Back in March we learned that Cathy Rich and Neil Peart were putting together another Buddy Rich Memorial Concert after a 10-year hiatus. The event will take place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on Saturday, October 18th and feature a number of drum virtuosos and musicians including Neil, Nick Rich with the Buddy Rich Band, John Blackwell, Terry Bozio, Chad Smith, Jeff Berlin, Will Lee and Tommy Igoe. A few more details about the event recently came to light via this article at Sabian.com:

... Cathy Rich daughter of late, legendary drummer Buddy Rich, announced plans for the 2008 Buddy Rich Memorial Concert to be held at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City on October 18th. Produced by Cathy's company Scabeba Entertainment, and drumming icon Neil Peart of Rush, this years show promises to be the biggest and best of all.

"After a ten year hiatus, we are coming back with a vengeance", said Rich. "We started doing these concerts in 1989 and they were the first of their kind. I originally had the idea of having all the greatest drummers in the world sitting in with my fathers big band, playing his charts with their own unique spin. We were very successful, and then everyone in the drum world started doing their own version of the show. We decided to take a break until we could come back with something special and different. I think we have achieved that goal with this year's show.. Our last concert was in 1998 with Phil Collins".

This years line up is a veritable who's who of iconic drum virtuosos, it includes SABIAN artists:
Terry Bozzio formerly of Frank Zappas band and his own platinum selling band, Missing Persons. Terry went on to revolutionize drumming with his one man shows and clinics featuring his sea of drums and percussion.

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith

This is also the debut of Buddy's 23 year old grandson Nick Rich playing for the first time in his grandfather's big band. Nick is an in demand drummer on the west coast, having recently recorded with platinum selling artist Ray J.

Neil Peart will also perform.

Joining Buddy's Big Band will be Late Show with David Letterman bass player Will Lee. Bassist Jeff Berlin will appear as a special guest. More surprises will be added.
What makes this years show unique is the artists having big band arrangements made of some of their most popular hits, as well as playing their favorite Buddy Rich charts, and the fact that it will be streamed live globally by the Drum Channel, and recorded in Hi Def for worldwide release. ...

You can also listen to an mp3 of a commercial for the event at this link. The big news here is that the concert will be recorded in High-def for later release in 2009! The event will be sponsored by Sabian Cymbals and tickets can be purchased at this link.

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