Tony Inzalaco - My Friend, Ben Webster

Tony Inzalaco has had a great life. He has been able to spend his life doing what he passionately loves , playing Jazz music. He was born in Passaic New Jersey to loving parents, Antonio and Lucy, who made many sacrifices in order that he might develop his gift and pursue his dream. When he was very young his parents realized that Tony had great energy and was always tapping out rhythms with his hands and feet. So they decided to channel his energy in a positive way. For his 8th birthday they bought him a pair of drum sticks and a practice pad, and shortly thereafter, he began taking drum lessons at a music store in a neighboring town. At the age of ten he and his father joined the " Saint Anthony's Fife and Drum Corps " in Paterson, New Jersey where he learned to play the basic drum rudiments. About a year later he found an excellent teacher ( Charles Mutter ) who was the principal percussionist in the Ridgewood Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Mutter taught him how to read music and refine his rudiments and at certain times would let Tony sit with him during orchestra rehearsals so he could experience what it was like to play in a Symphony Orchestra. Tony was twelve years old when he heard two records that changed his life; the first was " Mahogany Hall Stomp " by Louis Armstrong; the second was " Disc Jockey Jump " by Gene Krupa. At that point he fell in love with jazz music and has pursued this love up til the present day. While still in the seventh grade he was recruited to play drums in the Clifton High School marching band and later, when in High School he was chosen for the New Jersey All- State Band and All- State Orchestra in his junior and senior year. During this period he was also playing in a six piece jazz band that played for dances and parties at the local Elk"s and Moose clubs. Seven months after graduating from High school Tony enrolled at "The Manhattan School of Music " in New York, from which he earned a B.A. in Percussion and an M.A. in Music Ed. While attending the school he began playing in many of the New York clubs In his final year at school he was assigned to practice teach at a Junior High for his graduate degree. The band instructor that Tony was assigned to, who was a trumpet player, realized that Tony was the drummer he had seen that weekend , playing in Birdland. He was very excited and told the class about it before he introduced me to the students. In that same time frame Tony had already been working with many of the great jazz musicians in New York and New Jersey; these included Billy Taylor, Ben Webster, Roger Kellaway, Charlie Shavers, Marian Mc Partland, Slam Stewart, Duke Jordan, Roland Hanna, Johnny Smith, Jim Hall, Al Haig, Art Farmer, Sal Salvador, Pee Wee Russell, Johnny Coles, Jaki Byard, Jimmy Rushing, and Zoot Sims.