OMAR HAKIM

Omar Hakim (born February 12, 1959 in New York City - USA) is a famous drummer noted in jazz, jazz fusion and pop music. He currently endorses Pearl drums.

Among the notable artists he has played with are Anita Baker, Sting, Weather Report, Mariah Carey, Madonna, David Bowie, Miles Davis, Everything but the Girl, Marcus Miller, Dire Straits, Kazumi Watanabe and many others.

Hakim credits jazz vibraphonist Mike Mainieri with giving him his first break in 1980 - Hakim appeared in a video with Mainieri called The Jazz Life and began working with singer Carly Simon through Mainieri. Hakim first came to major attention as a member of Weather Report and then Sting's Blue Turtles band, appearing in the film Bring On the Night.

Between 1988 and 1989 he appeared regularly as the house band drummer in The Sunday Night Band during the first half season of the acclaimed music performance program Sunday Night on NBC late-night television. [1] After being temporarily replaced by drummer J. T. Lewis for the remainder of that season, Hakim re-appeared in the band for the second season in the Fall of 1989, when the program returned under the new name Night Music.

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Omar Hakim...

The legendary Omar Hakim takes advantage of every hot, new percussion option out there, from acoustic drums, to Roland’s electronic V-Drums—which he MIDIs into his Power Mac—when he plays drums for and produces the greats of pop and jazz fusion.

A well-recognized percussionist and producer in these two distinct worlds of music, Hakim may be the only person who can say he’s played drums for David Bowie, Madonna, Sting and Miles Davis.

"I had a natural affinity for drums and rhythm very young," says Hakim. "I started playing drums at about age five, when I got a toy drum as a Christmas gift from an uncle. They strapped that thing around my neck and I immediately started playing one of those marching cadence kind of beats."

By the time he turned ten, Hakim was playing in his father’s band. At age 15, he did his first tour.

Music in the Tree Granted, music flowed through the genes of the Hakim family. His father, Hasan Hakim, played trombone for Duke Ellington and Count Basie. This heavy jazz influence helped to warm the younger Hakim’s ear up for a part he would later play in one of the most famous jazz fusion acts ever, Weather Report.

"My career really took off in 1980," recalls Hakim. "I met a guy named Mike Mainieri, an award-winning jazz vibraphonist, who also produced Carly Simon. Carly needed a drummer, so he hired me to play in her band."

"When you get out there and people see you play, the word of mouth starts spreading pretty quickly," he adds.

Electronics Shake the Drum World But in the 80s, the world changed for drummers. Roger Linn built the first commercially available drum machine, giving any non-percussionist with a few bucks the ability to easily create drum loops using samples of real drums.

"This changed drummers’ lives all over," explains Hakim. "But instead of feeling defeated by the whole trend, I decided to go my local music store, purchase a drum machine and learn how to use it." Like his first drum, Hakim learned to master the Linn Drum Machine very quickly.

Suddenly, he found he could market himself around New York City as both a drummer and a programmer. From that point on, he got into electronic music.

"I’ve pretty much followed the changes with electronic drumming from the 80s up until now," he says. "You’ve gotta stay on top of these technological changes. It’s very important if you’re a professional musician."

When Hakim’s friend Nile Rodgers started producing tracks for David Bowie, Rodgers referred Hakim to play drums on Bowie’s "Let’s Dance" album.

Around the same time, Miles Davis introduced him to the band Weather Report. "I was the last drummer in that band, but that band turned my career around," says Hakim. "Sting and Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler were fans of Weather Report and they saw me playing with the group."

Then in 1983, while he was on tour with Weather Report, Bowie’s "Let’s Dance" album came out, and suddenly Hakim found himself recognized as a key player in both the worlds of jazz and pop music.

Striving Against Typecasting "Sometimes, if people know you from rock, they think of you as a rock drummer and don’t expect you to play anything else. Or, if they know you in jazz, then they typecast you as a jazz drummer," explains Hakim. "I was conscious of the fact that I didn’t want people to know me as a rock drummer or a jazz drummer, but as a total musician. So I always made sure I let people know that I was about music."

