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Will CalhounAmerican drummer
Date of Birth: 22.07.1964
Country:  USA |
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Biography of William Calhoun
William Calhoun, also known as Will Calhoun, was born on July 22, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up in the Bronx before moving to Boston, Massachusetts to attend Berklee College of Music. Calhoun graduated from college with honors and received the prestigious Buddy Rich Jazz Masters Award for his outstanding performance as a drummer while studying.
Music Career
Calhoun is most well-known as the drummer of the rock band "Living Colour." He has also played with "Jungle Funk" and "HeadFake," recorded several jazz albums as a leader of his own ensemble, and performed as a sideman with various renowned jazz musicians such as Ferrell 'Pharoah' Sanders, B.B. King, Herb Alpert, Dr. John, Jaco Pastorius, Wayne Shorter, Marcus Miller, Ronnie Wood, and the group Public Enemy. He is featured on the composition "Crimson Deep" from Finnish rock singer Tarja Turunen's album "What Lies Beneath." Calhoun is also a member of the blues-rock-funk group "Stone Raiders."
Calhoun has received several accolades throughout his career. According to a reader's poll by "Modern Drummer Magazine," he was named "Best New Drummer of 1988" and went on to win the "Best Progressive Drummer" award three times in 1989, 1991, and 1992. In 1990, he was also recognized as the "Best Drummer of 1990" by critics of "Rolling Stone Magazine." In addition, Calhoun has won two Grammy Awards. The first was in 1989 for "Best Hard Rock Performance" with his band "Living Colour," and the second followed a year later. The group "Living Colour" also received an international rock award in 1991 as the "Best Rock Band."
Musical Style and Innovations
Calhoun's drumming style incorporates various influences and constantly explores new methods. In "Living Colour," he was one of the first drummers to combine advanced funk and fusion techniques with elements of hard rock and thrash metal. More recently, he has blended broken rhythms of drum and bass with ethnic percussion and sampling. Calhoun is regarded as a highly "physical" musician, possessing vast knowledge in his field and practicing a free approach to borrowing from different musical genres. He also actively incorporates electronic instruments from the Japanese company "Korg," allowing him to create unique effects often unrelated to traditional drumming. Apart from music, Will Calhoun is also involved in photography.
