2 languages
Chris Dave
From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist
Chris Dave, nicknamed Daddy, is a drummer, composer and bandleader from Houston, Texas. He began playing in church at the end of the 1980s and names jazz as his strongest influence. As a teenager he listened with his father to jazz greats such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane. He studied at the Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and then at Howard University in Washington, where he met the producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. That led to the start of his professional career with the R&B group Mint Condition.
Music and breakthrough
He played as a gospel drummer with the Winans family and reached a jazz audience through his work with the saxophonist Kenny Garrett, on whose album Standard of Language he can be heard. He then became a member of the Robert Glasper Experiment and played on Adele's Grammy-winning album 21. He also played on D'Angelo's album Black Messiah and went on a world tour with him. He further played in Bilal's live band and on Jill Scott's tour in 2008. Under his own name he released Cuffin Season and Smoke Break in 2020 and Thine People in 2021.
Influence
Dave is known for his virtuoso stick technique and his strong feeling for syncopation, rhythms that go against the beat. He moves between jazz, gospel and hip-hop. His playing shows how jazz drummers have changed the rhythm of R&B and hip-hop in the twenty-first century.
Listening
Discography
Studio albums
- 2020Cuffin Season
- 2020Smoke Break
- 2021Thine people
- 2021Thine people
In School of Rock
The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.
- After Hours: Session 4NL Reader