"I knew that setting up my career in his way was going to make my life very interesting and would keep me open-minded musically," explains Hakim. "It was always very important to me that I expose myself to everything so that I could grow as a musician."
Source: apple.com
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Small Profile

Omar Hakim is a fusion drummer and session man extraordinaire whose talents have graced a tremendous variety of big name recordings in the jazz, pop, and R&B fields dating back to the early '80s. Born in New York City in 1959, Hakim began playing drums at age five, and by age ten was performing with his father, swing trombonist Hasan Hakim (Duke Ellington, Count Basie); he also performed with boyhood friend and future fusion star Marcus Miller. Hakim landed his first big break in 1980 when he joined Carly Simon's backing band; soon after, he became the drummer for Weather Report in time for 1982's Record, and he also landed a gig playing on David Bowie's return to the American pop charts, Let's Dance. He remained with Weather Report until the group's breakup in 1985, and his high-profile engagements helped land him work on Sting's The Dream of the Blue Turtles and Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, among others. By this time, Hakim was teaching himself to program drum machines, which put him in even greater demand as a pop, rock, and R&B session musician, and landed him work with Madonna. Meanwhile, he continued his work as a jazz fusion drummer; just a partial list of his credits over the '80s and '90s includes work with Miles Davis, David Sanborn, Roy Ayers, George Benson, Joe Sample, John Scofield, Lee Ritenour, and Najee. In 1989, Hakim released his first solo album, Rhythm Deep, which occupied a middle ground between jazz, R&B, and pop, and gave him a chance to showcase his vocal abilities as well. The results earned Hakim a Grammy nomination. During the '90s, Hakim continued to improve his skills in the realm of electronic percussion, keeping abreast of new technologies and thereby keeping his session career in good stead. He performed on albums by Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, and Jewel, among other big time pop stars, and initially kept his jazz work going as well, though it had tapered off by the middle of the decade. In 2000, Hakim released his second solo album, The Groovesmith, which took a musical approach similar to his first effort and was produced on his own Macintosh ProTools system. 

Source: Steve Huey, All Music Guide

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Interview 
courtesy of Mike Dolbear.com 

Omar Hakim Live Chat transcript 
During our recent visit to NAMM 2004 we held a live chat with the great Omar Hakim. Here's some selected questions from the transcript.

Question: I was wondering when you're www.omarhakim.com may start to run 
OMAR HAKIM: There’s a lot of people asking me that - I'm talking to a few designers now and I will choose one soon to do the work
Question: Great, are you primarily using V Drums now
OMAR HAKIM: No I'm still playing Pearl Drums as well. Depending on the artist, and or recording session
Question: I'm looking to add a digital pad to my existing analogue kit and wondered if you recommended any?
OMAR HAKIM: I never consider the V drums a replacement for Acoustic drums, they are something I add to my "tool kit" I'm a big fan of Roland's V drum pads with the nylon mesh drum heads.
Question: I heard that you did a tour with Take 6 and Marcus Miller last year
OMAR HAKIM: Yes I did do that tour. It was the first time Marcus and I played together in about 10 years. The shows were fantastic.
Question: I've got your two instructional videos and I would like to say what an inspiration they are to me
OMAR HAKIM: Thank you very much Tim. We're planning to re-release them on DVD soon. I'm going to be gathering some additional material just for the DVD release.
Question: To a young musician, what advice would you give to become the best that you can be?
OMAR HAKIM: Practice as much as you can, listen to many different styles of music because that will help you keep your mind open. Also visualise and focus on your goals in the music industry, then do something everyday toward that goal
Question: Who are your musical heroes
OMAR HAKIM: There are many! Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Lenny White, Billy Cobham, Earth Wind And Fire, John Coltraine to name but a few.... 
Question: I know it's hard to answer, but how do you groove?
OMAR HAKIM: You are very right - it IS hard to answer that! But I had a teacher who once said "some things can't be taught, they must be caught" What that meant for me is sometimes listening to my favourite drummers and musicians and emulating the things I hear puts me in the direction of understanding different approaches to grooving.
Question: I also wonder what should I practice each day
OMAR HAKIM: What I used to do is practice to my favourite recordings. In developing your own style it's good to study and try to emulate other drummers' styles. The interesting thing about that is you always end up playing your own version of what you hear. and inside of that you will find the seed for your own style.
Question: What are some of the most memorable performances and recordings you’ve done
OMAR HAKIM: The performances: weather Report at the Hammersmith Odeon 1983 Those shows were the basis for the second album I did with weather Report called Domino Theory. Next would be Sting at Radio City Music hall 1985 and lastly.......... ....my first gig ever with my Fathers band "the Nomads" when I was 10 years old.

