Hamid Drake 70th Birthday Celebration Discussion
Saturday, September 27
TIME: 6:00pm-7:00pm
VENUE: logan center screening room. 915 east 60th st.
A photo of Hamid Drake against a blurred green background. Hamid is looking towards the right side of the frame and wearing an orange and multi-colored hat.
Photo by Jim Newberry
hamid drake
Percussionist Hamid Drake is one of the most influential and beloved musicians to emerge from Chicago in the last 50 years. Born in Monroe, Louisiana in 1955, Drake soon moved to Chicago with his family and connected with renowned saxophonist and club owner Fred Anderson, another Monroe native and family friend. The two formed a lifelong musical relationship that provided the backbone of Drake’s approach to music. Although his touring schedule has been practically nonstop for decades, Drake manages to maintain deeply-rooted relationships across the entirety of the Chicago scene, where the model he forged as a profoundly thoughtful and engaged practitioner of music and spirituality has created a lasting foundation for the generations behind him. Drake turns 70 in August 2025, and the Hyde Park Jazz Festival is honored to host Drake in conversation with his long-time collaborator, percussionist, Michael Zerang about Chicago, music, and Drake’s practice.
Michael Zerang was born in Chicago, Illinois, and is a first-generation American of Assyrian descent. He has been a musician, composer, and producer since 1976, focusing on improvised music, free jazz, contemporary composition, puppet theater, experimental theater, and international musical forms.