COLIN HINTON
Drummer. Composer. Educator.
Photo credit: Rita Taylor
CALENDAR
1/7
Elijah Shiffer and the Robber Crabs
Lauren Reilly, trumpet; Paul Brodhead, trombone;
Elijah Shiffer, alto sax; Chris Ferrari, tenor sax;
Christian Cail, guitar; Ben Rolston, bass; Colin Hinton, drums; Borbo, percussion
Night Club 101
8-10pm
1/11
Elijah Shiffer’s City of Birds
Elijah Shiffer, alto sax; Kevin Sun, tenor sax; Dmitry Ishenko, bass; Colin Hinton, drums
Ibeam
6-7pm
1/19
Elijah Shiffer’s Strings and Birds Recording Session
Elijah Shiffer, alto sax/compositions; Ben Sutin, violin; Fung Chern Hwei, violin; Sunjay Jayaram, viola; Aliya Ultan, cello; Dmitry Ishenko, bass; Colin Hinton, drums
Rudy Van Gelder Studio
1/23
Elijah Shiffer and the Robber Crabs
Lauren Reilly, trumpet; Paul Brodhead, trombone;
Elijah Shiffer, alto sax; Chris Ferrari, tenor sax;
James Wengrow, guitar; Ben Rolston, bass; Colin Hinton, drums; Borbo, percussion
Coconut Crib, BK
2/24
Downtown Music Gallery
TBD
Photo credit: Peter Gannushkin
Photo credit: Aaron Nevezie
Three Suites
2026, Endectomorph Records
Double disc album featuring pianist Santiago Leibson and bassist Eivind Opsvik, produced by Tyshawn Sorey.
Photo credit: Ocelot
Ocelot
2018–present
Co-led trio featuring multi-reed instrumentalist Yuma Uesaka and pianist Cat Toren, mentored by Wadada Leo Smith through Chamber Music America’s Ensemble Forward program.
Photo credit: Roger Zahab
Rtn CONUS RELAD
2025
String quartet premiered by Eclipse Quartet in June 2025, rooted in over 20 hours of interviews with Hinton’s father about his service in Vietnam.
PROJECTS
LISTEN
Three Suites
Skumringstid – Movement II
A nocturnal loop that drifts between stillness and unease. Written out of late-night pandemic drives through empty Brooklyn, the music mutates quietly, suspended in that strange space where time feels stretched and post-apocalyptic.
Ocelot — Sequestration
A slow-burning study in stasis and transformation. Built from minimal written material, the trio expands and contracts the harmonic field through deliberate, patient improvisation, creating a world that feels suspended yet alive at the edges.
Simulacra — What Was
A charged, shifting quintet composition where groove, counterpoint, and free interplay blur together. The music keeps tilting its center of gravity, moving through a landscape that feels both restless and sharply focused.
TEACHING
Colin offers private lessons for drums & percussion, composition, piano, and music theory grounded in curiosity, fundamentals, and sound.
"Colin is the best! I’ve been taking drums with him for almost a year and a half now, having started as an absolute beginner. I can’t believe how far I’ve come.”
— Mary W.
"Finding a teacher like Colin is hard to come by. While I have prior music experience, I have never been taught music in this way — he makes complex ideas approachable.”
— Christina C.
"Colin is an amazing musician and a thorough, focused, and compassionate teacher who meets his students where they are.”
— Richard R.