Karen Teperberg, 26, is a freelance professional jazz and funk drummer from Ashkelon, Israel. She came to the United States four years ago to attend the Berklee College of Music in Boston, then moved to New York City. Karen tours as the drummer for the Chris Botti band, and has played with many great musicians, such as Sting and Shawn Colvin. Karen is featured on the recent Columbia Records DVD release, "Chris Botti and Friends Night Sessions: Live in Concert." Karen also plays regularly at Terra Blues and the Bitter End in Manhattan. More information about Karen can be found at chrisbotti.com or by contacting her at karenteperberg@hotmail.com.

Karen's family still lives in Israel. Her sister, Nitzan, 20, is serving her first of two years in the Israeli army. Her sister Rotem, 22, lives in Tel Aviv. She was ranked 16th in the world on the professional women's tennis circuit when she was 16. Her father Adi, who also has a 1-year-old daughter, teaches swimming and self-awareness classes. Her mother Gabby, teaches swimming and water aerobics to people with physical disabilities


DG: How old were you when you started playing and why did you start?
KT: I was 16. I had a need to play and was always occupied with other things. I played tennis professionally for a long time, from the age of 8 until 15. I wanted to play drums, I think, since I was 11 but I couldn't because I was playing [tennis]. I stopped and took a while to think about what I wanted. I was a child that needed to do things. I wasn't going to sleep or watch TV. I had to do stuff. So, I was in the north on a kibbutz and I saw a drumset. A guy asked if I wanted to play and I said, "Yes!" and asked him to teach me and it was just magic.

On finding her calling:
KT: I think in many ways [finding your calling] makes your life so much easier because there are so many things we are searching for, at least it's one thing we've got down. I think one of the most important things in life is for us to have a passion and something that feeds us and if we have that we have something to wake up for in the morning.

DG: Dou you think you had an innate ability to play?
KT: Yes, definitely. I played drums before I played. I didn't study, it just came, from here (points to her heart.) When I was 12, I took my parents to the living room and had toothbrushes that I pretended to play drums with. There was one song I was listening to and I had a tape and I sat them down and played. And I remember them looking at each other and smiling but we didn't do anything about it. And I would sing drums along to songs too.

DG: Which hand do you play with?
KT: The right hand, but I write with my left, so I can kind of play with both.

DG: How did you learn to play? Did you take lessons?
KT: As soon as I played that drum set on the kibbutz, I came back to the south (of Israel) where I lived and started taking lessons. I told my dad that I wanted a drum set and he said, "Play for three months and we'll see." I didn't have a place to practice so I used to skip school (you know, if I had a lesson at 1, I'd leave at 12) and just go and practice. After three months he got me a drumset and after nine months I knew that the teacher did not have much left to teach me. Then I had another teacher for nine months in Tel Aviv, then another teacher for nine months. He was the teacher that gave me all my basic stuff, really taught me how to read. I almost had to start from the beginning.

When I first started, I really felt that it was late. I saw those guys who were 12, 13 and they knew so much more. As far as I was concerned, I didn't have time to waste.

I used to wake up in the morning and practice. My mom said, "No, no, no you have to do something real." I was in a band at that time and the other band members went to the Rimon School of Music (outside Tel Aviv) so after high school I enrolled in Rimon. I went there for three years then got a scholarship to go the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

DG: In Israel, did people think it was strange for a girl to play drums?
KT: I think everywhere in the world it's not something that is common yet, unfortunately. So, yeah, I used to get comments, not anymore. But honestly, I don't care.

DG: Was school a competitive environment?
KT: Sure, sure, it's Israel. Sure. Israeli people in general are competitive and aggressive.

DG: Were people especially competitive because you were a girl? How did you handle it?
KT: I think that [being a girl] might have had something to do with it but basically it was my personality that came out and people just responded to that, as opposed to, 'she's a man or a woman.' One time, I had the first of two auditions and I was sitting next to this other drummer. He wasn't a friend of mine. And he said, "Hey, I heard you got the audition for this ensemble." And I said, "Yeah." And he said something that sounded like, "Yeah, of course, they know you and you're a girl and blah blah blah." And it made me so pissed that with that energy I went to the other audition and I got it as well.

DG: How does it differ playing in the US to playing in Israel?
KT: If you go see a show (in the United States), even if it's not good, people are going to have a good time and some of them want you to do well, even if you don't. And in Israel, people are like sharks. If you make a mistake, people are like (imitates a shark attack). Only at Berklee I was able to let it go. There was a lot of stress [In Israel]. It starts with the economy and it's everywhere, it has to do with everything.

DG: How did you get a scholarship to come to the United States?
KT: Every year, people from Berklee go all over the world and they have auditions for students... Every year, there is a contest where they collect 50 students from all over the world. In Israel there is a contest and, if you take first prize, you go [to the worldwide contest]. If you take second prize, you get some money. If you take third prize, whatever. [Israel] is the only place that people have to fight for it and be number one. In other places, they just choose them.

