To celebrate its 385th anniversary (yes, really - 385th), cymbal-maker Zildjian has announced details of The Zildjian Drummers Achievement Awards. The event will take place at London's Shepherds Bush Empire on Sunday 7 December.
Honoured at the event - proudly sponsored by MusicRadar's sister magazine, Rhythm - will be drumming legend Ginger Baker. Baker, who shot to fame in the '60s with Cream, will be joining the Zildjian hall of fame and performing live at the event, joined onstage by Cream sidekick Jack Bruce and African legend Tony Allen.
Some more of the world's greatest drummers will be attending too, among them Simon Phillips, Steve White and Keith Carlock who'll be laying down a night of rock 'n' roll beats and unforgettable riffs.
Zildjian's Achievement awards have been run twice before (in 1998 and 2003), but this years' event will be the first time the awards have been run in the UK. Previous honourees include Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones and Steve Gadd, for making "extraordinary contributions to the art of drum set playing and to music itself".
Ginger Baker enters the Zildjian hall of fame after having changed the face of British blues-rock in the '60s with Cream. Baker, alongside bandmates Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton, went on to receive five gold albums and were one of the first ever bands to attain a platinum disc. His flamboyant performances and pioneering use of two bass drums instead of one raised the bar for rock drummers worldwide.
In 1969, Baker left Cream with bandmate Eric Clapton to form Blind Faith with Rick Grech and Steve Winwood, and later went on to release his own material including Ginger Baker's Air Force. Cream re- formed in 2005 and packed arenas around the world to huge critical acclaim.
For ticket information, visit the Shepherds Bush Empire website. You can book tickets at TicketWeb or call the Box Office on 0844 477 2000. For more information on the event itself, visit Zildjian385.com.
