Born in Britain and raised in London, Canada, Graham Lear has played drums professionally since 1967. He has toured and/or recorded with Santana, Carlos Santana, Gino Vannelli, REO Speedwagon, Allanah Myles, Saga, Paul Anka, Tom Grant, TV/Film composers Henry Mancini:Dominic Troiano;Jimmy Dale;David Foster along with numerous jingles (Nike, Molsen, Avia, etc.).
His recordings credits include Moonflower, Inner Secrets, Marathon, Zebop, Shango and Viva (Santana); Swing of Delight, Havana Moon and Blues for Salvador (Carlos Santana); Gist of Gemini, Powerful People, Storm at Sunup, Yonder Tree, and Slow Love (Gino Vannelli); Second Decade (REO Speedwagon); Instinct (Tom Grant).
Graham's favorite live concerts include Cal Jam 2; US Festival; Moscow Walk for Peace and Live Aid. Graham has performed with Paul Anka and Symphony in Cincinnati, Washington and Atlanta. Television and video credits include Saturday Night Live, Soul Train, PBS Sound Stage, Kennedy Center Concert of the Americas and Viva Santana (CBS video).
Modern Drummer interviewed Graham (July 82, Feb.99) The solo "Heads Hands and Feet" from Santana's Moonflower CD and the track "Where Am I Going?" from Gino Vannelli's Storm At Sunup CD were transcribed for Modern Drummer issues. Other publications include two cover features in the German publications Drums and Percussion (Jan '84) and Sticks (April '90). His clinics include Frankfurt, Germany, Tampa, St. Louis, Toronto and Musicians Institute in Los Angeles.
Graham currently endorses Pearl drums; Zildjian cymbals, Calato/Regal Tip sticks, Remo percussion, K+K microphones, LP percussion, Studio-Kans headphones and Mackie Design mixers and XDR pre-amps.
Graham is very involved in education and has performed clinics in St. Louis, Tampa, Toronto, Frankfurt, Musicians Institute of Los Angeles. The Drumscapes CD was rated 4.5 out of 5 by Electronic Musician.
