John Scalici

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John Scalici

John Scalici (born September 29, 1966 in Birmingham) is a percussionist and founder of the Get Rhythm, which promotes drum circles as a means of promoting unity.

Scalici graduated from John Carroll Catholic High School and earned a bachelor of arts in communications at the University of Alabama in 1985. He has played with The Newboys, Gravy and the Junkyardmen, whose album, Scrapheap Full of Blues was nominated for a Grammy award.

He spent five years in Memphis working with the Center for Southern Folklore and shuttling pianist Mose Vinson to appearances. He then returned to Birmingham and became interested in West African drumming traditions. He successfully applied to study under Guinean djembe master Mamady Keita, but was unable to travel due to political violence in that country. He continued to work with traditional drums and organized drum circles at community events like City Stages and the Magic City Art Connection.

Scalici enrolled in percussion classes at the University of Memphis in 1998, studied aesthetic education at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York from 1997 to 2003, and was trained as a drum circle facilitator in California and Washington in 2002 and 2003. He founded Get Rhythm in 2000 with a grant from the Tennessee State Arts Council. He has since won grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the Pauline Ireland Foundation. He signed on as a teaching artist with VSA Alabama in 2002.

Scalici and his wife Mary Margaret have one son, Jack.

Discography

  • Scalici, John (2009) RhythmMusic Vol.2
  • Scalici, John (2009) Rhythms for Movement and Drumming, Vol. 1
  • Scalici, John (2008) RhythmMusic

References

  • Huebner, Michael (December 19, 2010) "A passion for percussion: Birmingham's John Scalici." Birmingham News

External links