with a broad spectrum of musicians including Kurt Rosenwinkel, Chris Potter, Aaron Parks, Maria Schneider, Scott Colley, George Garzone, Ralph Alessi, Marc Ducret, David Fiuczynski, David Berkman, Nils Wogram, Donny Mccaslin and John McNiel. As a guest soloist and educator, Poor has held residencies at, among others, the Eastman School of Music, Berklee College of Music, Cal Arts, Lawrence University, the HR Big Band of Frankfurt, Colorado University ay Denver and the University of Washington.
While maintaining a busy touring schedule as a sideman, Ted is also committed to a number of collaborative ensembles. Formed in 2001, the Respect Sextet is a powerhouse ensemble dedicated to performing a wide variety of improvisational musics. Relying on their explosive energy, rare telepathy, outstanding musicianship and a deep friendship, Respect pieces together free improvisations, original compositions, free jazz classics, television commercial jingles, text pieces, jazz standards, game pieces and more into “a whirling collage,” shouts Exclaim! Magazine, “that ransacks and reshapes the entire jazz tradition, from New Orleans march to Misha Mengelberg, Sun Ra to Charlie Parker.”
Jerseyband takes a different aesthetic path. Backed by drums, electric guitar, and bass, Jerseyband's horns (three saxophones and a trumpet) cut through meaty arrangements that shock their audiences into submission. Enthusiasts have compared their sound to Mr. Bungle, Zappa, and Meshuggah but one thing is clear: this band is best categorized under their own genre of horn-driven metal called Lungcore.
Most recently, Ted has joined with cohorts Loren Stillman, Gary Versace and Nate Radley to create Bad Touch. In a musical age of predominantly solo careers, Bad Touch has set out to nurture their identity as a collective. With a shared goal of developing improvised music, these likeminded musicians draw on a wide spectrum of jazz improvisational techniques within original compositions. Bad Touch believes that mutual friendship and commitment yield the most fulfilling musical adventures and aims for their work to reflect this philosophy. "Like A Magic Kiss" (Bad Touch Music, 2008) is a concise and potent example of their shared sense of direction.
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A Whole Lhasa Shakin' Goin' On Beijing! Went the Strings of My Heart Canton Races Commie Irresponsible Great Wall's Afire! Hello Dalai I'm Getting Sent a Mai Tai Over You It Was Szechuan of Those Things Kimono My House Ming To Me Mr. Sampan (Bring Me a Dream) Mu-Shu-Tang Sally Oolong Has This Been Going On? Rice Work If You Can Get It Send in the Kowloons Starch Fell On Alabama Tea For 1.4 Billion The Mandarin I Love The Mao I See You The Suey With the Fringe On Top Tibet Is Yet To Come Wokking My Baby Back Home Wonton-a-Mera Yangtze Doodle Dandy
Hi Ted! How goes it? I was just in Rochester playing at the BopShop and your name came up. Heard some cool stories about your group based there playing Misha Mengelberg pieces, etc. Very cool. I hope you're well and see you soon.