Drummer

Rashied Ali, a free-jazz drummer who backed John Coltrane and accompanied him in a ground-breaking duet album in the final months of the jazz master's life, died Wednesday in New York City. He was 76. His wife, Patricia Ali, said he died at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital of a blood clot in his lung. Ali joined Coltrane's group in the mid-1960s during the saxophonist's period of avant-garde jazz experimentation. When Coltrane decided to use two drummers in a concert at the Village Gate in November 1965, he chose Ali to back up drummer Elvin Jones.

PARK CITY, Utah -- How far will a musician go to become a virtuoso? Can a despotic jazz band conductor actually bring out the best in his students through fear and intimidation? And why was “Whiplash” the hardest movie Miles Teller ever made? Damien Chazelle, the writer-director of the Sundance Film Festival drama, dropped by the Los Angeles Times Studio in Park City, Utah, to discuss how these issues touch on his film, which opened the festival Thursday night. PHOTOS: Sundance Film Festival 2014 | The Scene Chazelle, who was a drummer in a high school band run by a heartless teacher, first came to the festival last year with an 17-minute version of “Whiplash,” which focused on the relationship between an ambitious drummer named Andrew Neiman and his cruel conservatory instructor, Terence Fletcher.

Kristen Wiig and beau Fabrizio Moretti have reportedly called it quits. The "Saturday Night Live" alum and Moretti, the drummer for the Strokes, have ended their 18-month relationship, according to Us Weekly and People . "It was very amicable and they will remain friends," a source told Us. PHOTOS: Celebrity splits of 2013 Wiig, 39, and Moretti, 33, were first spotted together in December 2011. The "Bridesmaids" writer and star wasn't super open about her relationship, but she did divulge a few details in Marie Claire's  August 2012 issue , crediting her beau with helping her reach a happy place.

Hours before writer-director Damien Chazelle's "Whiplash" premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, Sony Pictures Worldwide bought international rights to the drama about a jazz drummer (Miles Teller) and his ruthless music teacher (J.K. Simmons). The deal, according to a source close to the transaction and one of the first of the festival, does not include rights to distribute the film in North America. The movie is expected to be one of the hottest acquisition titles for U.S. markets at this year's festival, which runs from Thursday to Jan. 26. The exact terms and territories of the Sony deal were not immediately available.

Clive Burr, former drummer for Iron Maiden, has died at age 56. Burr, who played on the heavy metal band's first three albums -- "Iron Maiden," "Killers" and "The Number of the Beast" -- had  been suffering from multiple sclerosis. "He was a wonderful person and an amazing drummer who made a valuable contribution to Maiden in the early days," Steve Harris, the group's founder and bass player, wrote. PHOTOS: Notable deaths of 2013 Burr joined the band in 1979 and left it in 1982, as they were rising to world prominence.

Jefferson Airplane drummer Joey Covington was killed in a single-car crash in Palm Springs on Tuesday afternoon, officials said. Covington, 67, a Palm Springs resident, was driving alone when his coupe left the road at a curve in South Belardo Road and crashed head-on into a retaining wall. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the Riverside County coroner. The Desert Sun newspaper in Palm Springs reported that a guest at a nearby motel tried unsuccessfully to resuscitate Covington.

Rocker Ted Nugent has made it perfectly clear over the years that he won't tolerate the government trampling on his liberty or that of his bandmates. This time, however, the famously right-wing singer-guitarist might have to concede that Johnny Law had a point. According to police in Bangor, Maine , Nugent's drummer, 55-year-old Mick Brown, was arrested Sunday after allegedly stealing a golf cart from Bangor's waterfront pavilion, where Nugent had just performed with Styx and REO Speedwagon.

Jazz drummer Ed Thigpen, who often was described as "Mr. Taste" for his sensitive accompaniment of instrumentalists and singers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson, Bud Powell and Billy Taylor, died Wednesday at Hvidovre Hospital in Copenhagen. He was 79. Thigpen, who suffered from Parkinson's disease, was hospitalized before Christmas with heart and lung problems. His son, Michel, noted on Thigpen's website that his father "passed away very peacefully . . . in the company of his friends and family."

Stuart Nevitt, 55, composer, drummer/percussionist and one of the early members of the Grammy-winning world beat band Shadowfax, died March 15 of complications from diabetes and heart disease at his home in Rio Rancho, N.M. Born in Elizabeth, N.J., Nevitt learned the rudiments of drumming at age 4 from his father, who was also a drummer. Nevitt played in rock bands and orchestras throughout high school before going off to the University of Miami to study music. He moved to Chicago in the early 1970s and met woodwind player Chuck Greenberg, bassist Phil Maggini and guitarist G.E. Stinson.

When touring musicians complain of being on the run, they are,of course, speaking figuratively. But the 13 members of Japan's Ondekoza troupe, also known as the "demon drummers," are literally running across virtually the entire United States on a three-year tour. On Tuesday, 10 of Ondekoza's athletic young musicians ran from La Mesa into Seaport Village, where they set up their drums in a small plaza for a short al fresco concert. Sunday at 7 p.m.

