Freddie Gruber was a jazz drummer and later a drum teacher. Like his friend and early roommate Buddy Rich, Gruber was a jazz drummer in the New York Bebop scene in the mid-1940s. Transitioning to instructor, Gruber mentored some of the leading rock and session drummers from the 1970s through the 2000s, among them Frank Zappa's Vinnie Colaiuta, Journey's Steve Smith, Rush's Neil Peart, Chick Corea's Dave Weckl, and many others, becoming the pro drummer's top industry guru. Freddie Gruber died in Los Angeles after a long illness in 2011.