BIOGRAFIE Jarrod Cagwin was born and raised in rural Iowa, in the central United States. He began playing drums at a very early age, and was inspired by the late 70s funk, soul, and blues bands of the time. He participated in various regional and national music contests through his adolescence, ranging from rudimentary solo competitions, to high school jazz, symphonic, and field ensemble formations. In 1992 he received a scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. There he was exposed to a very cosmopolitan musical atmosphere, with students coming from all corners of the globe. He studied percussion and drums under professor Jamey Haddad and was exposed to various hand drumming techniques from India, the Middle East, Northern Africa, and Brazil. In 1995 he received a grant to study South Indian drumming techniques with Tricky Sankaran at York University in Toronto, Ontario. Upon graduation from Berklee in 1996, he moved to New York City. There he was part of the avant-garde music scene, performing regularly in such venues as the Knitting Factory, Tonic, and the Blue Note Jazz clubs, as well as working in the studio scene. He also began performing often throughout Europe in the contemporary music scene. In 1999 he began working with the Rabih Abou-Khalil Group, and shortly thereafter he relocated to Paris, France. He has traveled and done extensive field studies the Middle East, North Africa, and West Africa, which had produced a unique percussion & drum set playing style. Other performing and recording credits include collaborations with Joachim Kühn, Gvork Dabaghyan, Charlie Mariano, Michel Godard, Gabriele Mirabassi, Luciano Biondini, Dusko Goykovich, Emmanuelle Somer, Mehmet Emin Bitmez, Kudsi Ergurner, Ferenç Snetberger, Dave Bargeron, Ellery Eskelin, Antonio Hart, Howard Levy, Joe Beck, & Dave Samuels. He is also a guest artist with the Ensemble Modern, and has been a featured soloist with the BBC Orchestra. e-mail: cagwinperc@yahoo.com Bio download PDF (76KB)