Born in Tampa, Florida in 1942, Doug Hammond is a musician with many talents. Blessed with a beautiful voice, he is also known as a drummer, poet, writer and gifted composer. His style is striking: he uses his drum kit as a melodic andpolyrhythmicinstrument. This results in multi-voice, layered compositions as demonstrated on his much-praised albums Reflections In The Sea Of Nurnen (1975) and We People (1989). Mingus Moves, which Hammond recorded with Charles Mingus in 1975, is one of his best-known works. His music is often characterized as being a major part of what has become known over the past fifteen years as "spiritual jazz". This has introduced a whole new generation to Hammond as evidenced by his contribution to Jazzanova's In Between in 2002. His debut at the North Sea Jazz Festival is eagerly anticipated.
