the minister of groove

For Zoro, it's always been about the beat.

As far back as he can remember, he was always intrigued by rhythm.

"When I was a little kid, growing up in the '60s, '70s, listening to soul music, funky music, gospel, I was attracted to the rhythm right away," he says.

"First thing I remember doing, at 4 or 5, is banging on empty Folgers coffee cans, listening to soul music. I'd make my own drum kit with old Folgers cans with the yellow rubber lid. People would put candy in there or coins. I would beat on it, playing along with the transistor radio."

Zoro was hooked on the Motown sound, which was big in his neighborhood, as well as anything from Stax Records from Memphis.

The first song he officially learned, he says, was "Hip Hug Her" from Booker T. and the MGs.

"It was really funky, it had that soul sound from Memphis," he recalls. "I had the 45, back in the day, the blue label. I thought, 'This is cool!' Whatever was going on with that record, I wanted to be part of that. That started the journey."

COURTESY PHOTO Zoro, called the Minister of Groove, has toured and recorded with people such as Lenny Kravitz, Philip Bailey, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Bobby Brown, The New Edition, Jody Watley and Sean Lennon. On Saturday, Sept. 12, Zoro will be a guest artist at the Percussion Summit, an annual event held at the Philharmonic Center for the Arts. Zoro, who's played all over the world, has toured and recorded with people such as Lenny Kravitz, Philip Bailey, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, Bobby Brown, The New Edition, Jody Watley and Sean Lennon.

He's scheduled to perform Paul Simon's "Late in the Evening," which he calls "a great Latin tune," George Benson's "Breezin'" Stevie Wonder's "I Wish" and "Samba 4-2" by Ralph McDonald.

The event also features Neil Grover, percussionist with the Boston Pops and founder of Grover Pro Percussion, as well as percussionists from the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Jacksonville Symphony.

Among the evening's selections, the musicians will present the world premiere of "Janissary Band," composed by Stan Leonard, former timpanist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, as well as pieces written for a marimba orchestra.

The annual event, created and organized by Naples Philharmonic Orchestra principal timpanist John Evans, is highly popular and always presents a wide variety of genres such as military drumming, rock, Latin drumming, Japanese taiko drumming, as well as jazz and avantgarde compositions.

"What they do in Naples (at this event) is very unique and on a very high level, and I'm happy to be part of that," Zoro says. "The guys are first-class down there.

"For the general public, (the Percussion Summit) is an eye-opener, a revelation. They have no idea how in-depth percussion goes. It's the oldest instrument in the world. Way back, people were hitting on logs, making percussion sounds.

"Every sound is, in one way or another, percussion, because it's rhythmic. I'm pretty amazed at it myself. I'm a drum set player, and seeing how much scoring and arranging for all these different percussion instruments, how these guys write all that stuff out, it's incredible."

Percussion instruments played at the summit include not only drums but also any instrument that is struck or hit to create sound, including tambourines, triangles, xylophones, vibraphones, marimbas and pianos.

Drummer at heart

When he was g rowing up, Zoro's mother encouraged his musical interest.

"My mom bought me a Mickey Mouse drum kit when I was 10. It lasted all of a day," he says. "It had Mickey Mouse on the bass drum. It had paper heads, like an old Sears catalog cheapie. It was like a toy kit. It was probably too little and babyish for my age.

"But it ignited a fire in me. It set me on a path."

He also credits the first couple concerts he attended. One was Diana Ross and the Supremes and The Temptations in concert together.

"It was a life changing thing," he says.

Another memorable early concert: Frank Sinatra.

"It was mesmerizing. It was so cool to hear all the music and see the orchestra, and to be a part of something special."

Though he's often classified as an R&B drummer, Zoro insists he's more eclectic than that.

As a result of growing up listening to a wide variety of music, he loves all different genres, he says. His CD collection of over 6,000 CDs includes classical, jazz, funk, fusion, Latin music and movie soundtracks.

"I just love music," he says, "listening to all kinds of music.

"People love to categorize things. I play everything: jazz, rock, funk. People know me as being funky, in terms of my style, but I play all styles, a wide variety, and always have, throughout my career.

The Minister

"They call me the Minister of Groove. Every good style of music grooves. Frank Sinatra had a groove, Count Basie had a groove. Jimi Hendrix had a groove. Anything that sounds good grooves.

"That's why people like all those styles of music; it grooves people's hearts. Remember that old '80s or '90s song by Deee-Lite, 'Groove is in the Heart'? You can groove out to Frank Sinatra as much as Nirvana, as much as U2. Funk isn't the only thing that grooves."

