Watching Tom Teasley can generate all sorts of ideas on how to make use of resources that stare us in the face.
— T. Bruce Wittet
Modern Drummer Magazine
Thanks for a great clinic. I can't wait to start trying some of these exercises myself.
— John Beck
Eastman School of Music
The artistic excellence of Word-Beat instills a connection to the audience that many performers never achieve… people are still talking about this show!
— Kathleen Moran
Arts Program Specialist
Rockville, MD
Tom presented a TERRIFIC Clinic at the University of Maryland.... Tom certainly has that rare gift; making that quick connection with students and spreading his enthusiasm for his area of expertise. The clinic was wonderfully organized and our students also received plenty of 'hands on' time - which was great. Our students are still talking about it!
— John Tafoya
Former Principal Timpanist, National Symphony Orchestra
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts;
Professor of Percussion Studies Indiana University Jacobs School of Music
Think you're a hopelessly Westernized drummer? Can't think outside of "2 and 4" on the snare? Fear not, Teasley is here. ...[He] not only introduces us to different world percussion styles (Southern Italian, Brazilian, South Indian, Egyptian, and more), but how we might apply rudiments and other rhythmic patterns to such instruments as tambourine, shaker, doumbek, frame drum and ultimately the drum kit [He] challenges you to become not only a more technically adept drummer, but a more creative and even innovative one.
— Will Romano
Modern Drummer Magazine
The evening's dazzler [at the Washington, D.C. Contemporary Music Forum] was Antosca and Teasley's "something else," joining real-time computer-processed sounds with percussion. A one-man band, Teasley let go with ancient non-Western tambourines, drums, bells and an eerily resonant instrument resembling a mini spaceship.
— Cecelia Porter
The Washington Post
Teasley is a composer and a percussionist in the widest and most exuberant sense of the word.
— Joan Reinthaler
The Washington Post
His performances are captivating and his breadth of experience enables him to address virtually any audience comfortably and effectively. I recommend him with highest distinction.
— William Reeder
Director, Washington Performing Arts Society
Teasley is an incredibly gifted artist whose original compositions turn systemic rhythm into a language accessible for heart and soul. A master percussionist… exhilarating.
— Intermission
Tom Teasley's tonal rhythms create a magic that takes possession of the audience.
— Paul Sprenger
Garrett Lakes Art Festival
Tom Teasley, a virtuoso artist of rhythms, played his composition "Hadwig-Toccata." He accompanied Williams on unusual instruments from Africa, Brazil, Egypt and Tibet, enfolding the flavors of these instruments with jazz and creating his own musical style.
— Scharzwalder Bote
"King of Percussion"
Oberndorfer Zeitung
Teasley's performance on the Marimba was precise, innovative and melodious… a man of rhythm through and through (even to his tip toes), Teasley received thunderous applause for his exotic performance.
— Schwabische Zeitung
...as compelling a duo as has come this way in a long time.
— Joan Reinthaler
The Washington Post
The dynamic interplay of Charles Williams' compelling voice and tonal rhythms create a magic that takes possession of an audience. Combining an inspired choice of poetry, prose and song, with the intensity, charm and artistry of the two performers, Word-Beat leaves an indelible impression on your soul.
— Paul Sprenger
Garrett Lakes Arts Festival
[Tom] instills a connection to the audience that many performers never achieve. The audience left with an experience etched in their memories - people are still talking about that show!
— Kathleen Moran
Arts Program Specialist
Rockville, MD
Thanks for the fantastic clinic at Maryland's Day of Percussion! ...You can play a whole drumset on a tambourine!! And by the way (and I know that others tell you this)....you are an excellent clinician. You spell it out! You motivate! And man...you can play!
Thanks so much for the inspiration!!
— Evan Pollack
Instructor
Tom Teasley has a refreshing approach to percussion performance and teaching. I’ve also had the pleasure of watching him present clinics to different age groups and experience levels and his method of combining World Percussion and Western styles appeals to all. He’s a consummate musician and great clinician!
— Nick Petrella
Director of Education for Sabian Cymbals
Percussionist, Educator, and Author
Tom Teasley is a percussionist who has some interesting and thought-provoking ways of combining diverse members of the percussion family in a solo setting. Anyone who hasn't seen much frame drumming or other hand percussion, as well as those wishing to see new ways to combine instruments in solo settings, should see this video.
— Terry O'Mahoney
- Terry O'Mahoney
Percussive Notes, 1999
Multi-percussionist Tom Teasley is a wise and thoughtful man whose global viewpoints go well beyond the musical. European, Latin, Middle Eastern and African influences are all incorporated in a sensitive and intelligent manner… Teasley achieves a chamber jazz-like sensibility remindful of the Modern Jazz Quartet... Tom is a percussionist of uncommon skill and versatility.
— Willard Jenkins
WPFW 1998
A stimulating video... by turns literal and lyrical, whetting one's appetite for more examples of his artistry... would make a good gift for percussionists.
— Larry Nai
Cadence 1998
Drummer percussionist Tom Teasley's clinic, presented on this videotape, is most interesting and informative. In addition, and perhaps most importantly, it's a new concept…. This program certainly lives up to its name, for it is truly an amalgam of percussion techniques from throughout the world and music history up to and including the modern American drumset. The magic comes in the blending of these diverse elements. Anyone can add a bit of this and a bit of that and come up with some things that haven't been heard before, but Tom Teasley is one of the first that I've seen who truly fuses these elements into a completely realized and interesting new concept. Teasley is talented percussionist and clinician and this video definitely deserves attention among the wealth of percussionist's instructional material currently available.
— Dave Miele
Jazz Improv 2005
Hand percussionist Tom Teasley appeals to the novice as well as the professional hand percussionist in a unique way in this informative and entertaining instructional VHS tape…."cross pollinates" techniques from one category of instruments to another…. this is a great example of how percussion techniques may be adapted to create new and interesting sounds.
…Teasley's delivery is clear and concise. The novice hand drummer can learn a great deal from this video, the experienced percussionist will probably pick up some new tricks, and it might spur some players to look at developing new approaches.
— Terry O’Mahoney
Percussive Notes
...within a couple of minutes into their video, you're hooked.
— T. Bruce Wittet
Modern Drummer, 1999
His imaginative musical commentaries elevate the performance to a higher artistic plane.
— John Raush
Percussive Notes, 1998
These are not two disparate souls in search of a meeting place; rather, these are heartfelt collaborators seeking to explore rich and varied tapestries of word and percussion - the very origin of musical and dramatic expression.
— Willard Jenkins
Jazz Times
BET on Jazz, WPFW, 1998