Raymond Portante has been influenced by an eclectic group of drummers including, but not limited to, Buddy Rich, Ringo Starr, John Bonham, David Garibaldi, and Steve Gadd, drummers who exemplify the importance of "feel", which is the most inherently necessary quality of any drummer.
His initial formal drum training began with a Rockland County, NY instructor named Nick Page.
Mr.
Page was a product of the "swing era" and taught him how to "drive" the music.
Luckily enough, while attending Berklee College of Music in Boston he had the opportunity to study with Gary Chaffee.
It was while studying with Mr.
Chaffee that he began to dig deep into the "soul" of drumming.
After leaving Berklee he attended "the school of hard knocks".
West 30th Street in New York City was littered with recording studios.
It was there that he really began to understand the "art" of drumming.
While spending approximately 10 years recording various jingles, industrial films, state sponsored commercials, television ads, and artist demos, he learned that oftentimes, especially when it pertains to drumming, less is more.
Currently Mr.
Portante performs throughout the tri-state area with a Nyack based classic R&B band called "The Unit".
When he's not performing with his band he has the good fortune to be asked by other musicians to do both live performances and studio work.
His drum instruction book, "Para Diddly", is available on Amazon, both in paperback and ebook.
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