Buddy Rich

[palmerlouie]

my father is and was a huge buddy fan and ive always had videos and dvds around the house and heard stories etc and always recognised his greatness but was never really "into" it.

I was too immersed in todays guys and didnt like looking back and hearing the shit sounding drums etc, which is of course very ignorant.

BUT....about 3 months ago, something urged me to dig out a dvd and i watched it and suddenly all this stuff just hit me right between the eyes. having not watched him for a few yrs, i now fully understood what he was doing and all the things that i had missed came flooding back. it was amazing......i too begun to notice the hand and foot things and the musicality, power and speed.

but the one thing that gets me (as it does with weckl) is the way buddy accents with the band! it is seamless. amazing to watch. its never "heres the time, heres the fill, and heres the accent".....its all one lovely flowing motion. weckl obviously picked all this up from buddy cause i see those similarities. ive been studying buddy's playing for the last few months and im loving it. the cd's etc are just so unpredictable.

i bought the mel torme biog yesterday and have started it and its great so far....

he truly was a genius....and such a celebrity too. it was so different in those days. can u imagine vinnie or weckl being a guest on "saturday night live"?!

[palmerlouie]

my father is and was a huge buddy fan and ive always had videos and dvds around the house and heard stories etc and always recognised his greatness but was never really "into" it.

I was too immersed in todays guys and didnt like looking back and hearing the shit sounding drums etc, which is of course very ignorant.

BUT....about 3 months ago, something urged me to dig out a dvd and i watched it and suddenly all this stuff just hit me right between the eyes. having not watched him for a few yrs, i now fully understood what he was doing and all the things that i had missed came flooding back. it was amazing......i too begun to notice the hand and foot things and the musicality, power and speed.

but the one thing that gets me (as it does with weckl) is the way buddy accents with the band! it is seamless. amazing to watch. its never "heres the time, heres the fill, and heres the accent".....its all one lovely flowing motion. weckl obviously picked all this up from buddy cause i see those similarities. ive been studying buddy's playing for the last few months and im loving it. the cd's etc are just so unpredictable.

i bought the mel torme biog yesterday and have started it and its great so far....

he truly was a genius....and such a celebrity too. it was so different in those days. can u imagine vinnie or weckl being a guest on "saturday night live"?!

[eaglebeat]

This looks pretty cool:


Check out the previews right here!
I like the Johnny Carson clip, but what is he looking for, in the 'POCKET'? [img]graemlins/smarty.gif[/img]

I have the 'Lost West Side Story Tapes' which is great. It's either buying this or the Montreal Jazz Fest.............. Or BD at the top? [img]graemlins/hmmm.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 01, 2004 06:46 AM: Message edited by: Eaglebeat ]</font>

[FuseU1]

Good posts, Brad & Louie...

[tombo74]

I think Buddy is still unsurpassed in terms of sheer natural facility on the set in a musical setting. He's been THE major influence on many that were major inflences on many that were...

Talking about the two drummers featured on HOD; like Louie, I feel Buddy in Weckl's approach to setting up figures and filling in between kicks, and I feel Buddy in Vinnie's sheer "go for it" attitude.

I still don?t see anybody whose hands could compare to Buddy?s...well judging by what I saw at his clinic last week, maybe Steve Smith?s amazing left hand is getting close to <s>a 3-year-old</s> Buddy?s hand. [img]wink.gif[/img]

There?s another GREAT book I recommend on not only Buddy but all the big names of this era (Webb, Krupa, Papa Jo, Sid Catlett, Dave Tough, Cozy Cole?), it?s Burt Korall?s Drummin? men. A masterpiece from the inside where you get to know how all of these guys influenced one another in the swing years. LOTS of inside stories?

Like near the end of Buddy?s chapter where Freddie Gruber relates Buddy?s last days:

?Just before the operation ?we were going down in the elevator-the doctors asked him if he was allergic to anything. Buddy said, country and western music.? He kept going, he fought and screamed bloody murder."

?The last day he was thinking of the young people and what he could leave behind. We had talked about doing an educational video together on the history of the trap set. He brought it up, and insisted I go ahead with it. ?Never tell them what to play,? he said, ?only how to approach the instrument!? I asured him it would be done. He kept on, ?Make sure you?ve heard what I said! Leave something for the young people!? That was his bottom line. The tape would be a part of his legacy.?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">

[blake1]

My dad took me to a Buddy Rich concert when I was 14. I asked my dad if I could meet Buddy later and he said "we'll catch him outside". We found his bus and I was scared to meet him and my dad said," just go ask that guy right over there if you can get on the bus". I did and I ended up getting a picture on the bus with Buddy. I had him sign the record with his dual with Max Roach. I was ecstatic that after only really playing for a year, I met Buddy Rich! I really thought I was special. hehe

Later on, when I went to the Berklee College of Music, I played in the Buddy Rich ensemble for 3 yrs. It was my dream to play that music when I arrived there but after a year or two I actually tried to quit . I was getting into different approaches to playing music (and didn't want to be too influenced or typecast as a Buddy drummer) but the teacher( Wayne Naus) lectured me and ended up giving me a bunch of gigs outside of school. He was very kind to me and really taught me a lot about life and playing.

