Hannah Ford
Hannah
Ford isn’t the least bit embarrassed about admitting that she found true
love at the tender age of seven. She even remembers when and where she
was smitten. It happened the day she was introduced to the drums in her
third grade music class. According to her, it was love at first sight.
Since then she has pursued her passion with a passion— studying, practicing
and performing like an Olympic athlete in training, piling up awards
and accolades and taking on the responsibilities of a professional career
while still a student of the art.
Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Hannah’s third-grade music
class was the precursor of "Fabulous Leopard Percussionists of Louisville"
and, as a member of the renowned group, the youngster had the privilege
of working with some of the world’s greatest drummers and teachers, including
Diane
Downs, Louie Bellson, Ruben
Alvarez, Jerry Steinholtz and Ndugu
Chancler. After moving to Chicago when she was 12, Hannah took advantage
of new opportunities to study and perform with mentors such as Paul Wertico,
Peter
Erskine, Stanton
Moore, Danny Seraphine and Johnny Rabb.
 It used to be that telling someone they hit like a girl
was a put-down," says Hannah, "but after watching the way women like Karen
Carpenter, Gina Schock, Sheila E. and Cindy
Blackman play the drums, I'll
take it as a compliment. After all, what’s better than playing kick-ass
drums in a rock 'n' roll band, doing what you love… and getting paid for
it?  In 2008, following high school, Hannah accepted a scholarship to attend
the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She credits
college with helping to expand her knowledge of music and allowing her
to become a better, more versatile musician. Her assessment must be accurate
because, in addition to playing in the school orchestral, percussion
and Jazz ensembles, Hannah was also fortunate to work with major touring
musicians like Ignacio
Berroa, Wynton Marsalis, Butch Miles, Jeff Berlin
and others. Now, with college behind her, Hannah maintains a calendar full of live and studio sessions for top pro’s as well as her own projects, “Pandorum”, “The Hannah Ford Band”— and her new Rock band “Bellevue Suite”— yet still manages to find time to do a bit of writing and teaching.
Another expression of her love for the drums has been Hannah's enthusiastic
support for drummers. Hannah spends much of her down-time reaching out
to her peers at school assemblies with her "Peace, Love & Drums"
multi-media show and giving back to young musicians at drum clinics and
summer music camps. This generosity as well as her many other accomplishments
has caught the attention of the drum industry and led to sponsorships
and endorsements from some of the biggest companies in the business.
Hannah’s early
success has given rise to great expectations. Of course, it’s only natural
to expect great things after the access and advantages that Hannah Ford
has had. But the extra weight has never been a burden and Hannah doesn’t
disappoint. In fact, the young woman continues to exceed expectations
and is well on the way to becoming the serious musician and positive
role model that’s provided the twinkle in her eye ever since she was
that precocious, drum-struck little girl in the third grade.
Hannah Ford listens to and enjoys a wide variety of music — jazz,
rock, pop, country, R&B, Latin and metal, to name just a few. Her
favorite drummers range from legends such as Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson,
Tony Williams, Jo Jones, Art Blakey and John Bonham to contemporary players
like Paul Wertico, Peter Erskine, Stanton
Moore, Neil Peart, Steve Smith
and Vinnie
Colaiuta as well as newcomers Chad Smith, John
Blackwell and
Jason Bittner.
Hannah
Ford is a proud Toca artist and uses percussion
instruments from virtually
every page of the catalog. A typical setup augmenting the drumset includes
Toca Mini Timbales, blocks, bells, congas and bongos.
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