Jeff Tain Watts. My Fave Jazz drummer EVAR!

[Steve Holmes]

That thread on Stewart got me thinking..
Jeff Tain Watts is by far my favorite jazz drummer. A true veteran playing with heavy hitters since the mid 80's, he is a nice combination of old school roots with contemporary phrasing and technique. The aggressiveness of Tony, the chops of the fusion guys (but played in a sloppy, Elvinish kind of way) and a unique sound all his own. DEEP This guy. Wynton Marsalis "Standard Time Vol 1" is a MUST for any serious jazz drummer. Not to mention almost all of Branford's discography.
plus (and most important) he SWINGS HIS ASS OFF.

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ok steve,i to makeconform with u!!althought my killing passion by bill's playing, i have to recognize that jeff sounds like a god!but i don't look more to himself,but the way he works with winston!!!yeah,i have that disc!!!but i prefer the peculiar playing off bill!!

[PETE13184]

Yo, Steve it's tight that people on this board are talking about Tain and Bill Stewart. I always strayed from posts about modern jazz guys like this because of the obvious Vinnie/Dave theme. Has anyone heard Tain's new album. Some of the music is kind of bad but he writes most of the tunes which have amazing complex things going on. There is a lot of stuff that switches tempo based upon making a triplet become a quarter note for the new tempo. Just like Steve Smith's metric modulation stuff only all of the musicians are doing it plus soloing/improvising at the same time!
While on new jazz guys anyone listen to Brian Blade? He's probably one of my favorites.

[PocketPlayer]

...and reason 2 why I dig this forum- I would have never sought out Tain- too much out there. But after hearing you guys discuss Bill and Jeff, I will now seek those recordings.
Thanks for the heads-up.
"Standard Time Vol 1"

[blake1]

Not to Make you guys jealous,( well maybe a little since you L.A. guys make me envious because you get to see Vinnie all the time)but I get to see Tain in little clubs all over New York. Bill Stewart is around too, although not as much as a couple of years ago.
I think the new cat to look out for is Brian Blade. I saw him last weekend at the 55 bar and he was smoking!!! It was how he directed the music that blew my socks off. I actually saw Gary Novak hanging out at that show and talked to him a bit. He really dug it and especially the guitarist Adam Rogers. Brian Blade is just so unpredictable in his dynamics and phrasing. Everyone take a listen to the LATEST LIVE WAYNE SHORTER FOOTPRINTS RECORD. That is a great example of some of his playing. He was playing a lot of odd meters the night I saw him and he sounded great. Really super warm drum sound. I didn't need ear plugs !!!! Quiet yet damn intense.

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yeah, we know that vinnie,dave,virg are huges, but with have to be on to other guys like jeff,bill and, well reminded, brian blade!brian it's a really nice player,he plays with lot's of intelligence and shows a lot of versatility!one more thing, u guys pay any attencion to Antonio sanchez, the new drummer of pat metheny group?he sounds like four guys playing at the same time!!!!and the guy really swings!!!