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Wikipedia / Vinnie Colaiuta

Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Colaiuta (born February 5, 1956) is an American drummer known for his technical mastery who has worked as a session musician in many genres. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2014. Colaiuta has won one Grammy Award and has been nominated twice. Since the late 1970s, he has recorded and toured with Frank Zappa, Joni Mitchell, and Sting, among many other appearances in the studio and in concert.

Career

Colaiuta was given his first drum kit when he was seven. He took to it naturally, with little instruction. When he was fourteen, the school band teacher gave him a book that taught him some of the basics. Buddy Rich was his favorite drummer until he heard the album Ego by Tony Williams and The Tony Williams Lifetime, an event that changed his life. Colaiuta was also listening to organists, notably Jack McDuff, Jimmy McGriff and Don Patterson.

While a student at Berklee College of Music, when jazz fusion was on the rise, he listened to and admired Alphonse Mouzon and Billy Cobham.

After leaving school, he played local gigs in Boston. He joined a brief tour organized by Al Kooper, then worked in California on an album by Christopher Morris, which Kooper was producing. Although he returned to Boston, Colaiuta was drawn back to California by friends. He took the bus from Boston to Los Angeles during the Great Blizzard of 1978.

After performing in jazz clubs, he won the audition to play drums for Frank Zappa. He toured with Zappa and appeared on the albums Joe's Garage, Tinsel Town Rebellion, and Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar. Modern Drummer magazine chose Joe's Garage as one of the top 25 drum performances of all time.

In 1981, he ceased touring with Zappa to become a studio musician, recording for the band Pages and pop singer Gino Vannelli. Opportunities arose with saxophonist Tom Scott and bassist Larry Klein, who invited Colaiuta to play on a record by Klein's then-girlfriend, Joni Mitchell. When Klein and Mitchell got married, Colaiuta was the best man at their wedding. During the 1980s, he toured with Mitchell.

In 1986, he became the house drummer of The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers. The band, called the Party Boys and the Tramp, was led by Mark Hudson.

By the end of the 1980s he was recording albums, TV and film work during the day, and playing clubs at night. In addition to pop acts, he has worked with jazz musicians Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Buell Neidlinger, and the Buddy Rich Big Band.

In 1990, Colaiuta got a phone call from Sting, flew to England, and won the audition to become a member of his band. The drummer auditions were held in the studio during the mixing for Sting's album The Soul Cages. According to the band's guitarist, Dominic Miller, they held auditions daily for two or three weeks with many talented drummers, including big names like Mark Brzezicki, only for Colaiuta to win the position "in about four seconds" of playing, elaborating that "It wasn't because he was fast or impressive; it was just correct." Colaiuta remained with Sting for much of the 1990s, touring and recording the albums Ten Summoner's Tales (1993), Mercury Falling (1996), Brand New Day (1999) and Sacred Love (2003). In 1994, Colaiuta released his debut solo album.

On November 12, 2016, he played with Sting in the first concert to be held at the Bataclan in Paris since the terrorist attack a year earlier.

He has won over fifteen Drummer of the Year awards from Modern Drummer magazine's annual reader polls. These include ten awards in the "Best Overall" category.

In 2026, Colaiuta was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Berklee College of Music, recognizing his contributions to the music industry.

Equipment

Throughout his career, Vinnie Colaiuta has endorsed a variety of drum brands. He began with both Gretsch and Sonor while working with Frank Zappa, then switched to Yamaha drums, which he played for more than ten years during the 1980s and 1990s. Colaiuta returned to Gretsch in the 1990s, staying with them until 2012, when he began endorsing Ludwig drums. In 2014, he briefly worked with Heuer drums before returning to Gretsch for a third time in June 2016.

When he played Yamaha drums, he used Yamaha hardware and pedals. With Gretsch, he switched to Gibraltar hardware and DW bass drum pedals. With Ludwig, he used Ludwig hardware and pedals. When he went back to Gretsch in 2016, he started using all DW hardware and pedals.

He also endorsed Zildjian cymbals and drumsticks for most of his career, helping to create the A Custom cymbal line and having his own signature stick. Starting in 2012, he moved away from Zildjian cymbals and drumsticks, and began endorsing Paiste cymbals and Vic Firth drumsticks.

The next year, he helped develop the Formula 602 Modern Essentials series, blending what Colaiuta liked about the classic Formula 602 with the Signature Traditionals. Vic Firth also released a Vinnie Colaiuta signature stick based on the 5B model. In 2023, he began endorsing Vater drumsticks.

Throughout his career, Colaiuta has used Remo drumheads and Roland electronics.

Partial discography

As leader

  • 1994 Vinnie Colaiuta (Stretch)

  • 2018 Descent into Madness (A-Tone Recordings)

  • 2021 Mother's Milk (A-Tone Recordings)

With Jing Chi

(with Robben Ford and Jimmy Haslip)

  • 2002 Jing Chi

  • 2003 Jing Chi Live at Yoshi's

  • 2004 3D

  • 2017 Supremo

With Mark IshamMark Isham

  • 2019 Hard Candy (A-Tone Recordings)

As sideman

With Joni MitchellJoni Mitchell

With Tom Scott (saxophonist)Tom Scott

  • 1982 Desire

  • 1987 Streamlines

  • 1988 Flashpoint

  • 1999 Smokin' Section

With Sting (musician)Sting

With Frank ZappaFrank Zappa

With others

References