Eddie Drennen
Jazz Performance Techniques Violin
ext. 49033
Phillips Hall B-134
Bachelor of Music, 1963, Howard University
Mr. Drennon, born in Newark, New Jersey, 1940, began his study of the violin at the age of 10 with Ugo Carano and later with Samuel Applebaum. While attending Howard University his primary studies were with Mark Fax, professor of music theory and Louia Vaughn Jones, professor of violin. He is known for his work as a featured soloist with Orquesta Novel, the Bo Diddley Blues Band and his composition “Let’s Do the Latin Hustle.”
He has performed in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, North America, South America and has recorded with a variety of artists including Lou Perez, Johnny Pacheco, Jose Fajardo, Ike and Tina Turner, “Perico” Ortiz, Kid Creole and the Coconuts, La Lupe, Willie Colon, Ruben Blades, La India and Hector Lavoe. During the 70’s, he composed, arranged and produced disco hits wich have been sampled by current artists including Biz Markie, Jamiroquai, Shaggy, Grandmaster Flash and The Avalanches. He composed the music for “Torn from the Headlines,” a 1997 Helen Hayes award winning play, and for a scene for the Clint Eastwood movie “In the Line of Fire.” Eddie is presently a member of the Umoja String Quartet and also serves on the faculty at the Levine School of Music and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.