New Faces: I’m Gene Krooper

Drummer James Bradley Jr. looks like the very spirit of the sideman—brow intent, eyes unsmiling, face masked in hazy boredom. When Los Angeles television station KTLA signed him to a 26-week contract last month, no one was surprised: Bradley is an exceptional drummer. He can play three-beat rhythms with one hand while he plays four-beat with the other. He can switch hands instantly to travel from the bone-dry clatter of the wood block to the rich depth of the snare.

He can embark on one beat, switch to another, then return to the original without a hitch. He never misses a rim shot, and his timing is faultless. What is more, James Bradley Jr. is only four.

Though his parents are professional musicians (they play cocktail music together—mother on piano, father on drums), James learned most of his art on his own. His father bought him his first set of real drums only a few months ago, and though James is still too short to sit down behind them, he has already surpassed his father as a drummer. On his television debut he appeared with his mother to play Caravan, treated his listeners to a long solo break that sounded like Krupa. “He’s a great little ham,” said the station’s delighted program director, who stole time from Lionel Hampton’s band to make room for James.

Now that James is a professional, he lives by spartan rule. He is first to rise in his family, plays quietly with his toy cars until the others are awake. He practices deep into the morning, then plays with his three-year-old brother until afternoon, when he invariably demands another practice session. James’s love for the drums has left him altogether drummy. When asked his name, he soberly replies: “I’m Gene Krooper.”