Artist: Gene Krupa

Eugene Bertram Krupa was an American jazz  drummer, bandleader and composer. 

Krupa studied with Sanford A. Moeller, and began playing drums professionally in the mid-1920s with bands in Wisconsin. In 1927, he was hired by MCA  to become a member of Thelma Terry and Her Playboys, the first notable American jazz band to be led by a female musician (except all-female bands). The Playboys were the house band at the Golden Pumpkin nightclub in Chicago and toured throughout the eastern and central United States. 

Krupa made his first recordings in 1927 with a band under the leadership of Red McKenzie and guitarist  Eddie Condon. Along with other recordings by musicians from the Chicago jazz scene, such as Bix Beiderbecke, these recordings are examples of Chicago style jazz. Krupa's influences during this time included Father Ildefonse Rapp and Roy Knapp (both teachers of his), and drummers Tubby Hall, Zutty Singleton and  Baby Dodds. 

Krupa appeared on six recordings by the Thelma Terry band in 1928. In December 1934, he joined  Benny Goodman's band, where his drum work made him a national celebrity. His tom-tom interludes on the hit "Sing, Sing, Sing" were the first extended drum solos to be recorded commercially. 

Further information about Gene Krupa is found here.

Photography credit: William P. Gottlieb, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

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