Drummer Ricky Lawson, 59, who performed and recorded with many of the biggest names in popular music in the 1980s, died Monday at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center of a brain hemorrhage. The death was confirmed by hospital spokeswoman Wendy Dow. Lawson became disoriented during a performance Dec. 13 and was hospitalized, according to an Associated Press report. He died after being removed from life support, said his uncle, Paul Riser of Detroit. Lawson performed with Michael Jackson, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Bette Midler and many others.

Vevet Underground drummer Maureen "Moe" Tucker reflected on friend and former bandmate Lou Reed in an appreciation published this weekend by British newspaper the Observer .  Reed, 71, died in October of complications from a May liver transplant. "It's just dawning on me that he's not out there anymore," Tucker wrote in the piece, which chronicles her first meeting with Reed as well as how the Velvets transformed her from a simple pop drummer into one trafficking in the avant-garde.

A musical partnership that reaches back 20 years, the meeting of drummer Scott Amendola with seven-string guitarist Charlie Hunter has yielded a wealth of memorable recordings, including Hunter's album-length cover of Bob Marley's "Natty Dread" and 2012's sparkling duet, "Not Getting Behind Is the New Getting Ahead. " Here the two reconvene in support of the groove-heavy "Pucker," a new duet album featuring Amendola as lead songwriter. The Blue Whale, 123 Astronaut E S Onizuka Suite 301, Los Angeles.

Anyone familiar with the sound of West Coast jazz from the 1950s knows the sound of Los Angeles-born drummer Chico Hamilton. A musician who often emphasized a subtle musical grace in his playing over snare-rattling runs, Hamilton helped forge the California sound dubbed "cool jazz" in the 1950s and launched the careers of a wealth of jazz artists both as a bandleader and an educator. Hamilton, 92, died at his New York City home Tuesday morning. The cause has not been determined, but Hamilton was diagnosed with emphysema late in life, according to his nephew Raoul Hamilton, who confirmed his death.

Jon Brookes, drummer with the British band the Charlatans, died Tuesday morning, according to a statement on the group's website, which said Brookes had been receiving treatment for a brain tumor since 2010. He was 44. "Jon was a brilliant drummer, an inspiration, a founding member of the Charlatans, part of our family and a friend to everyone in and around the band," the statement reads. "Losing someone who was always so full of life is a tragedy that will be shared by so many.

Kristen Wiig and beau Fabrizio Moretti have reportedly called it quits. The "Saturday Night Live" alum and Moretti, the drummer for the Strokes, have ended their 18-month relationship, according to Us Weekly and People . "It was very amicable and they will remain friends," a source told Us. PHOTOS: Celebrity splits of 2013 Wiig, 39, and Moretti, 33, were first spotted together in December 2011. The "Bridesmaids" writer and star wasn't super open about her relationship, but she did divulge a few details in Marie Claire's  August 2012 issue , crediting her beau with helping her reach a happy place.

Jon Brookes, drummer with the British band the Charlatans, died Tuesday morning, according to a statement on the group's website, which said Brookes had been receiving treatment for a brain tumor since 2010. He was 44. "Jon was a brilliant drummer, an inspiration, a founding member of the Charlatans, part of our family and a friend to everyone in and around the band," the statement reads. "Losing someone who was always so full of life is a tragedy that will be shared by so many.

My favorite new yoga position -- you should try this -- is slanted kind of sideways in a loge-level seat, a bag of peanuts balanced on my knee, a foamy beverage in my left hand like a six-gun. This position stretches the torso and loosens the hamstrings. A couple of innings like this and you'll feel like a new man -- or a new woman, if that's your preference. Honestly, I can't recommend this yoga stuff enough. It's a good season to stay loose, we all know that. The Dodgers are obviously saving their best for the playoffs, which makes these next 15 games sort of a chore for purists like you and me. So it goes.

Drummer Allison Miller's album "Boom Tic Boom" with her band of the same name was one of the most memorable debuts of 2010, and marked her as a rising star. It was a bold album marked by a deftly swinging drive, rich ensemble playing and a wealth of styles that included flashes of post-bop, rock and folk. But as of February, Miller also attracted notice outside the jazz world with her Huffington Post essay titled " You Don't Play Like a Girl: Queer in the Jazz World . " In the piece Miller wrote about her personal history confronting sexism and her identity as she came up as not only a female drummer, a rarity in jazz, - but also a lesbian.

Alan Myers 'Human metronome' for punk band Devo Alan Myers, 58, whose drumming for the punk band Devo came to define its off-kilter sound, died Monday in Los Angeles, said Devo spokesman Michael Pilmer. Myers had brain cancer. He was the band's drummer from 1976 to 1986 during the heyday of Devo, which peaked commercially in 1980 with the smash hit "Whip It. " The band's name referred to de-volution, the idea that instead of evolving, humankind was actually in decline.