Billy Drummond is an American jazz drummer born Willis Robert Drummond Jr. on June 19, 1959, in Newport News, Virginia. He started playing drums at age 4, performed locally in his own ensemble by age 8, and attended the Shenandoah College and Conservatory of Music on a classical percussion scholarship. Moving to New York in 1986, he played with Out of the Blue and the Horace Silver sextet before touring with Sonny Rollins for 3 years, while establishing musical ties with Joe Henderson and Buster Williams. Drummond debuted as a bandleader with Native Colours (1992), followed by The Gift (1994) and Dubai (1996) on Criss Cross Jazz, the latter included in Modern Drummer magazine's selection of 50 Crucial Jazz Drumming Recordings of the Past 100 Years. He has recorded with Carla Bley's The Lost Chords, appeared as a sideman on more than 350 records, and serves as Professor of Jazz Drums at the Juilliard School and New York University.
