Jerome Gillespie
Rising Drum Leader
Emerging jazz drummer blending hard bop tradition with modern storytelling and church-rooted spirituality.
jazzhard bopcontemporary jazz
About
Jerome Gillespie Jr. is a Houston-born drummer, composer, and bandleader who graduated from Manhattan School of Music and University of Iowa. He blends hard bop tradition with contemporary jazz fusion, drawing from gospel influences and collaborations with legends like Reggie Workman and Mark Gross.
Music Style
Gillespie's playing combines the feeling of the church, the fire of hard bop, and modern storytelling—creating intentional, in-the-moment music with deeply layered syncopated rhythms and jazz-centered fusions.
Background
- Hometown
- Houston, Texas
- Education
- Manhattan School of Music
- Instruments
- drums
- Active
- 2010s-present
Similar Artists
If you like Art Blakey, Reggie Workman — you'll love this artist
Art Blakey
Gillespie has performed in multiple Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers tribute ensembles and cites this lineage as central to his approach
95%
Reggie Workman
Direct collaborator and influence during Gillespie's Manhattan School of Music years
90%
Mark Gross
Documented collaborator and influence on Gillespie's musical development
90%
Notable Collaborations
Reggie WorkmanMark GrossValery PonomarevFrank LacyBobby WatsonVincent HerringAntonio Hart
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