BIO

At the crossroads of Texas, Brazil, and central New York percussionist Joshua Dekaney weaves musical traditions with style and community.   Whether on stage or in the studio, Dekaney plays multi percussion with a soulful, deft touch and a keen ear for balancing the ensemble.  

Originally from Houston, Dekaney was a featured headliner of the Batuka! 2010 International Drum Fest in São Paulo.  His love for Brazilian music has led him to travel extensively throughout Brazil studying folk and popular music and allowed him to work with artists Vera Figueiredo, Flavio Pimenta, & Tribores.  

Since becoming an Part Time Professor of Percussion at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, Dekaney has taught drum set, hand percussion, jazz improvisation, jazz combo, and Samba Laranja: The Syracuse University Brazilian Ensemble which has performed for thousands of public school students and been featured four times at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City.  

His interest in diverse music has led Dekaney to work with artists Mary Fahl, Peter Cetera, Kaïssa, Jimmy Haslip, Bria Skonberg, Victor Provost, Wycliffe Gordon, and Aretha Franklin.  He has recorded drums and percussion on over four dozen albums with hundreds of performances in the pit at Syracuse Stage.  In addition, Dekaney has performed with the Pensacola Symphony Orchestra, the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, the Lexington Philharmonic, the Binghamton Philharmonic, the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra, and Symphoria.  

Ranging from Americana to Jazz to World Music, Dekaney currently works with many groups in central New York including Mark Doyle’s Guitar Noir, the Intention, Samba Laranja, Second Line Syracuse, and singer/songwriter Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers.   

Dekaney plays Paiste cymbals, Evans drumheads, Vic Firth sticks, and Pearl drums and percussion.