Drummer
Rick Latham has been one of the top session skinmen in Los Angeles for years, backing a diverse array of stars from the jazz, blues, rock, and R&B worlds, including
B.B. King,
Quincy Jones, and even the late comedian
Redd Foxx. A native of Columbia, SC,
Latham was on-stage at age 12, backing
Maurice Williams and
the Zodiacs. Inspired by
Buddy Rich, as well as modern jazz drummers like
Steve Gadd and
Billy Cobham,
Latham later taught music at North Texas State before joining the band of R&B bassist
Chuck Rainey. His illustrious studio and session career -- which has included gigs with artists like guitarists
Neal Schon and
Pat Travers, as well as jazz stars
Bill Watrous,
Larry Carlton, and
David Samuels -- continues to this day, including TV and film work like the soundtrack for Gone in 60 Seconds. He also spent seven years in
Edgar Winter's band, leaving in the spring of 2002 to form his own group, the Groove Doctors. A showcase for the highly polished jazz fusion skills of
Latham and several longtime friends (
Kenny G.'s bassist
Vail Johnson; former
Ray Charles trombonist Ken Tussing; woodwinds player
Albert Wing, who's played with both
Diana Ross and
Frank Zappa; keyboardist Bob Luna, a former
Dionne Warwick sideman; and guitarist Mack Dougherty), the Groove Doctors released a self-titled debut in 2002 and toured behind it.
Latham has also stayed busy by teaching: The author of Advanced Funk Studies, a 1980 book that's still used as a reference by many drummers, he now runs Lessons on Demand, a subscription service that offers monthly lessons on a variety of instruments via CD-ROM and streaming audio and video. To further enhance his instructional abilities,
Latham created I.M.A.G.E. (Interactive Music and Arts Global Education) Systems, which allows him to broadcast clinics from his Los Angeles studio. ~ Dan LeRoy