SKF NOTE: Looking again over my 1976-77 Mel Lewis interview transcript. Among Mel’s comments, deleted because there wasn’t room for them in his first Modern Drummer interview, are some interesting insights from the master drummer and storyteller.

Asking drummers their memories of great drummers who preceded them was a key part of my interviews. In hindsight, I wish I had dug deeper into those memories.

This Q&A exchange with Mel is verbatim from the typewritten pages transcribed by me from his taped interview.

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Q. Did you ever get to see Baby Dodds play?

A. No. Baby was before my time. I saw Chick Webb!

When I was a youngster, a little kid, he came through Buffalo. I got to see him once. Of course, I got to hear him more on records later.

But, for me, see, out of Chick Webb the main man was really Gene Krupa. So really, through Krupa, you could hear Webb. If you missed Webb, you could hear it through Krupa.

Now, of course, there’s plenty of reissues of Chick Webb drumming.

Another important guy to me was Jimmy Crawford from Lunceford’s band.

But I heard all those guys.

I also was interested in listening to Lombardo’s drummer, George Gowans. I made sure I heard the society drummers too. I listened to everybody. I had to know all those styles.

And my father, who was a pit drummer, a show drummer, and also a good wedding band bar mitzvah drummer. I knew his style backwards. That was my first influence. And he was sort of a Dixieland style jazz drummer, and he was one of the best pit drummers in the City of Buffalo. And he was an excellent show drummer. He could read anything.

He wasn’t modern by any means, for his time, but he had excellent time. Bill Robinson was crazy about him, about his feel and all that. And I think I was blessed with that from him.

And my father had great taste too. He was a very tasty drummer. I think I got that from him.

My favorites were Krupa and Jo Jones from that era, from the Thirties. I was in love with those two guys.

And then after that I was in love with a whole lot of people, but they were my main loves.

And then, of course, in the Forties, Max [Roach] made a big impression on me. More than Klook [Kenny Clarke]. ‘Cause Max was very impressive then, you know.

Then Roy Haynes. In the Forties I heard Roy Haynes talking about what Elvin [Jones] was talking about later. Roy was really one of the first “out” drummers, man. He was really very good.