Joseph “Zigaboo” Modeliste - Master Drummer

If You Ever Wondered Who Funkified Second Line, Well, You're Looking At Him.

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Zigaboo Reviewed
in The New Yorker

3 Magazine Covers in 2 Months!

Drum and Rhythm in Japan, Rhythm in England, and Percussive Notes (the Journal of the Percussive Arts Society) all have featured Zigaboo on the cover in the past months. Click here to

New CD Keeps Legendary Drummer, Zigaboo Modeliste "I'm On The Right Track"

OAKLAND, CA: Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste, King of the Funky Drums (KOTFD), is pleased to present the release of his new CD, "I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK" — written, produced, and published on his own label, JZM Records, due April 23, 2004. Celebrations for the release were at Tips French Quarter, NOLA on April 23rd and 12Galaxies on May 22nd, 2004.

"I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK" features all-star guests, including Dr. John, Ivan Neville, Bernie Worrell, Bobby Vega, Kai Eckhardt, David Torkanowsky, Chris Rossbach, Garth Webber, Keta Bill, Sunshine Garcia, Mz. DeJuana, Tony Lufrano, Curtis Ohlson, Eamonn Flynn, Kelly "Spyboy" Jones, Chris "CB" Burger, John Lee Sanders, Lee Thornburg, Nick Lane and Jimmy Roberts.

Zigaboo Modeliste, the "legendary New Orleans drummer," is best known for his 20 years of work with The Meters, "New Orleans' baddest funk band" (Rolling Stone). Widely acknowledged as a band way ahead of its time, the Meters perfected the funk lock that would influence a generation of rhythm bands.

Zigaboo's precisely calibrated "second line funk styles" would lay the foundation for all the original Meters' albums, including REJUVENATION (1974), which was honored in the Rolling Stone Hall of Fame in 2000. With hundreds of individual and collective (Meters) songs to his credit, Zigaboo went on a musical hiatus in the 1980s — and watched a new generation of hip-hop artists heavily sample his rhythms. Music that had apparently gone out of style in the Î70s suddenly experienced a renaissance amongst a new generation of musicians. Hip-hop and Rap Artists as diverse as Musiq, Queen Latifah, Run DMC, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, NWA, Salt n' Pepa, Cypress Hill, EPMD, Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, Beastie Boys and Naughty by Nature repeatedly sampled the "Godfather of Groove" (Downbeat), greedily seeking out "that elusive tangy lick" (Rickey Vincent, Funk).

Ziggy released his first solo CD in 2000, "ZIGABOO.COM" reviewed as one of the most outstanding comeback recordings of the year. This 2004 CD, "I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK", reaches the people through Ziggy's master drumming, as well as genius producing and writing skills. He especially focused on a message to humanity through his song, "GUNS," to discourage senseless violence and unnecessary deaths involving guns or any other weapons of destruction. Another highlight of the CD is the tune, "WELCOME TO NEW ORLEANS"— a second line groove with a back beat featuring Dr. John on the keyboards, inviting the whole world to get funky and live it up. This is New Orleans flava without a doubt. Ziggy's unsurpassed funk and pocket skills on the drums throughout the entire CD confirm as is quoted in "The Book of Rock Lists" — that Modeliste is the most brilliant American funk percussionist of the Contemporary Era. The percussion maestro known as the "King of the Funky Drums" takes you to a funkified festive jubilation, the ultimate party of dance and groove.

© 2007 Zigaboo Modeliste