John Sterling "Jack" Pratt (1931–2020) was an American Army drum instructor at West Point as well as a celebrated rudimental book author.
Pratt produced several volumes of rudimental solos and instructional materials and was also the founder of the International Association of Traditional Drummers (IATD), a member of the National Association of Rudimental Drummers (NARD), a member of the United States Association of Rudimental Drummers (USARD), and was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) Hall of Fame and the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame.
John Pratt was born in 1931 at Seneca Falls, New York, started playing the drums at the age of 10, and began his rudimental training at a local VFW post in 1947.
[2] In addition to teaching at West Point he worked with the Interstatesmen and Gray Knights drum corps during this period.
Despite triple-bypass heart surgery in 2000, he performed at the PASIC convention in 2001 and was inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 2002.