Vince Delgado is a master percussionist and composer who has played music for over fifty years. He is a jazz musician, Middle Eastern musician and has studied classical North Indian music extensively. He was the executive director of the Ali Akbar College of Music in 1968 under the guidance of the great sarodist Ali Akbar Khan. Some of his recent notable performances: Saman Yolu Television in Istanbul with renowned oud player Necati Celik and kanunist Mimi Spencer; in Paris with Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakaram, Selva Ganesh and Shivamani; on the United States East Coast and in Canada with Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience; in the San Francisco Bay Area with jazz pianist Larry Vuckovich, and with the Murasaki ensemble. Vince has his own group, Jazayer, which performs classical and traditional Arabic and Turkish music. He has his own music company, Chente Publications, producing compact discs in the Middle Eastern genre. Vince's percussion work may be heard on numerous CDs, including Diga with Mickey Hart, Remembrances (and other recordings) with Jazayer; Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience; Closer To Me with Bronislav Bubalo; Magenta with the Murasaki Ensemble; and on many other recordings as a guest artist and studio musician. Throughout his career, he has performed with many jazz artists,Middle Eastern artists, and world music drummers from Latin America, Africa, India and the Orient.
 

    FULL RESUME

    PERFORMANCE

    Jazz percussionist, 1950-1958

    Near Eastern percussionist, 1962-present; plays Arabic tabla (also called darabukka, derbeki, doumbek); daff and other percussion instruments

    Nightclubs: Vagabond, San Francisco; Arabian Nights, Fresno; Arabian Nights, San Francisco; Gigi's Port Said, San Francisco; Casbah Cabaret, San Francisco; Bagdad Cabaret, San Francisco; Zorba's, Sacramento; Symposion Restaurant, San Anselmo; Zorba's Restaurant, San Rafael; the Grapeleaf Restaurant, San Francisco; Ali's Restaurant, Kensington (N. Berkeley); Sultana's, San Jose; Amira, San Francisco, and others.

    Numerous Arabic, Armenian, Turkish and other ethnic group functions, including weddings, religious holidays, church benefits, picnics, and the like.

    Accompanied many Arabic, Turkish, Greek and Persian musicians, including Dr. Ali Jihad Racy, Ishmael Alan Mills, Richard Hagopian, Simon Shaheen and others.

    Co-founder (with Mimi Spencer and Devi-ja Delgado) of Jazayer, an American ensemble performing and recording classical, urban and folkloric music of the Near East.

    Member of Turkish music ensemble Yasha!

    North Indian Percussionist, 1969-present; plays North Indian tabla

    Performed with Shankar Ghosh, Jnan Prakash Ghosh, Zakir Hussain, Ali Akbar Khan and advanced disciples of Ali Akbar Khan.

    Performed with the Grateful Dead Rock Band at the Berkeley Community Theater in 1968.

    Soloist with Diga Rhythm Band, opening for the Grateful Dead at Winterland, San Francisco,1976, and for Jefferson Starship Rock Band in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco1976.

    Directed his own percussion ensemble, the Daff and Drum Band, during the1970's.

    Regular member of and soloist with Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience

    Co-founder in 1985 of original jazz ensemble Hijaz

    Performs with the Murasaki Ensemble,a fusion jazz group

    Performs with the group Under The Sun, a Yugoslavian Jazz, Mediterranean Tango group

    Performed with Freilach groups Simcha Orchestra and the Golden Gate Gypsies as well as with many other musicians and ensembles

    NOTABLE PERFORMANCES:

    June, 1997: Mayors Conference, San Francisco, California, reception for Vice President Al Gore

    February, 1997: on Turkish Sanayolu Television, Istanbul, Turkey, with Oudist, Necati Çelik of the Turkish Cultural Ministry and the Turkish National Conservatory of Music and Mimi Spencer,Kanoonist

    March1997: Paris, France concert, Nuit Des Percussions, with Zakir Hussain, Vikku Vinayakaram, Selva Ganesh,and Sivamani,of India. Madjid Khaladji of Iran, and Adel Shams El Din of Egypt

    October 16, 1993: (In collaboration with master percussionists C. K. Ladzepko of Ghana, Malonga Casquelourd of the Congo, latin percussionist John Santos, Seichi Tanaka of Japan, Jose Lorenzo of Brazil and Jeff Narell, steel pans) San Francisco Yerba Buena Cultural Center

    September 18 - 24, 1993: on Turkish National Radio and Television (TRT-1) at the invitation of Necati Çelik of the Turkish Cultural Ministry and the Turkish National Conservatory of Music, Istanbul, Turkey

    September 17, 1993: (with Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience) Wembley Conference Center, London, England

    September 6, 1992: (with Zakir Hussain and the Rhythm Experience) Bumbershoot Festival, Seattle, Washington

    September 5, 1992: (with Zakir Hussain & the Rhythm Experience) Art Quake Festival, Intermediate Theatre, Portland, Oregon

    August, 1991: World Percussion Festival, in collaboration with other master drummers including Eddie Marshall, Seichi Tanaka, Carolyn Brandy, and Zakir Hussain

    November 21, 1991: Bolting-on Ceremony for Yerba Buena Cultural Center, San Francisco, with master drummers Malonga Casquelourd, Swapan Chaudhuri, John Santos and Gary Tsujimoto

    November 10, 1990: World Percussion Festival, San Francisco, sponsored by City Celebrations, San Francisco

    TEACHING

    Near Eastern percussion since 1966 (weekly classes 1966-1986, now teaches privately); has taught workshops and seminars throughout the United States (at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of Hawaii, in Anchorage, Alaska, and elsewhere)

    North Indian tabla, privately, for classes at the Ali Akbar College of Music, and at the University of Rochester

    OTHER EXPERIENCE:

    Executive Director, Ali Akbar College of Music, Berkeley, California
    1968-69

    Operations Manager, In Defense Of Animals,an animal rights advocacy organization, Mill Valley, California, 1989-1997)