A Visit to Zildjian

by Rob Tallia

Dear drummergirl:

Jane and I went up to visit the Zildjian cymbal company in November of 1999 to take a tour and interview Craigie Zildjian, current CEO. The meeting and tour had been set up for us by Dean Whitney from Catapult Thinking, a company that does Zildjian's design and advertising. On the way up, Jane and I discussed business (as always), and where we'd like to take drummergirl in 2000. Discussions about taking it non-profit, about how we'd like the site to work and what types of things the site needs to focus on more next year. As usual: great discussions, no conclusions. Such is the fluidity of life and, in particular, the type of thinking our generation is famous for.

We got to Norwell, Massachusetts around 6 p.m. and checked in to the slightly over-priced Holiday Inn, which was in the process of being converted from a former 2-level strip motel to a business-traveler Holiday Inn "Express."

Jane and I puttered around and then went into Boston to find dinner. Ironically, we witnessed the Boston police hassling a woman who had apparently driven down Harvard Square the wrong way for all of 15 feet. They caused a big scene and had, at one point, 3 police cars blocking the southern part of the square. Overkill, to say the least. I say "ironically" because one of our discussions on the way up was about the all-encompassing fascism with which our own mayor and police force have been conducting themselves over the past two years. An undergraduate law professor of mine believed that something happens psychologically to police officers once they are entrusted by the State with weapons and a degree of power. It is this transference, rather than inherent weaknesses in the psychological profile of the police officers themselves, that causes fascist tendencies to bubble up to the surface. Probably just a fancy way of saying that power corrupts.

Anyway, we went back to our "Express" hotel to prepare for the interview and the tour. In the morning, we had coffee and cruised over to the Zildjian world headquarters. Their building is a very nice one-story low-slung building off a quiet office park road. Jane was keeping things together rather impressively since she had been up most of the night dealing with her relationship. I'm always amazed that anyone can function at all when dealing with something like that, yet somehow we can get up, perform our ablutions, and go to work in the morning, many times even with a smile on our face. It takes awesome self-control, and I wonder if we pay for it psychologically later on. Nonetheless, I was as always shocked to see Jane not burst apart into so many electrons. She's had to deal with so much over the last two years that it's amazing she's still in all 3 dimensions. I'd have been a pale shadow by now, with drool coming out of the side of my mouth and probably unable to speak any word more complicated than "newspaper."

We did get a nice surprise upon entering Zildjian, since they had a "Zildjian welcomes Jane Pirone from drummergirl" sign up front. It's amazing how years of city life can completely wipe away even memories of people behaving in such a considerate manner. We know that we'll both have to leave New York at some point, for a while at least, to prevent ourselves from becoming completely transformed into highly combustible granite.

We met Dean and his co-worker Ron Vish and hung out with them in the Zildjian break room while we waited for Colin Schofield, Zildjian's VP of marketing. The four of us chatted about Zildjian's remarkable 375-year history with only 70 of those years in the United States. We learned that Zildjian is a completely family-owned business, begun in Turkey by Avedis Zildjian in 1623. It was Avedis's descendent (also named Avedis), who brought both his company and his family over to Massachusetts in 1929. We also discovered that many of Zildjian's employees have been with them for many years. Zildjian employs about 175 people worldwide, and about 100 of those are in the corporate and manufacturing headquarters in Norwell.

Colin gave us his personalized tour of the Zildjian factory. Colin is English, a drummer himself, and seems to fit the mold of the long-time, dedicated Zildjian employee, having been with Zildjian 15 years, and now one of its executives. Colin walked us down a hallway that separates the corporate office from the factory. This hallway is lined with photos of great drummers like Max Roach, Buddy Rich, and Gene Krupa. Many photos have Armand Zildjian in them, usually with his arms around Buddy Rich or Gene Krupa. Armand, we learned, is Avedis's son and Craigie's father, and was very instrumental in developing working relationships with many great jazz and rock drummers. Armand also began Zildjian's product line of drumsticks, and is still involved in research and development for them.

Colin then brought us into the factory itself, where Zildjian makes 2,000 cymbals a day. Sixty percent of the cymbals Zildjian makes are cast bronze, the traditional Turkish method of making cymbals. A blob of metal is formed from Zildjian's secret combination process of heated copper and tin. This blob looks like a very thick pancake from one of those overrated Canadian Pancake houses, and would probably taste about as good. Colin told us that the first Avedis Zildjian had been an alchemist back in Turkey in the 1600s, and this enabled him to make this secret alloy.

The blob is then re-heated in a large circular oven and extruded through powerful rollers until it looks like a very large, very thin pancake. Next it's trimmed, hand-lathed (another secret part of the process), and buffed. It then goes to Leon the cymbal-tester, who personally tests and inspects each cymbal for not only pure sound, but also for any blemishes or marks the cymbal might have from the manufacturing process. It's only after Leon approves the cymbal that it gets Zildjian's logo lasered onto its surface.

