Biography
Born in Texas to parents of Mexican heritage, Glen Velez stands among the foremost percussionists currently active. The frame drum serves as his primary instrument, an implement whose lineage reaches back to ancient Mesopotamia. Beyond performance, Velez immersed himself in the instrument’s layered past and its ceremonial functions within early rituals, thereby acquiring the role of musicologist in this domain. His command appears not only through countless concerts and partnerships but also through an original pedagogical system for frame-drum technique, a series of instructional videos, global workshops, and an array of books and essays. He further conceived a dedicated line of frame drums for the manufacturer REMO. These cumulative endeavors position him as the preeminent authority on the instrument and as an inventive fusion artist who moves fluidly across rock, jazz, world, classical, and postmodern idioms. He additionally succeeded in synthesizing disparate frame-drum techniques into a single, personal method that constitutes his signature approach.
At seven, an uncle who played drums first introduced Glen Velez to the percussion realm, awakening an early passion. During adolescence he immersed himself in bebop recordings while experimenting with various percussion instruments in a jazz context. In 1967, at eighteen, he redirected his focus from jazz to classical percussion, drawn to New York’s cultural diversity, and enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music to study with Fred Hinger. Hinger acquainted him with circular motion in music, an alternative to conventional Western linearity, and thereby led him to the works of John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. To consolidate these discoveries, Velez returned to Dallas at the start of 1969 for intensive practice; concurrently he served in the army, performing in a military band and sharpening his skills. He reappeared in New York in 1973 and began recording with minimalist composer Steve Reich, joining his ensemble for a collaboration that spanned fifteen years.
Early in the 1980s Velez turned decisively toward hand drumming, locating his deepest interest in the frame drum and departing from classical percussion because, in his own words, he missed its improvisational dimension. In 1983 he connected with Paul Winter and joined the Paul Winter Consort, founded in 1967 and among the earliest ensembles to champion world music. Parallel to this affiliation he issued solo recordings centered on intricate polyrhythms played on the frame drum, an assortment of additional percussion instruments, and his distinctive overtone singing. The debut Handance, recorded with drummer Layne Redmond, appeared in 1984; the title also designates the teaching method that unites voice and bodily movement with frame-drum performance, a system presented in the instructional video The Glen Velez Handance Method. That same year he signed with the German fusion label CMP Records, remaining for the following decade. Internal Combustion, issued in 1985, continued the partnership with Redmond. Seven Heaven (1987) incorporated the atmospheric bansuri flute of Steve Gorn. In 1989 John Cage recognized Velez’s mastery by composing “Composed Improvisation for One-sided Drum with or without Jangles” expressly for him. The same year saw the release of Assyrian Rose, which introduced French hornist John Clark and pianist-harmonica player Howard Levy.
Ramana (1990) and Doctrine of Signatures (1991) opened the nineties, the latter recorded without Redmond yet again featuring Gorn. Border States followed in 1993, its guiding principle “complex and spiritual music with simple instruments.” Shortly afterward came Pan Eros, after which Velez concluded his association with CMP Records. In 1996 he collaborated with Spanish saxophonist and clarinetist Javier Paxariño on the project Temurà and released Rhythmcolor Exotica with his newly formed Handance Ensemble. His tenure with the Paul Winter Consort ended in 1998. Since then Velez—who states that he never revisits a completed album but proceeds directly to the next undertaking—has performed primarily as a soloist while maintaining partnerships across genres with artists including singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, fusion guitarist Pat Metheny, classical clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain, and Swedish jazz bassist Jonas Hellborg. That same year he issued Rhythm of the Chakras, subtitled “Drumming for the Body’s Energy Centers,” the outcome of his examination of Indian chakras and their translation into musical form. In 1999 DRUM! magazine named him Best World Beat Percussionist. Breathing Rhythms appeared in 2000; like its predecessor, the recording treats music as a spiritual and healing power, an outlook the “shaman with a briefcase” (Paul Winter) attained through prolonged study of percussion traditions as both ancient inheritance and vehicle for self-discovery.
At seven, an uncle who played drums first introduced Glen Velez to the percussion realm, awakening an early passion. During adolescence he immersed himself in bebop recordings while experimenting with various percussion instruments in a jazz context. In 1967, at eighteen, he redirected his focus from jazz to classical percussion, drawn to New York’s cultural diversity, and enrolled at the Manhattan School of Music to study with Fred Hinger. Hinger acquainted him with circular motion in music, an alternative to conventional Western linearity, and thereby led him to the works of John Cage and Karlheinz Stockhausen. To consolidate these discoveries, Velez returned to Dallas at the start of 1969 for intensive practice; concurrently he served in the army, performing in a military band and sharpening his skills. He reappeared in New York in 1973 and began recording with minimalist composer Steve Reich, joining his ensemble for a collaboration that spanned fifteen years.
Early in the 1980s Velez turned decisively toward hand drumming, locating his deepest interest in the frame drum and departing from classical percussion because, in his own words, he missed its improvisational dimension. In 1983 he connected with Paul Winter and joined the Paul Winter Consort, founded in 1967 and among the earliest ensembles to champion world music. Parallel to this affiliation he issued solo recordings centered on intricate polyrhythms played on the frame drum, an assortment of additional percussion instruments, and his distinctive overtone singing. The debut Handance, recorded with drummer Layne Redmond, appeared in 1984; the title also designates the teaching method that unites voice and bodily movement with frame-drum performance, a system presented in the instructional video The Glen Velez Handance Method. That same year he signed with the German fusion label CMP Records, remaining for the following decade. Internal Combustion, issued in 1985, continued the partnership with Redmond. Seven Heaven (1987) incorporated the atmospheric bansuri flute of Steve Gorn. In 1989 John Cage recognized Velez’s mastery by composing “Composed Improvisation for One-sided Drum with or without Jangles” expressly for him. The same year saw the release of Assyrian Rose, which introduced French hornist John Clark and pianist-harmonica player Howard Levy.
Ramana (1990) and Doctrine of Signatures (1991) opened the nineties, the latter recorded without Redmond yet again featuring Gorn. Border States followed in 1993, its guiding principle “complex and spiritual music with simple instruments.” Shortly afterward came Pan Eros, after which Velez concluded his association with CMP Records. In 1996 he collaborated with Spanish saxophonist and clarinetist Javier Paxariño on the project Temurà and released Rhythmcolor Exotica with his newly formed Handance Ensemble. His tenure with the Paul Winter Consort ended in 1998. Since then Velez—who states that he never revisits a completed album but proceeds directly to the next undertaking—has performed primarily as a soloist while maintaining partnerships across genres with artists including singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega, fusion guitarist Pat Metheny, classical clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, Indian tabla player Zakir Hussain, and Swedish jazz bassist Jonas Hellborg. That same year he issued Rhythm of the Chakras, subtitled “Drumming for the Body’s Energy Centers,” the outcome of his examination of Indian chakras and their translation into musical form. In 1999 DRUM! magazine named him Best World Beat Percussionist. Breathing Rhythms appeared in 2000; like its predecessor, the recording treats music as a spiritual and healing power, an outlook the “shaman with a briefcase” (Paul Winter) attained through prolonged study of percussion traditions as both ancient inheritance and vehicle for self-discovery.
Albums
