Brian Frasier-Moore
Drummers: send your kids to church. It sounds like a better and better idea, the more I think about Brian Frasier Moore’s early career. He started playing at the age of five, at the church where his father was the pastor.
There are a lot of ways that a public gig can put pressure on a musician to learn faster than he would from just practicing. But to have the congregation, the choir, your own father, and God Himself counting on you to get everything right— time changes, dynamics, overlapping meters, the work of holding a large group together rhythmically— and to do this as a five-year-old…. ?well, that’s pressure. He must have been a seasoned pro by the age of, say, nine.
Then again, maybe Brian had a bigger helping of talent than most. Or maybe it was both things— Brian was exceptional even among Gospel drummers, and even among the drummers of Philadelphia, a city that has way more than its share of elite drummers.
He sprang from that city’s gospel scene onto tours with Aaliyah, Ginuwine, and Usher at a very young age, and has since gone on to supply the pulse for the biggest of shows: Babyface, Janet Jackson, 10 years with Christina Aguilera, and most recently with Justin Timberlake, and Madonna.
Brian has the chops, the groove and the professionalism to belong at the very top of the music world— Madonna says that he is the only drummer that she likes to hear— but instead of keeping it all to himself, he is generous about it all: His teaching project, BFM Consultation, offers one-on-one counseling and seminars to drummers who want to get their careers on a faster track.
In a world where there are lessons available for hands and feet, It is great to see wisdom available for the heart and the head.
And it would not surprise me one bit if he told drummers, “send your kids to church.”
Listen to the Brian Frasier-Moore Podcast
Brian Frasier-Moore Playlist
Avenue D — John Pattitucci
Album: On the Corner, 1989
Drums: Vinnie Colaiuta
When the Battle Is Over — Hawkins Family
Album: Love Alive 3, 1984
Drums: Joel Smith
Now Are We (featuring Kayla Parker) — Marvin Winans
Album: Introducing Perfected Praise, 1992
Drums: Mario Winans
Eternal Child — Chick Corea Electric Band
Album: Eye of the Beholder, 1988
Drums: Dave Weckl
Time Track — Chick Corea Electric Band
Album: Light Years, 1987
Drums: Dave Weckl
Love Has Come — Amy Grant
Album: A Christmas Album, 1983
Drums: Paul Leim
Who to Listen To — Amy Grant
Album: Unguarded, 1985
Drums: Paul Leim
Victory — Commissioned
Album: Go Tell Somebody, 1986
Drums: Michael Williams
The Question Is — The Winans
Album: Introducing the Winans, 1981
Drums: Bill Maxwell
Countin’ the Cost — Koinonia
Album: Koinonia, 1989
Drums: Bill Maxwell Percussion: Alex Acuña
Soar — Christine Aguilera
Album: Stripped, 2002
Drums: Brian Frasier Moore
Chrysalis (featuring Chick Corea) — Dontae Winslow
Album: Enter the Dynasty, 2014
Drums: Brian Frasier Moore
