Idris Muhammad is one of the most influential drummers to come out of the New Orleans tradition. From his teenage days in the '50 playing with Art Neville and the Hawkettes to current collaborations with some of the world's finest jazz artists, he has imbued countless hit records and hip sets with a distinctive Crescent City flavor. Yet, like so many of our great drummers, you have probably heard his music but not his name, because attention tends to follow the spotlight, which burns brightest on singers and "frontmen."

He was born Leo Morris in 1939, with a father who played banjo and three drumming brothers. By the age of sixteen he was already touring with the Hawkettes and R&B stars like Larry Williams, Lloyd Price and Jerry Butler. He recorded with Fats Domino and laid down grooves for such seminal R&B singles as Lee Dorsey's "Working in a Coal Mine" and Joe Jones' "You Talk Too Much." Word of his talent spread quickly, and he soon found himself touring and recording with Sam Cooke, Jackie Wilson and Curtis Mayfield.

He moved to New York in the early '60s where he was part of the house band at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater. Later, in the '70s, he played in the pit band for the Broadway musical Hair, followed by a four- year road stint with singer Roberta Flack. During this period, Idris was discovered by the jazz world, first gigging with Lou Donaldson in the late '60s and eventually playing with such titans as Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Betty Carter, Paul Chambers, McCoy Tyner, Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, Ahmad Jamal and Pharoah Sanders.

Proving in all these situations to be an extremely creative and versatile musician, it's no wonder that Idris evolved into a recording session guru. In time, and after many successful record dates, he earned the reputation of a New York "studio legend," similar to the status achieved earlier by New Orleans drummer Earl Palmer in Los Angeles.

For the past decade, Idris has lived in a tiny village in Austria, but this hasn't kept him in any way removed from the music scene. He played a crucial role on John Scofield's well-received 1995 Blue Note record, Groovelation, and has appeared on several all-star "Chartbuster" sessions for the Hip-Bop label. He sizzles on saxophonist Joe Lovano's latest effort, Friendly Fire, and has his own record out on Cannonball, Right Now, which features drum/sax duets with Lovano, George Coleman and Gary Bartz, a showcase for Muhammad's unique, syncopated yet melodic style of drumming.

At the Montreal Jazz Fest last summer, where this interview took place, Idris was a key player. The previous night he had positively burned with a band led by Lovano, and then a half an hour later he filled in for a missing drummer with some young lions led by vibraphonist Stefon Harris. Idris went in unprepared, but the music soared, and Harris said the next day that his band had never sounded better.

In fact, one of the festival producers interrupted this interview to beg Idris to fill in for Toots Thielemans' drummer that night. Clearly, the demand for Idris' remarkable skill has not diminished, even as he talks about preparing for a self-imposed semi-retirement, filled, he hopes, with plenty of fishing, Cuban cigars, the occasional choice gig and frequent pilgrimages back to his beloved New Orleans.