Northwest Philly now a mecca for talented musicians

Posted 1/1/16

Northwest Philly musicians Richard Dreuding (from left), Rob Sanders and Jim Hamilton enjoy performing at Rittenhouse Soundworks, a state-of-the-art performance facility that recently opened in …

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Northwest Philly now a mecca for talented musicians

Posted
Northwest Philly musicians Richard Dreuding (from left), Rob Sanders and Jim Hamilton enjoy performing at Rittenhouse Soundworks, a state-of-the-art performance facility that recently opened in Germantown. (Photo by Jill Saull Photography) Northwest Philly musicians Richard Dreuding (from left), Rob Sanders and Jim Hamilton enjoy performing at Rittenhouse Soundworks, a state-of-the-art performance facility that recently opened in Germantown. (Photo by Jill Saull Photography)

by Stacia Friedman

Certain communities are more welcoming to musicians than others. This has long been true of Northwest Philadelphia, home to talented singers, composers and instrumentalists who perform all over the country and, in many cases, around the world.

Trombonist Jeff Bradshaw, for example, played with The Roots for 18 years, but when the Philly group became the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show, Bradshaw didn’t follow. “I’m always on tour and playing gigs,” said Bradshaw whose album, “Home: Live at the Kimmel,” is currently on Billboard’s Top 10. “ I play across the country and in Europe, Japan and Africa.”

Bradshaw toured with JayZ and recorded with Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Michael Jackson and Darius Rucker. More importantly, he’s done hot yoga with Sting.

So why does this internationally acclaimed, sophisticated musician live here? “Because of my mother,” said Bradshaw. “She loves Germantown, its history and community.”

Bradshaw previously lived in Chestnut Hill and Northern Liberties before moving to Germantown last year. Although he is known for what he calls neo-soul, his music is also influenced by his parents’ southern roots. “My father was a minister and trombone player from Augusta, GA. My mother is from South Carolina. I grew up in the Church in North Philadelphia, and I cherish the heartfelt music of the south — spirituals, blues and old jazz.”

Bradshaw considers BNB Cigars in Chestnut Hill to be his “unofficial office” and can be found there most mornings, hanging out with fellow members of the Pass the Torch Cigar Club.

Composer and bassist Chris Coyle moved to Blue Bell Hill on the Mt. Airy/Germantown border a year ago. Trained in classical music and jazz at Temple University, Coyle is fascinated by Northwest Philadelphia’s musical history.

“It goes back to the 1600s,” Coyle said, “Johannes Kelpius, a German monk formed a cult in Wissahickon Woods. He was a mystic, musician and composer who encouraged his followers to play instruments.” (Known as the Hermits of the Wissahickon, the cult of 40 mystics broke up when the End of Days, for which they were waiting, didn’t arrive.)

Coyle had a better reason than the Apocalypse for choosing to live here. “This is the most beautiful part of the city, and so many young musicians are coming here for the combination of affordable housing, access to parks and good schools,” he said. Coyle performs with several groups, including Outside Sound, a minimalist jazz band; Music for Silent Films with multi-instrumentalist and former GFS music teacher Brendan Cooney; Noggin Hill, a bluegrass band, etc. Coyle also teaches at area schools and colleges and has private students.

Drummer and composer Douglas Hirlinger, originally from St. Louis, spent the last 20 years bouncing back and forth from New York City to Philly before settling in Mt Airy last summer. “I don’t want to move again,” said Hirlinger, whose wife, singer/songwriter Keisha Hutchins, is from Mt. Airy and teaches music at Abington Friends. A graduate of Manhattan School of Music, Hirlinger continues to play in Manhattan and also performs locally at Warmdaddies, Time, Heritage and Chris Jazz Café.

“This is a cultural mecca,” said vibraphonist Tony Miceli about his Germantown neighborhood, “We’ve got a circus school, a dance school, the new Waldorf School and now Rittenhouse Soundworks , a concert venue and recording studio across the street.”

Miceli performs worldwide, and his online music school has over 4,000 vibraphone students from Philadelphia to Australia. “Since the 1970s, the vibraphone had been ignored and was falling into obscurity,” said Miceli, “but we’ve created this huge international community and I stream live concerts from my home.”

Drummer and composer Douglas Hirlinger spent the last 20 years bouncing back and forth from New York City to Philly before settling in Mt. Airy last summer. (Photo by Anthony Dean) Drummer and composer Douglas Hirlinger spent the last 20 years bouncing back and forth from New York City to Philly before settling in Mt. Airy last summer. (Photo by Anthony Dean)

Miceli is a faculty member at Temple and UArts, conducts master classes at the Curtis Institute of Music and moved to Germantown from South Philly last year because of what he calls the “cultural vortex” of musicians and artists.

Flutist Anne Levinson had no intention of living in Germantown. “I grew up in Vineland, NJ, attended Philadelphia College of the Performing Arts (before it became part of UArts), then lived in Southern California for over 20 years,” said Levinson. “Why would I trade in San Diego for Germantown?”

Why indeed. She was struck by the same creative richness that had attracted Miceli. “When I came here, I realized that so many artists and musicians are in this one block. I thought, something is happening here.” By chance, Levinson met local developer Tim Smigelski.

“Tim showed me a property he had just renovated and it was love at first sight,” said Levinson who now teaches at Waldron Mercy Academy in Merion and Father Judge in the Northeast, in addition to being a member of the Philadelphia Flute Quartet.

Percussionist Jim Hamilton lived on Rittenhouse Street in Germantown for 25 years and toured with Boyz II Men before opening Rittenhouse Soundworks, a recording studio and performance space. Hamilton, who performs Brazilian, Turkish, Arab, Israeli and global percussion, came to drums via an unusual route. “My parents had a dance studio in Kensington. It wasn’t until I had been tap dancing for years that I discovered the relationship between tap and drums and tap and jazz,” he said.

Hamilton’s Kensington roots are apparent throughout Rittenhouse Soundworks, such as the votive candle stands and pews that are from the Church of the Ascension and the repurposed wood from the old Philco Plant. Perhaps the most meaningful nod to the past is the vast record collection Hamilton inherited in part from his father which now comprises a two-room music library, containing thousands of 16, 33, 45 and 78 RPM records.

Hamilton feels a strong affinity, not just to his neighborhood’s musical roots but also to its history. “The Abolitionist Movement started here in Germantown. And right at the foot of Rittenhouse Street was where paper was milled for the Declaration of Independence,” said Hamilton. “This neighborhood has always been the home of forward thinking, creative people.”

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