It's a fairly simple process, but since Zildjian makes 650 different kinds of cymbals, each to some degree unique in size, weight, sound, and feel, the Zildjian workers really need to know the difference between a crash and a splash. But what was really impressive about the tour was that it showed us how a finely-tuned manufacturing process works. Each worker knows his or her role and responsibility and purpose in this chain. The workers also know that they are part of a history and a philosophy that has been in two countries for 375 years. Perhaps, I thought, this is why Zildjian's employees stay as long as they do--because they know they're part of something larger than themselves that has lasted for many generations and will perpetuate itself for many more generations to come.

Drummergirl thanks Dean, Ron, Leon, and especially Colin for giving us their time and knowledge.

DG Interviews Zildjian's CEO, Craigie Zildjian

The following interview between Zildjian CEO Craigie Zildjian and drummergirl's Jane Pirone took place in November, 1999, at Zildjian's world headquarters in Norwell, Massachusetts. Our thanks go to both Craigie Zildjian and to Colin Schofield for their time.

Jane: How did you first get involved in the business of making cymbals?
Craigie: Well, it's hard to be a family member and not be involved in a family business. Our grandfather [Avedis Zildjian] used to come over for Sunday dinner and he spoke about the business. However, I never thought I'd be involved-but my grandfather changed all that. He invited both me and my sister into the business when I was in my mid-twenties.

Jane: What part of the business did you first work in?
Craigie: I started in the Personnel Department. I became the Personnel Manager, and then a director in the company.

Jane: What is your educational background?
Craigie: I have a degree in Human Resource Management from American University, and a degree in Education. I spent time at Babson's MBA program, and this summer I'm attending a program for CEOs at the Harvard Business School. And I'm on the Board of Trustees at the Berklee College of Music (www.berklee.edu), where I endow the Terry Lynn Carrington Scholarship. Currently, only 20% of Berklee's enrollment is female, and the scholarship is one thing we're trying to do to change that. We also run Master Classes.

Jane: Can you tell me a little bit more about the Master Classes that Zildjian does?
Craigie: They're basically clinics which we run at various colleges. It's a small, focused group, very hands-on. Schools can request these classes. Rob Gottfried, a drummer that we work with who is very involved in using drumming for education on many levels, runs these classes.

Jane: What kinds of personal challenges have you had to face in being a female CEO?
Craigie: I feel that my responsibilities as a mother made my transition delayed. However, I don't feel particularly challenged by being a woman in my current position because it's a family business. If my name wasn't Zildjian, it would be tougher. But at the same time, I try not to push my own family or make them feel entitled to something because their name is Zildjian.

Jane: When did you first get a sense of how important Zildjian was to the history of music?
Craigie: Well, it was routine for my grandfather to take us to "the foundry" (as the factory was called back then), and then into Boston to see movies and to stop by Jack's Drum Shop. But I think it was when I went to hear Gene Krupa at an early age. Gene was a close friend of the family, and we would go out boating with him. I could tell he was a star. And of course Buddy Rich was also coming into town a lot.

Jane: Did you ever play the drums?
Craigie: Unfortunately, I was discouraged from playing drum set at an early age. Ballet, piano, guitar-these were pursuits and instruments that women were supposed to follow. But I'm happy to say that my daughter plays the drums-in fact, everyone expects her to know how to play.

Jane: I know that the mixing process for the metals in Zildjian cymbals is a family secret-when did you learn it?
Craigie: In the early '80s. Right after my grandfather died. My father brought us in and showed us.

Jane: Can you tell me a little about the history of Zildjian?
Craigie: My grandfather actually made the cymbals. He was incredibly hands-on. He always stayed really close to the product. And my father is still a big part of R & D. My grandfather took the business through the depression-he incorporated Zildjian in the United States in 1929. And it was Gene Krupa, working with my grandfather, that really brought cymbal-making forward-they created lots of new and larger cymbals, and coined many of the names the industry now uses for these cymbals. Zildjian has always had a two-way relationship with its endorsers.

Jane: What qualities does Zildjian look for in an endorser?
Craigie: We're not in the business to further people's careers-we're mainly looking for high-profile people, but we also look for prodigies and special players. We try to keep our ears close to the ground. Needless to say, we get many requests from drummers who want to be endorsers.

Jane: Can you comment on how well you think women are integrated into the music culture?
Craigie: One of my most recent experiences was in Japan in early '99. We ran clinics there with Manu Katche, and a third of the audience was female. I do believe there are plenty of female percussionists, and that more and more women are coming to drum set. However, there was only one female drummer at the most recent Modern Drummer Festival. More women performers need to be invited to that event. We were happy, though, that Terry Lynn Carrington was at this year's Drum Fest in Montreal. And Terry Lynn and Cindy Blackmon had a drum-off this year at Berklee, which was fabulous and inspirational. However, the problem of women's integration is hardly limited to percussion.

Jane: What do you see for the future?
Craigie: Well, we've got three granddaughters in the next generation of Zildjian. And there is an organization called the International Association of Jazz Educators (IAJE), which has an excellent program called "Sisters in Jazz." These types of things will breed more and more confidence in women. So the future looks pretty good.

For more information about Zildjian, visit their website, www.zildjian.com.