The New Orleans Jazz Museum debuted Drumsville: Evolution of the New Orleans Beat on November 8, 2018, in celebration of both International Drum Month and the New Orleans Tricentennial, along with the development of the drum kit in New Orleans and the ongoing evolution of rich local drumming traditions. 

Drumsville begins with the legacy of Congo Square, including traditional African percussion instruments from the Southern University at New Orleans African Art Collection, and moves through the brass band tradition to the introduction of the bass drum pedal and development of the drum kit and the extensive legacy of drummers to emerge in New Orleans over the past century. Drawing upon the Jazz Museum’s large and unique archive of historic instruments, drum kits and equipment are featured from such New Orleans legends as Papa Jack Laine, Baby Dodds, Paul Barbarin, Louis Barbarin, Cie Frazier, Ray Bauduc, CoCoMo Joe Barthelemy, Earl Palmer, Idris Muhammad, Zigaboo Modeliste, and James Black. In addition, contemporary New Orleans drum masters Johnny Vidacovich, Herlin Riley, Shannon Powell, and Stanton Moore generously loaned equipment from their personal collections. Drumsville examines related traditions of improvised percussion instruments and the tambourine, and concludes with the next generation of drummers, testifying to the vibrancy of the city’s drumming tradition.

Explore this exhibition online with Google Arts & Culture here.