Different Drummer
- Place of Publication: Rochester, NY
- Language: English
- Date of Publication: 1973-1975
- Periodicity: Monthly
- Editor: Harry Abraham
- Publishers: Harry Abraham
- Type: Full Text
“The Magazine for Jazz Listeners,” Different Drummer was published and edited by Harry Abraham on a near-monthly basis from September 1973 to January 1975. With a focus on current jazz performers, recordings, and jazz trends (“MODERN Jazz” as Abraham described it in his first editorial), Different Drummer presented an idealistic approach to jazz writing and criticism. Artists profiled ranged from Count Basie to Ornette Coleman to Weather Report and regular writers included Ira Gitler, Bob Porter, Doug Ramsey, Harvey Siders, John Lissner, Pat Dowl, Vern Thompson, and John Stix. Record reviews were provided by a diverse group of writers and Abraham encouraged honest opinions, free from commercial constraints which affected other major publications of the time.
Harry Abraham (1945-2009) was a disc jockey for WHAM in Rochester, New York. With a higher wattage broadcast, he was heard throughout the greater New York region and was influential to many jazz listeners. Unfortunately, he later fell upon hard times and in 1982 chose to rob a bank in nearby Syracuse. After arrest and incarceration, he devoted himself to photography.