Half way through one year -1 week before a major concert I left my music in a drum practice room. We never did find the music (I think the music was turned in but they didn't tell me) and I had to play by memorizing the arrangements. That was a revelation because after forcing myself to use my ear more I could really play the music.

A great lesson learned from a boneheaded mistake. (Isn't that a lot of what life is about anyways?)


I realized what a force Buddy was and was so humble to be able to play some of the same arrangements he played. I just bowed down to his achievements on the instrument.

He was a genius on the drums and had an incredible ear.

Drummer/Teacher- Joe Hunt (Stan Getz / Bill Evans) played me a bunch of small group recordings of Buddy and by those I heard another side of Buddy (the incredible time keeper and brush player). He had so many fresh ideas as far as fills were concerned.

Also, i heard a record of him playing on a dry studio kit ( 70's) and I could have sworn it was early Gadd. Buddy was an amazing funk drummer and his hi-hat work was awe inspiring.

Sorry I can't link to the picture directly but if you want to see it you can go to my site.

www.blakelindberg.com

and see it on the pictures page.

[piccupstix]

I grew up watching Buddy play out here at Disneyland almost every year. He'd usually be booked for a week. I'd see as many shows as I could - damn the rides! I just turned 51 and will probably always feel he was the greatest. One day, back in '87, I was at the UCLA Medical Center to see a doctor about what I thought might be a carpal tunnel thing. Buddy was in the hospital and I asked a nurse to deliver a card from me. I sent him a get well card and thanked him for all the music and inspiration. Years after that I was with Freddie Gruber and he said he remembered Buddy getting the card.

[Andy Edwards]

One of a Kind...

possibly the greatest (so far)

I've got a video of him with Tony Bennett that he did for the BBC in 1982 and his playing is unbelievable. I grew up watching this video.
He plays ballads with brushes to full big band stuff and even fusion type stuff and it's all spot on.

I also love the album 'A Different Drummer'
How funky is that

The greatest...

[pastor4all]

In terms of sheer technique, there will NEVER be another Buddy Rich. I saw him numerous times and I heard sounds coming from his set that were "unexplainable" (I heard that nice splash or subtle touch of the cymbal or snare ghost note, but never "saw" it take place). He always left me shaking my head in sheer astonishment.

And probably the highlight of my musical career was the opportunity I had to meet Buddy and even play for him on his drums. I was 21 years old and on the road with Johnny Ray (a 50's pop star). After our performance, Johnny asked me if I wanted to go hear Buddy at the La Bastille (in Houston). I said, "sure" and off we went. We caught Buddy's last set. After the set was over, Johnny says. "By the way, did I tell you Buddy is a good friend of mine?" And then he said--"Wanna meet him?" My jaw hit the floor! So we go to Buddy's dressing room and Johnny introduces this 21 year old punk as "my drummer." Buddy gave me a very penetrating gaze. I fumbled around trying to find what words I would say to my drumming "idol." I can't remember what came out of my mouth, all I remember is Buddy coming back saying to me--"Let's see what you can do!" So I sat down behind his white-pearl Slingerland's and played a drum solo with Buddy looking over my shoulder. He knew that I had spent many an hour listening to him (because I vainly tried to cop some of his classic solo licks). After I played, he ordered a drink for the two of us and sat down with me and gave me a good hour and a half drum lesson. [He also gave me a pair of his drum sticks that I have mounted and framed to this day].

You will read or hear of many "horror stories" about Buddy and his infamous temper. Many are probably true. All I know is that he showed me astonishing kindness, and gave me some wonderful encouragement. There are soooo many truly great drummers out there today. But to this day, I have NEVER heard or seen ANYONE that can play the drums the way BUDDY played the drums. I came to not only love his drumming, but to also love the man.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 26, 2005 12:51 AM: Message edited by: Steve Spencer ]</font>

[sjj123]

I saw him twice and was not smart enough to walk up and get his autograph. His right on the money "hits" always get me along w/ his ability to swing like no other