Hamid Drake

Hamid Drake (born August 3, 1955) is an American jazz drummer and percussionist. He lives in Chicago, IL but spends a great deal of time touring various countries throughout the world.

He first became known for his work with Chicago tenor saxophonist Fred Anderson. Drake was one of the founders, along with Foday Musa Suso and Adam Rudolph, of The Mandingo Griot Society. His other frequent collaborators include New York bassist William Parker, saxophonist David Murray, composer and percussionist Adam Rudolph, German free jazz saxophonist Peter Brötzmann, fellow drummer Michael Zerang and Chicago free jazz saxophonist Ken Vandermark. In recent years, Drake has frequently appeared with Jazz legend Archie Shepp in various configurations but the most common is the group Phat Jam along with human beat boxer and rapper Napoleon Maddox. drake also works with Maddox in the Jazz hip Hop group ISWAHAT. Drake also performs with Hungarian jazz groups, recording with musicians like Viktor Tóth and Mihály Dresch. In addition to the drum set, Drake also performs on the frame drum, the tabla, and other hand drums.

Hamid Drake credits two people as being very inspirational to his music and life on a deep and personal level. One is Fred Anderson who gave him the chance to deeply explore the world of creative expression. The other is his life-partner and best friend, Clay Chalupa, whose many years of encouragement continues to bring and to transform daily life into a much needed voice of healing and truth and joy.