Most under-rated drummers

We often tend to talk about the same drummers: Weclk, Vinnie, Dennis, Portnoy, etc. When you think about it so many drummers out there are not getting the recognition they deserve !

A few examples are drummers like Joey Heredia, who has one of the most solid grooves in the industry. He's played with so many musicians, such as Sheila E, Marco Mendoza, Tribal Tech. Another monster drummer is French drummer Thierry Arpino, who now lives in New York. He is on tour with jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty. Thierry combines today's grooves and chops with North African rhythms... a winner !

And how about Canadian drummer Rick Gratton, who has been transcribing all of Marco Minnemann's music in books and DVD ! Rick, to me, is one of the 20 top drummers in the world, with his own bass drum pedal technique.

Do you guys out there have any favourite under-rated drummers ?

Paul Brochu [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Chester Thompson [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Enzo Todesco
Eric Smith
Dave DiCenso
Tomas Haake
Gavin Harrison
Trilok Gurtu
Jim Black
Jim Kilpatrick
Ken Mazur

to name a few off the top of my head....

Brad

Good call, groovis. Heredia - second THAT.
...AWA Gratton...See my last post on the Marco book topic at
http://www.hostboard.com/cgi-bin/ult...c/f/609/t/2919

I agree w all you guys recommendations. & ESP Enzo, DiCenso, Arpino, Brochu,AWA Jarzombek.
In metal; M Agren, Haake, Roddy, & Hoglan. There are others AW. Herrera & V Paul are already noteworthy.
I think Chester is reasonably well-known, due to his Zappa & mostly Genesis/Collins days.
Also add Hass, Rosenblett, Moktar Samba & Brice Wassy [both played w J L Ponty], 'Zoro,' & Martin Valihora...there are actually many others...

Lars, Portnoy, Rikki Tikki Tockett, Lombardo, Warrant's, White Lion's, Cinderfella's, WASP's, Taco Tico Torrid, & T Lee...just kidding. [No off, you guys. Just a little HOD humor.] ;c)
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"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There?s also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 21, 2004 07:04 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

Not because he is a frequent visitor to this board, but, Gary Husband is GROSSLY underated IMHO. I know I'm preaching to the choir but his combination of Cobham and Williams influence is staggering but inspiring.

Clint

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 20, 2004 01:43 PM: Message edited by: Clintuplet ]</font>

YES, Clint. Ditto THAT.
In MY [or 'our'] 'circles,' he's well-known; but i guess to the masses at large, he IS indeed "grossly underrated"... [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]
Quick, everyone here call [deluge] MD. It's time for a Husband cover. [img]cool.gif[/img]
___________________________

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There?s also a negative side." - Hunter S. Thompson

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 20, 2004 02:46 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

Paul Brochu, Magella Cormier, Vito Rezza, etc...

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Not because he is a frequent visitor to this board, but, Gary Husband is GROSSLY underated IMHO.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">[img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] Totally agree!!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 20, 2004 02:10 PM: Message edited by: Beat Hit ]</font>

Casey Scheuerell

Off the top of my head...

Danny Seraphine
Graham Lear
Joel W. Spencer
Jeff Campitelli

DiCenso is one of my new favorites....I don't think he's underrated (his playing speaks for itself)....but he is hugely "under-noticed" for sure.

I think guys like Gadd, Steve Smith, Chambers, Bissonette and Weckl, for example are underrated in this respect: I see a lot of criticism of these guys ("Gadd does still does that corny windmill fill," "Smith is too clinical," "Chambers never practices and never plays anything new," "Gregg abuses the blush-da," "Vinnie could kick Dave's ass," etc.) but the same thread will be full of all kinds of praise for guys like Abe Jr. and Keith Carlock (neither of whom impress me at all, and are highly overrated, IMO). So in that sense, some of the big name drummers are still underrated, even though we talk about them all the time. Just my opinion.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 20, 2004 03:15 PM: Message edited by: mja61 ]</font>

Yes, Dave DiCenso is one of my favourite drummers too. If ever you get a chance, check out Billy Kilson. He is the next big drum star. I saw him with the Chris Botti band in Ottawa, at the Sting show.

I heard that Billy is closing the Montreal Drum Fest on November 14, with his band BK Groove !

Critics say that Billy Kilson is a mix of Dennis Chambers, Tony Williams and Art Blakey ! Check out www.billykilson.com

Quote:

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Originally posted by mja61:
DiCenso is one of my new favorites....I don't think he's underrated (his playing speaks for itself)....but he is hugely "under-noticed" for sure.

I think guys like Gadd, Steve Smith, Chambers, Bissonette and Weckl, for example are underrated in this respect: I see a lot of criticism of these guys ("Gadd does still does that corny windmill fill," "Smith is too clinical," "Chambers never practices and never plays anything new," "Gregg abuses the blush-da," "Vinnie could kick Dave's ass," etc.) but the same thread will be full of all kinds of praise for guys like Abe Jr. and Keith Carlock (neither of whom impress me at all, and are highly overrated, IMO). So in that sense, some of the big name drummers are still underrated, even though we talk about them all the time. Just my opinion.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">agree 118.3%! especially about dicenso, abe jr. and keith carlock.

and boy does gregg abuse the blushda. he's gonna hurt someone one day.