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Omar Hakim... The legendary Omar Hakim takes advantage of every hot, new percussion option out there, from acoustic drums, to Roland’s electronic V-Drums—which he MIDIs into his Power Mac—when he plays drums for and produces the greats of pop and jazz fusion. A well-recognized percussionist and producer in these two distinct worlds of music, Hakim may be the only person who can say he’s played drums for David Bowie, Madonna, Sting and Miles Davis. "I had a natural affinity for drums and rhythm very young," says Hakim. "I started playing drums at about age five, when I got a toy drum as a Christmas gift from an uncle. They strapped that thing around my neck and I immediately started playing one of those marching cadence kind of beats." By the time he turned ten, Hakim was playing in his father’s band. At age 15, he did his first tour. Music in the Tree Granted, music flowed through the genes of the Hakim family. His father, Hasan Hakim, played trombone for Duke Ellington and Count Basie. This heavy jazz influence helped to warm the younger Hakim’s ear up for a part he would later play in one of the most famous jazz fusion acts ever, Weather Report. "My career really took off in 1980," recalls Hakim. "I met a guy named Mike Mainieri, an award-winning jazz vibraphonist, who also produced Carly Simon. Carly needed a drummer, so he hired me to play in her band." "When you get out there and people see you play, the word of mouth starts spreading pretty quickly," he adds. Electronics Shake the Drum World But in the 80s, the world changed for drummers. Roger Linn built the first commercially available drum machine, giving any non-percussionist with a few bucks the ability to easily create drum loops using samples of real drums. "This changed drummers’ lives all over," explains Hakim. "But instead of feeling defeated by the whole trend, I decided to go my local music store, purchase a drum machine and learn how to use it." Like his first drum, Hakim learned to master the Linn Drum Machine very quickly. Suddenly, he found he could market himself around New York City as both a drummer and a programmer. From that point on, he got into electronic music. "I’ve pretty much followed the changes with electronic drumming from the 80s up until now," he says. "You’ve gotta stay on top of these technological changes. It’s very important if you’re a professional musician." When Hakim’s friend Nile Rodgers started producing tracks for David Bowie, Rodgers referred Hakim to play drums on Bowie’s "Let’s Dance" album. Around the same time, Miles Davis introduced him to the band Weather Report. "I was the last drummer in that band, but that band turned my career around," says Hakim. "Sting and Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler were fans of Weather Report and they saw me playing with the group." Then in 1983, while he was on tour with Weather Report, Bowie’s "Let’s Dance" album came out, and suddenly Hakim found himself recognized as a key player in both the worlds of jazz and pop music. Striving Against Typecasting "Sometimes, if people know you from rock, they think of you as a rock drummer and don’t expect you to play anything else. Or, if they know you in jazz, then they typecast you as a jazz drummer," explains Hakim. "I was conscious of the fact that I didn’t want people to know me as a rock drummer or a jazz drummer, but as a total musician. So I always made sure I let people know that I was about music." "I knew that setting up my career in his way was going to make my life very interesting and would keep me open-minded musically," explains Hakim. "It was always very important to me that I expose myself to everything so that I could grow as a musician."

Source: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=321554659