Attributions
This unit was written by Terence Higgins and Ashley Shabankareh.
Terence Higgins was born in New Orleans in 1970 and was raised on the west bank of New Orleans in the suburb of Algiers. He was introduced to the drums at a very young age by his great-grandfather, and he has been playing ever since. In high school, he was one of two students chosen from the state of Louisiana to perform in the McDonald's All-American band, and after high school, he enrolled in music studies at Southern University. Specializing in New Orleans grooves and keeping in touch with the Crescent City's second line tradition and early New Orleans funk and R&B, he draws his influences from the legends of New Orleans drumming such as Baby Dodds, Earl Palmer, Smokey Johnson, Charles "Hungry" Williams, Zigaboo, and Idris Mohammad to name a few. His professional career has taken him all over the world and his unsurpassed, versatile, and diverse skill set on the drums has allowed him to play with an eclectic group of musicians of all genres of music. Terence credits George Porter Jr. of the Meters for taking him under his wing and introducing him to the vast repertoire of New Orleans music. Terence has performed with artists like Dr. John, Earl King, Snooks Eaglin, Johnny Adams, George Porter Jr., Fats Domino, and the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. In recent years Terence has toured the world with John Scofield Piety Street Band, The Warren Haynes Band, Tab Benoit, Ani DiFranco, as well as performed in the popular Last Waltz tribute tour and star-studded and nationally televised tributes to Elvis Presley and Willie Nelson. Terence performs in his own band, Swampgrease, and he is the producer of several worldwide distributed Drum Loop Libraries. Terence is a two-time Grammy award-winning drummer, winning Grammy awards for his collaboration with Jon Cleary on his album Go-Go Juice (Best Regional Roots Performance in 2016) and with Aaron Neville and the Dirty Dozen Brass Bands for Stompin Ground from the film Take Me to the River New Orleans (Best American Roots Performance in 2023). He is also the Founder of the Louisiana Drumline Camp that teaches and mentors young drummers from across Louisiana.
Ashley Shabankareh (she/they) is a New Orleans musician, music educator, and arts administrator. Ashley is the Director of Operations and Programs for Trombone Shorty Foundation, and they also work as an Adjunct Professor at Loyola University New Orleans and Xavier University. Ashley has worked with numerous arts organizations during her career, including Artist Corps New Orleans, Upbeat Academy Foundation, New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, New Orleans Jazz Museum, and Preservation Hall Foundation. In her spare time, Ashley serves as the Board President for Folk Alliance International, Vice President of the Jazz Education Network, and Board Secretary for Second Line Arts Collective. Ashley is an avid performer and has performed alongside Allen Toussaint, Aretha Franklin, Big Sam’s Funky Nation, Theresa Anderson, and in her own group, Marina Orchestra.
About Berklee PULSE
​​The Berklee PULSE® Music Method is a unique and innovative online music education portal that enables students to study, jam, and practice using interactive modules and an ever-expanding collection of popular music.
PULSE is open to anyone, with exclusive resources available through Berklee City Music and select public school partners. PULSE gives students and teachers the benefits of a Berklee education no matter where they live.
Copyright
Curriculum - Copyright © 2023 Berklee College of Music. All rights reserved
Audio and Visual - Copyright © 2023 Take Me To The River Education Initiative. All rights reserved