Quote:

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Originally posted by mja61:
Off the top of my head...

Danny Seraphine
Graham Lear
Joel W. Spencer
Jeff Campitelli

DiCenso is one of my new favorites....I don't think he's underrated (his playing speaks for itself)....but he is hugely "under-noticed" for sure.

I think guys like Gadd, Steve Smith, Chambers, Bissonette and Weckl, for example are underrated in this respect: I see a lot of criticism of these guys ("Gadd does still does that corny windmill fill," "Smith is too clinical," "Chambers never practices and never plays anything new," "Gregg abuses the blush-da," "Vinnie could kick Dave's ass," etc.) but the same thread will be full of all kinds of praise for guys like Abe Jr. and Keith Carlock (neither of whom impress me at all, and are highly overrated, IMO). So in that sense, some of the big name drummers are still underrated, even though we talk about them all the time. Just my opinion.

<font color="#a62a2a"><font size="1">[ August 20, 2004 03:15 PM: Message edited by: mja61 ]</font></font>

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">ahhh, now Jeff Campitelli is one of my favorites! Although the only CD I have him on is the G3:Live with Satch, Via and Eric Johnson - his groove is incredible! Such a tight, spot-on drummer. I just can't help but airdrum [img]tongue.gif[/img]

By the way, if you have any reccomendations of more stuff that he plays on - it would be most appreciated!

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 20, 2004 04:02 PM: Message edited by: neber_dude ]</font>

Two more guys I should mention: Joel Taylor (as mentioned on another thread) and Toss Panos. Neither, as Steve Holmes has put it, get MD love.


Fuse wrote:
"In MY [or 'our'] 'circles,' he's [Gary Husband] well-known; but i guess to the masses at large, he IS indeed "grossly underrated"... "


My feeling exactly. It's part of my mission to see that all great musicians become a household name; including non-famous ones. I drive my wife crazy with, "Guess who's playing on this song?" She rattles off a long list of drummers and eventually guesses the right one.

There is no question that Carlos Vega was the most criminally under-rated drummer that ever graced God's green earth.

MP

well, the Carlos comment makes me think, underrated by whom? Drummers? Carlos and Joey Heredia work(ed) a TON so they're obviously held in high regard by producers and/or artists at least.

Anyway, my vote goes to Dave DiCenso.

Quote:

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Enzo Todesco
Eric Smith
Dave DiCenso
Tomas Haake
Gavin Harrison
Trilok Gurtu
Jim Black
Jim Kilpatrick
Ken Mazur

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hey Vdrummer.... I've heard about Jim Black as being phenomenally musical. A friend of mine saw him in Concert and couldn't believe all the sounds he came up with and with such rare taste. His choice of special sticks, mallets etc. and how he musically made the kit sing was out of this world... He apparently worked on a Ben Monder CD but his magic wasn't (apparently) as present as Live...

Sooooo if you could recommend some of his best recordings, I'd appreciate that, thanks. [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

Bill Maxwell.

You guys harm yourself not checking out my nr.1 living drummer! ( nr.1 drummer is jeff of course [img]wink.gif[/img] )

I saw Jim Black with the Tiny Bell Trio, he was unbelievable!

One comes to my mind and it's carmine Appice. I and my drum bros back in high school used to rip on Realistic Rock and his Rod Stewart junk, but he's got serious chops. I saw him in clinic and he blew me away. Odd times, double bass, interesting grooves.

I am listening to the Blue Murder CD and there is some kick ass drumming on it. Grooves and is heavy but there's some slick fills.

How about:

Gene Lake
Mark Craney
Ari Hoenig
Poogie Bell
Tobias Ralph
Larry Bright
Jon Von Ohlen
Joe Travers
Sean Reinert
Ricky Sebastian
Jason Marsalis
Joel Taylor
Dicenso (of course)
Jojo Mayer
Toss Panos
Charley Drayton
Ray Luzier
also Rick Gratton

I'm sure I left out a ton of people and this list might lean toward the "under noticed" category. But I will go out on a limb here and say that I kind of dig Brain. I think he is sold short by many people. I have heard him play in a lot of different situations and have always enjoyed listening to him. While he may not be the most versatile player out there, I do think he is musical and fairly adaptable to different situations. As far as being under noticed, I would also like to add Jeff hamilton and Steve Houghton to the list. I just don't seem to hear much about these guys.

Oh, and Paco Sery!

Thrilled to see the response to one of my two first posts on Hostboard ! Everyone has their own unknown or underated drummer. I believe that chatting about these great drummers can only help to make us aware of their talent.

Another newcomer to the North Americal Scene is Australian powerhouse Sam Aliano. I heard he is now on tour with the band Gongzilla. Anybody here have any stories on Sam Aliano ?

Groovissimo... Welcome aboard and thanks for all the Heads Ups...

Jeff Hamilton, Ralph Humphrey, and Collin Bailey are my picks.

