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Doc Gibbs
In the early seventies, Doc studied music at the Pennsylvania School of Fine Arts. The lure of the road was strong, however, and he abandoned formal training. Strongly influenced by Mongo Santamaria and Ralph MacDonald, Doc Gibbs has forged a career peppered with top names such as Erykah Badu, Anita Baker, Ricki Lee Jones, Bob James, George Benson, Nancy Wilson, and Wyclef Jean. An affable percussionist who lays down exquisitely comfortable grooves, Doc is a first-call studio player and has over 200 albums to his credit. Doc's latest album under his own name, released in 2002, was entitled Servin' It Up Hot! Doc Gibbs is also an elected member of the board of governors of the National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences, Philadelphia chapter. Doc believes in "giving something back" and, to that end, he performs drum seminars for children under the auspices of Young Audiences of Eastern Pennsylvania and Strings for Schools. In addition, he is a co-founder of the spiritually infused organization Drums for Peace, which seeks to invoke the power of percussion in support of global harmony. Toca is proud that Doc Gibbs has chosen Toca Percussion instruments exclusively. Explaining his choice, Doc says: "They just sound great!" He plays a variety of instruments from the varied Toca percussion catalog.
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He
may not be a practicing physician, but Philly native Leonard "Doc" Gibbs
approaches his craft with the precision of surgeon. His informal medical
standing came about in the mid-seventies when the expert session percussionist
was gigging with famed saxophonist Grover Washington. The lore has it
that Gibbs conducted an examination on Grover in a break, identified
an ailment, then prescribed a herbal remedy so effective that it prompted
the horn player to exclaim to the crowd upon returning to the stage, "There
are two doctors in Philly: Dr. J (the 76ers) and Doctor Gibbs." Originally
a nickname, "Doc" soon took over the given name and the musical
community knows him as Doc Gibbs. So does a sizeable portion of those
who tune in to culinary shows on The Food Network.