New Jersey born Tony
Inzalaco is a graduate from the Manhattan School of Music with a B.A. in
Percussion and a M.A. in Music Education.
Just after college, Tony was already performing with some of the top
Jazz artists of the day including Billy Taylor, Ben Webster, Roger Kellaway and
Benny Bowell, to name a few. He
continued to freelance until joining the Maynard Ferguson band, a stint that
last four years. Inzalaco was one of
the few drummers to work for Buddy Rich, playing drums for him when Buddy did
singing engagements and also worked as Bobby Darin’s drummer for a year. In the late 60s, he relocated to Germany
where he worked constantly with artists like Art Farmer and Kenny Drew,
eventually meeting Kenny Clarke, where Clarke then recommended Tony to Dexter
Gordon. Tony then toured with Gordon for
the next 5 years. Through his work with
Clarke, Inzalaco worked for Carmen McRae, Dizzy Gillespie, Oscar Peterson, Joe
Henderson, Clark Terry…the list includes the greatest names in the Jazz genre.
After leaving Europe, he returned to the East coast of the
States but eventually relocated to Southern California in 1990, where he
resides to this day. Tony Inzalaco
currently works and teaches in Los Angeles, performing with his own quintet and
others. He is a faculty member at the Los
Angeles College of Music (LACM) in Pasadena California.