He's turned his own children, 10 and seven, onto Sinatra.

"My little children love Frank Sinatra: 'The Lady is a Tramp,' 'I've Got You Under my Skin,'" he says. They just know that it sounds great and they dig it. I've raised them on great music since they were little, Earth Wind and Fire to Frank Sinatra, they love it all.

"I don't care if they're musicians, I just want them to hear a wide variety of music, like I expose them to a wide variety of foods, so there's not a lack of culture in their lives."

Zoro's passion for drumming comes through in his speech and in his playing. He feels strongly about encouraging others. He's often recognized at airports. Someone saw him in concert or on TV, or kids will come up to him and tell him they've seen him on YouTube.

He always takes a few minutes to talk, and carries his own signature sticks with him to hand out.

"Moments like that, although they might seem small to us, they're life changing," he says. "I had moments like that, little key things, people who gave you a kind word and you hung onto that."

When Zoro was 18, he sat down at the drum set of Jeff Lobber's band and jammed a little. Mr. Lorber heard him and said to him, "Wow man, you've really got a talent. You're going to be one of the superstar drummers."

He doesn't know if the jazz musician really meant it or was just being kind, but Zoro believed it.

"I hung onto those words as if they were life," he says. "So all my life I've given out words of encouragement to thousands of people, because each word is a ripple effect."

He recalls one time the drummer from the Dave Matthews Band called him and invited him to their show at the Forum in Los Angeles. He wanted to send a limo to bring Zoro to the venue, but Zoro was in Toronto at the time.

"He said, 'Well man, I met you a long time ago, when you used to play with Bobby Brown. I was just some fan, some kid, and you talked to me, you encouraged me.'"

The vision

How did Zoro get to where he is now?

"You absolutely refuse to give up the vision, even when no one else sees it," he says. "I'm absolutely relentless. I feel like dreams and visions are placed in our heart by God, he gives them to people. But only the bold, the tenacious, the courageous, the purpose-driven people fulfill it. It takes a certain amount of courage to pursue something, when it doesn't look like it will happen.

"I do everything by faith. I don't look at the circumstances. If I looked at circumstances, I wouldn't accomplish half of what I do. I look at the vision, keep it in my mind's eye. Some visions take years, 10 years, a lifetime; the people who achieve them are the people who refuse to give up on them. It has to do with endurance, persevering, and hard work."

For example, Philip Bailey of Earth Wind and Fire was one of the first artists he worked with. Growing up, Earth Wind and Fire was one of his favorite bands. As a kid, he'd daydream about meeting them on a plane, talking with them.

"All these things I'm doing today I literally daydreamed about," he says.

His book and DVD package, "The Commandments of R&B Drumming" and "The Commandments of Early Rhythm and Blues Drumming," have won awards and been named the best educational books.

"All of my books and DVDS have won numerous awards around the world," he says. "Lenny Kravitz reminded me of (when I wanted to write them), saying, 'I remember when you told me that you wanted to write these books, things you fantasized about, and now here they are.'"

Zoro has played with Mr. Kravitz off and on over the past 17 years.

"Some tours I do, some I don't," he says. "We go back a long ways."

He also worked with Frankie Valli.

"I was with Frankie during the years he was birthing the concept of 'Jersey Boys,'" Zoro says. "I told him about my dreams and visions to write books, and he told me his dreams of doing a Broadway musical. When it was just an idea in his head, we'd sit and talk about our vision for the next 15 years. And all that stuff has come to pass in both of our lives. When I got to see it, it was very special to me. The music is incredible, but deeper significance, I knew him well, spent a lot of time with him in LA and on the road. Hearing his dream from the beginning, all the stages of what it takes to make a dream into a reality, it was really special."

Zoro believes in giving back to others.

"When I do a clinic or performance or teach, I'm there for three things: inspiration, motivation, education," he says. "I'm not there to be a prima donna rock star and have people kiss up to me. I don't see myself as anything except a servant.

"It gives me incredible elation and joy when I'm a conduit for other people, when I inspire them. I inspire them by my life itself, the way I treat people. I give my heart to everything, I don't hold anything back. We have a short duration here on the planet. I want to know I affected people while I was here."

if you go

>> Percussion Summit 2009 >> When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 12 >> Where: The Philharmonic Center for the Arts, 5833 Pelican Bay Blvd., Naples >> Cost: $28 for adults and $15 for students >> Information: Call 597-1900. A separate drum clinic will be held from 3-6 p.m. Tickets for the clinic are $18 for adults and $12 for students.