Nazir Ebo, is a percussionist and bassist from Philadelphia who has played with the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, and Tim Warfield. Born into a talented musical family, naturally he became interested in music and started playing from home. “I grew up watching my brother (Justin Faulkner) play, I was pretty much inspired by him. I used any object in the house to practice until I got my first pair of drums.”
Ebo began studying at the Philadelphia Clef Club of Jazz and Performing Arts in 2006 and he recalls his first experience in the larger drum ensemble run by Daren Metz. Nazir says, “That was the first time I played with other people. I was nervous. I was the youngest musician in the 8-10 member group so it was definitely cool to be hanging around the older drummers. It felt like a community.” He also remembers when the late great Edgar Bateman Jr. came and taught a masterclass. “I was about 11 or 12, we were immature just clowning and not taking this guy seriously but looking back now I know people like him shaped who I am. It’s inspiring for me to remember the amazing moments we had coming up.”
Today, Nazir tours and performs with some of the world’s best musicians, surprisingly, Ebo says his biggest accomplishment so far has been teaching. This is a sign of his maturity way beyond his years both mentally and musically. He states, “You have to share the knowledge that you have.” Nazir has been teaching at the Clef Club for two years now, he started a drum studio similar to the one taught by Daren Metz. He continues, “I have a couple students that I teach and it’s extremely inspiring to see the results that come out of them, and to know that I had a little part to do with it. I gave them a little bit of information…in a lot of them I see myself.”
When asked to describe Jazz, Ebo says “People associate jazz with either smooth or cool. It’s something I’ve been doing for all my life, it’s just a part of me, it’s just part of music as a whole really.” He considers the music as a whole and doesn’t believe in limiting yourself to only playing jazz or one style–it’s all just music.
So where does Mr. Ebo see himself in the next five years? He says, “I see myself putting out a record, touring full time, teaching, I don’t know what that looks like yet. I’ll probably start some clothing design and maybe write a book.” We can’t wait to see what the future holds in store for Nazir, but we know it will be incredible.