UPDATE - 10/13@11:03AM: Here's an obituary for Freddie written by Neil Peart that was posted to the Hudson Music website yesterday.

... As a man, Freddie Gruber was loved and appreciated during his lifetime, and as a teacher, he was respected and revered — not least because he had guided so many of his students into finding their own voices on the drums.

All of those musicians will continue to pass along that fundamental and immortal language of human life, to listeners and to younger drummers, and thus Freddie’s place in that divine continuum will continue to resonate forever.

He will be missed, but he is not gone.
-Neil Peart

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Legendary jazz drummer and drum teacher Freddie Gruber passed away yesterday at the age of 84. In addition to being an accomplished jazz drummer, Freddie was a highly respected and successful drum teacher. He counted drumming greats such as Neil Peart, Steve Smith and Dave Weckl among his students. Last year Zildjian presented Freddie with a lifetime achievement award at the NAMM show. Neil Peart became a pupil of Gruber back in 1994 after being referred to him by fellow drummer and Gruber student Steve Smith while producing the first Buddy Rich tribute album. Gruber was responsible for much of Neil's reinvention of his drumming style in the mid-90s. Here's a scene from the Rush documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage where Neil and Freddie are interviewed together:

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