SKF NOTE: Jason Carey, owner of JJC Photographic and and excellent musician, asked if I was interested in talking on camera about my interview with Neil Peart for Modern Drummer‘s 1984 cover story.
Jason’s idea was an opportunity to address questions viewers had asked in response to the posted 1984 Peart interview.
The Neil Peart on Writing & Music video interview has two separate parts. Here are the two parts side-by-side.
This week, Award-Winning Filmmaker Ben Makinen, asked me a series of good questions about Buddy Rich. I thought our exchange would make a good blog post.
Ben Makinen: Given all of the drummers you have known and interviewed would you be able to summarize their opinion of [Buddy] Rich? Is there a general consensus on his place in jazz history as a great jazz musician … or was he seen mainly as a great technical drummer?
Scott K Fish: During a Down Beat magazine drummers roundtable, Shelly Manne said usually he was in awe whenever he saw Buddy Rich plat drums. However, soon after Buddy’s performance, said Shelly, he couldn’t remember anything Buddy played.
Shelly’s is the most severe criticism of Buddy Rich by a great drummer I can recall.
Rich was said to sometimes play too loud, too busy. His drums lacked a warm sound. I’ve read or heard those complaints about Rich.
But, as recently as May of this year, when I asked NRBQ drummer, Tom Staley, about drummers other than Joe Morello who influenced him, Staley said, “Of course, Buddy. What can you say? He was just in a place by himself. You can’t really compare him to the others. He was just amazing.”
Staley’s summation of Rich as a drummer is, by far, akin to how I’ve read or heard other pro drummers describe Rich’s drumming.
During a 1979 interview, Joe Morello, who is often compared with Rich, did a complete job of describing Rich from a great drummer’s point of view. Everything Morello said about Rich is available on my blog starting here:
But here’s the meat of Morello describing Buddy Rich:
“Buddy’s a good friend of mine. Buddy and I have always gotten along very well. And we used to fool around together with the sticks…. He’s got very good technique. It’s not as fast as you would think it is. He looks faster and he sounds faster than he is because he’s clean. Everything he does is very clean.
“There’s (sic) faster drummers, that’s for sure. If you want to just look at it from that. From strictly technically there are much faster drummers….
“But Buddy puts it together so beautifully. He builds this picture real nice, y’know. [Buddy] just does his thing. That’s all. He’s got great ears. He listens. He hears real well.”
June 10, 2017, I first posted on my blog an audio excerpt from my interview with Will Calhoun. He was, at the time, the drummer with Living Colour. Here is what I wrote in that post’s introduction:
“Among my favorite interviews, I am sorry to say none of my interview with Will Calhoun ever saw the light of day. From what I’ve gathered reading through my notes, this interview was meant to be published in Modern Percussionist. But before Will’s interview was published, ‘Modern Percussionist‘ had ceased publication.”
Listening again this week, for the first time in a long time, this interview with Will Calhoun remains a favorite. I’ve decided to post the full length interview in four parts.
Part 3 is the first side of the second of two 90-minute cassettes used to record this interview.
Calhoun talks here about his approach to the drums, his cymbals, Mick Jagger as song producer, Jeff Beck, recording engineer Eddie Kramer, click tracks, John Bonham, drum heads, sampling, “Skin Deep,” Stax Records, Roger Hawkins, drum clinics, music business, MTV, Napoleon Hill.
It is entirely possible some of Calhoun’s opinions here have changed. He was 25-years old when interviewed. July 22, 2023, Calhoun will be 59-years old. Lots can happen in 34 years.
Calhoun has a wonderful new jazz album called “Life in This World,” available through is website: https://willcalhoun.com/ – Today Calhoun endorses Gretsch drums.
Since first hearing him on saxophonist Charles Lloyd’s Charles Lloyd in Europe album decades ago, Jack DeJohnette remains one of my very favorite drummers. For a long time, if DeJohnette was on an album, I bought it.
I was particularly intrigued by his New Directions bands, which seemed to change personnel with each new ECM record. Twice I was lucky enough to see New Directions in concert.
At his 1980 concert at J.B. Scott’s in Albany, NY, DeJohnette explained his approach to drumming. “I learned a lot of what I did in my own head and listening to cats, watching them, talking with them, listening to records. And actually on-the-scene experience. On the job experience.”
That description fits in nicely with pianist Chick Corea’s memory of one unforgettable DeJohnette drum solo.
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Chick Corea: The last [Miles Davis] quintet. I remember the solo you played. We were at the Plugged Nickel and you played a solo I’ll never forget. I tell people about it. Everyone stopped. You know how that happens sometimes. It’s not planned. Everyone stopped and then you were the only one left. So you were playing some drums and then Miles just let you go, and you took over the stage. And I swear, it must have been at least five, maybe eight, 10 minutes long where you played a solo on the cymbals and you never touched the drum. You played your cymbals for 10 minutes. Totally interesting. Totally kind of like, “What? He’s definitely going to touch the drum any minute now.” You never touched the drum. That’s the kind of wild guy you are man.
Jack DeJohnette: I just tried something different. I just tried to have fun with it.
Source: Chick Corea’s n interview with Jack DeJohnette from the CD booklet included with Resonance Records’ Bill Evans Trio – Live at Ronnie Scott’s album.
SKF NOTE: Comedian Chevy Chase shares a story illustrating jazzman Roland Kirk’s incredibly sophisticated hearing. Just when I think my ear training is pretty good I come across this story, and it’s back to work I go.
I’m including Kirk’s “The Inflated Tear” for readers unfamiliar with his music, because this cut had a major impact on my musical life.
Chevy Chase: Roland Kirk…knew me by my footsteps when I’d go in to hear him. That’s the kind of ears these guys had, and it was also very flattering that I could go in early for one of his shows and he’d say, “Hi, Chevy.” He’d just hear my footsteps. What the heck?
Source: Chevy Chase, from an interview with Zev Feldman from the CD booklet included with Resonance Records’ Bill Evans Trio – Live at Ronnie Scott’s album.
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