DG: Can you describe the contest?
KT: The semifinal was packed and I was playing. It was at the school and everybody was there - drummers and players and people that are out of school. It's a big deal...this is all about jazz. You gotta do one tune that is by yourself, acapella, and then two more that you play with other people. And I took good players. I sucked but I have a level that it doesn't matter how much I suck, it will still be here (levels her hand with the ground in from of her face). So I passed it. Eddie (her drummer friend who also now lives in NYC) was in the finals as well. There were five of us. He was with me and Inbar (her guitarist friend who lives in NYC). I didn't play well, but my acapella was perfect. I was really focused. It was really scary, you know, very intimate. I had my father here and my mother there and I was holding their hands and they said, "OK, three people are going to get three places. The other two are nothing." They said, "Third place, Eddie. Second place, someone else." And I'm saying, "What the f*%$, man?" And I'm holding their hands and they said, "First place..." and they looked at me and said, "Karen Teperberg."

DG: So because you won the contest, you won the Berklee Scholarship?
KT: This, and the fact that I was gigging with my teachers. At that time, it was a big deal for me. Also, there was a big contest with singer-songwriters and the singer got number one. So, as a combination of these things, I was definitely out there. They (Berklee) offered me the scholarship a few months before the year was over. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go to Berklee. I didn't want to audition. I worked hard for things, but by the same token, things were kind of handed to me. The opportunity was there and I took it cuz I was ready.

DG: You know a lot of Israeli drummers in New York. Is that because Israel produces a lot of professional drummers or just that you know all the ones who are in NYC?
KT: The thing is, on the one hand, Israeli people are very competitive. On the other hand, we're very warm. Even if sometimes you can't see it. So if someone goes to another place, he'll get phone numbers of people who already live there because people would want to help him. So I just got a lot of calls about drummers who came here and every gig that I couldn't do, I tried to give that gig to them. We come from the same place, it's far. We want to keep everyone in our family, community. I want to help people and I want them to work. Not just Israelis, but everyone.

DG: What was your experience at Berklee like?
KT: Even before I went to Berklee I played with a lot of singer-songwriters. At Berklee, I played a lot of jazz because it was harder, it was challenging. What I wanted was to play more than anything. I had a choice to study just what I thought was good for me or to stay there for 2, 3, 4, years and get a degree. I did not care about the degree. I just wanted to take what I thought was good for me and just move on. I left after a year and a half, after 4 semesters.

DG: Did you have any teachers who were influential?
KT: One of them is a drum teacher who really kind of shaped me into what I am today. His name is Ian Froman. He lives in New York. This guy really kicked my ass. He's a drum teacher, but he taught me things about honesty and playing and just got me more focused. I had chops already. I knew how to read. I knew how to play. There were some things that we worked on that were connected to drumming, like swing, and how to approach the technical aspects differently. But a lot of it had to do with here (points to her temple). He worked on my mind, my brain, my head, the way it functions. This guy is so honest in his playing, I learned to make the most of everything and try to use that approach in each style that I play. So when you see me playing, there is no casual note. Everything is intentional. It comes from the heart, basically.

DG: What music store do you go to in the City?
KT: I go to Manny's Music in Manhattan, not because of the place, because of the people.

DG: Is the music store a male-dominated environment?
KT: Sure. When I look at cymbals, I can tell some people are asking themselves how I can play. In the past I used to play but now I don't need to prove so much. So I just get what I want, say hello to the people that I like, and go.

DG: Do you think being a woman in a male-dominated field has been a help, hindrance or neither?
KT: For me, I acknowlege there is a huge advantage to me being a woman who plays drums. The first tour I ever went on with Chris was for three weeks and it was so hard, just cuz I had to be with guys all the time. It was great, but I didn't have lots of experience with that. I kind of felt that I wanted to have an old girlfriend with me or something just to hang out. But other than that, for the most part, it's fine. The advantage is just there are less women.

DG: Is there a difference between playing with female and male musicians?
KT: Oh, yeah, for sure. First of all, just the dynamic is different. I had a band, which was pretty successful, in Israel. Six women. I was 18 and the oldest was 36. There was a bond that was so powerful. There's tons of arguments but also this part of being women just comes out when we play. And guys? I love playing with guys. Not more or less, it's just very different. There are less fights with the Botti band. The guys that I am touring with are great and I love them.

DG: Have you ever felt the need to prove yourself?
KT: Only musically. If I would meet [Chris] today it would not be an issue or take as long for me to get his trust as it did when I first started. Most of all, there is this energy that we project. And if we can project this energy that is very powerful and just say, "I'm complete, take it or leave it," then people will treat it like that.

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About the Author:
Angela Jimenez is a freelance photojournalist based in Brooklyn, NY. She has a master's degree in photojournalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and her work has been published in The New York Times, Newsweek, The Newark Star-Ledger, Curve Magazine, Ms. Magazine and various other publications and is featured on fotophile.com and adventuredivas.com. You can contact her at angela_jimenez@hotmail.com

© April, 2003 Happy Mazza Media, LLC.
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