by Mick Rhodes | editor@claremont-courier.com

After nearly a half-century as one of the most in-demand percussionists in the world, playing thousands of concerts around the globe, on numerous TV shows, and appearing on dozens of recordings, Ron Powell has stories.

One of them involves a recent appearance as a member of the legendary Diana Ross’ band — a job he’s held since 1988 — at the 2022 Glastonbury Festival in England.

“The night before us was Paul McCartney, and he had 200,000 people,” Powell said. “Then on our night, we had 250,000 people. It’s just a sea of people at one point. You just start playing for the people onstage, because you don’t really make eye contact with 250,000 people. That’s one kind of a concert. For me, I know this is special, but I don’t feel any connection with the audience.”

This is when the story takes a surprising turn.

“But then you play somewhere like the Folk Music Center, and everybody’s sitting right there, they know your name, and they’re looking at you like, ‘Okay …’ So the Folk Center is actually a more difficult gig than Glastonbury.”

Tickets are $10 for the aforementioned Folk Music Center show at 4:30 p.m. this Sunday, September 8, where Powell and his band will bring a unique, immersive show — part drum clinic, part class, part concert — to the iconic Claremont Village stage.

Powell’s 1978 promotional photo. Photo/courtesy of Ron Powell

“The clinic actually represents my career, how it’s all over the place,” Powell said. “And so drumming and rhythms are from all over the place. So I like to introduce people to splashes of Africa, West Africa, a little of New Orleans, a little bit of Brazil, and then a little bit of Puerto Rico or St. Thomas.”

About halfway through Sunday’s show he’ll pass out percussion instruments to the audience and they’ll become part of the band. “So it turns into what some people call a drum circle,” Powell said. “Then I take people through different aspects of drumming while we’re playing. So, we have a lot of fun with that.”

Raised in Philadelphia, Powell began playing professionally at 18. At 21, he moved to West Covina to be closer to LA’s music scene. It proved to be a fortuitous decision.

Not long after relocating to the West Coast, he got word that famed Brazilian bandleader and musician Sergio Mendeswas putting a touring band together. Percussionists auditioned for the job in New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, and Los Angeles. “It was 1978. May first, at 2 o’clock!” Powell said, remembering the phone call that changed his life. “It just so happened to be on my birthday I got that job.” He was 22 and had landed his first major tour.

He’s been working steadily ever since.

His enthusiasm and intelligence has since led him to work with iconic artists across a wide stylistic swath, including Justin Timberlake, the late Wayne Shorter, Madonna, Rickie Lee Jones, Herbie Hancock, and Poncho Sanchez.

“I pride myself on being able to get into whatever situation and play what’s appropriate,” Powell said.

Percussionist and Rancho Cucamonga resident Ron Powell’s near 50-year career in music has included working with some of the most recognizable names in the business. He’ll be at the Folk Music Center Sunday, September 8. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger

His band for Sunday’s show will include Claremonter Hai Muradian on flute and percussion, drummer Nat Scott, and Dwayne “Augi” Augustine on bass and percussion. Powell will be playing percussion, singing, and leading the workshop.

“One of the cool things about this project is, usually when people see drums, they just think banging along,” Powell said. “But for me being a drummer and percussionist, I hear drums as music. I don’t need anything else. So, people will be very surprised when they actually hear enough harmony and melody coming out of the drums.”

Powell said concertgoers need not be shy about participating in Sunday’s impromptu drum circle/clinic. “They don’t have to be maestros. They don’t have to be schooled to play a shaker. It’s up to me as a facilitator to shape it into something that sounds like music.”

Powell and his wife Patty moved to Rancho Cucamonga in 1994. He’s hosted local Sunday drum clinics, workshops and “drum get togethers” for the past decade. He called Sunday’s Folk Music Center show, “a little bit a continuation of that. To me it’s important in the drumming community to have drumming events in the community. For me, that’s why this gig is so important.”

Nearly 50 years on from that fateful call from Mendes, Powell remains as in demand as ever. On Monday he played with Ross at the Fool in Love festival at Hollywood Park. Later this year he’ll again head back out on the road with her. He’s also been a member of Kenny G’s touring band since 1989, and will head out with the saxophonist in November.

“Between those two they pretty much keep me busy,” Powell said of Ross and Kenny G. “Then when I have time, I do projects in town and occasionally I’ll go out [on tour] with other people.”

Tickets for Ron Powell’s 4:30 p.m., Sunday, September 8 show at the Folk Music Center, 220 Yale Ave., Claremont, are $10 at the store or at the door. More info is available at folkmusiccenter.com/events, or by calling (909) 624-2928.

Powell will also appear at 2 p.m. Saturday, September 28 at the 42^nd annual “Day of the Drum Festival,” an all-day drumming event at the Watts Towers in LA.

One of the tools of Powell’s trade, a Latin percussion tambourine. “I play music, I travel all over the world, I have great friends, I enjoy what I do, why stop?” Powell said. Courier photo/Peter Weinberger