Alfred Music Publishing, the leader in educational music publishing since 1922 and home to the world’s largest percussion print music catalog, is excited to release its new drum DVD, Omar Hakim: Complete.
Widely-acclaimed for his versatility, technological prowess, and groove, Omar Hakim is one of the most successful live and session drummers of the past 25 years. This DVD not only gives you an intimate look at one of the greatest drummers of our time, but also provides you with some enlightening information that will help your own playing evolve.
Omar Hakim: Complete combines two of his classic videos, Express Yourself and Let It Flow, and covers a number of important concepts, including developing a fluid style on the drumset, thinking compositionally to develop more musically interesting solos, and the importance of relating to other musicians personally as well as musically.
Omar Hakim: Complete is now available on DVD for $19.99. Pick up your copy at a local music retail store, or buy it online today through the Drummer Cafe!
REVIEW 
The DVD, which combines two of Omar Hakim's classic 1993 videos, Express Yourself and Let It Flow, covers a number of important concepts, including developing a fluid style on the drumset, thinking compositionally to develop more musically interesting solos, and the importance of relating to other musicians personally as well as musically. Omar plays six original compositions with his all-star band, featuring Victor Bailey on bass, Jimi Tunnell on guitar, Michael Beardon and John Adams on keyboards.
The footage from both videos was actually shot on the same day, back in 1993, but was broken up and marketed separately. This would explain the cohesive connection between the two, and why the two videos would now be brought together in one, two-hour DVD.
The overall layout of the DVD is in a Q&A style with Rob Wallis as the interviewer, giving Omar the opportunity to not only answer questions but to ellaborate and go to the drumkit for demonstrations. Besides the band performances (six tunes), there are segments where Omar breaks the grooves down with the Bass player, performing them at tempo and slightly slower. Omar doesn't really teach or explain what he's actually playing, with the exception of his warm-up routine, but demonstrates the various grooves used in the tunes, making sure that he slows them down so the viewer can catch it all. Multi-camera shots throughout allow the viewer to see Omar's hands and feet.
Omar Hakim: Complete not only gives you an intimate look at one of the greatest drummers of our time, but also provides you with some enlightening information that will help with the evolution of your own playing and musical journey. I enjoyed the DVD and would recommend it to any serious student of the art of drumming.