Terri Lynne Carrington
Adam Nusbaum
?est Love
Paul Motion
David King (The Bad Plus Trio)
Aphex Twin [img]wink.gif[/img]

there are loads more I'm sure...

There's an Aussie drummer called Pete Drummond who I think should be on the list...I've only heard a few clips of him, but every Aussie that I hear talking about Pete say that he is a monster...I heard that Thomas Lang even asked Pete for technical advice at TUDW last year...must be pretty amazing if lang asked him for tips [img]confused.gif[/img]

Great names so far. I have Gene Lake on some Steve Coleman stuff and MAN, that guy BURNS!!! As far as Bill Maxwell, that guy did some good stuff with Andre Crouch, i dig him although i forgot about him, thanks for reminding me. Carlos i second for sure. I always loved Lenny White, wish he would get more love out there than he does. One more guy who i think would get more "credit" if he didn't have the "regular" gig that he does is Smitty. He can KILL the fusion stuff but when it comes to Big Band, he does it proper. Not that there is anything wrong with the gig he has, wasn't saying that.

Oh, i gotta add Marco to that list. I know he is in the new crop of chops guys but i haven't seen him in MD as far as interviews and he doesn't get as much press as Virgil or Lang. I saw him in clinic here a few months ago and WOW!!! A friend of a friend boot-legged it from the sound board and got a GREAT mix of him and all the recorded tracks he played with. He absolutely KILLED IT! His musicality is underrated, i didn't realize how well he applies what he can do til i saw it in front of me. Great clinic too, he just hung and had a drink with us after; the clinic was at a bar! Weird setting, people were playing pool during his playing and two drunk guys started fighting and Marco had to wait for them to leave before he started talking [img]confused.gif[/img]
Fun times!

Ah yeah of course, Lenny White! His drumming on Return To Forever's Romantic Warrior opened my eyes to an entire new world! Damn I feel to guilty for not mentioning him before!

Yeah, I just got "Romantic Warrior" and have been digging it....some great drumming on there....and a killer drum sound considering it was mid/late '70s.

I'll have to add Bill Gibson to my list. A great pure rock drummer with jazz influence. From what I've seen, he's a legitmate traditional grip player.

Sorry if I repeat anyone...

Nate Townsley [Zawinul]
Cornell Rochester [Zawinul]
Rodney Holmes
Sherri Maricle [Diva]
Dave King [the Bad Plus]
Sean Rickman
Jeff Sipe [ARU]
Sean O'Rourke [ARU]
Eric Gravatt [McLaughlin]
Tom Knight
Pat McDonald [Charlie Daniels Band]
Ray Massey [Wooten Bros./Tanya Tucker/Pearl Corp.]
Scott Hoffman [Nashville/Jms Taylor-Gadd drum tech]
Jeff Donovan [Nashville tour/session]
Greg Morrow [Nashville session]
Randy Cooke [CAN touring + session ace]
Gary Moffat [.38 Special]
Billy Ashbaugh [In Sink ;c) ]
Mario DeCuitiis (Radio City Music Hall, NYC)
Efrain Toro
Derek Roddy
Lee Venters [everyone used to think he was Vinnie because of his looks]

Some local FL tour/session boys:

Michael Aurijemma [BAD-a**!]
Joe Murphy
Dave Dix [formerly of the Outlaws]
Dave Reinhardt [Jeff Berlin, Richard Eliot, freelance-Temptations, Osmonds] [BAD-a**!]
Kenny Suarez [Black Bean Soup, Dick Rivers Group, Al DiMeola]
Rusty Riley [Busch Gardens, Tampa]
Bobby Ohanesian [Chateau; The Connection]
David Hardman [Woody Shaw, Woody herman, FL Symphony Orch, Red Rodney, Ira Sullivan, the Hurricanes]
Joe Vencomo

Guys that are known, yet not WELL-known:

Sonny Payne
Gene Lake
Mike Bland
Brian Frasier Moore
Rithie Morales

Some of the guys here in HODhb ;c) - you know who you are, like Pedro Gallindo, Alex Sanguinetti, Tombo, Stv, Derek, Pete C, Roy C, etc etc. I'm "missing a few" here AW.

Agreed on CARLOS V, R Humphrey, Scheuerell, Jeff Hamilton, B Stewart, TLC, Nusbaum, Motian, & Larry Bright - he's one of Dennis C's Baltimore 'homies'...his '94 solo CD is rippin' - with Gary Grainger, Gambale, & Haakon Graf ...on the more uptempo tunes, he's like a frenetic mix of some Cobham, Tommy Campbell, a lot of Chambers, & a bit of Rodney Holmes...altho he has a tendency to "overplay" ;c)...& he loves to play a lot of those similar sounding fast 16th trip & 32nd single stroke licks from snare down the toms at the end of a bar progression; but still, check out the tunes Hypertension, Rice Kryspies, Alka-Salsa, & Garfield!

And Lenny, how could we forget about him?! Like Cob, a legend. RTF's album "Where Have I Known You Before" was another ba**buster like Rom. War. The tune 'Vulcan Worlds' off WHIKYB busted my a** when I first heard it in the early 80's!!

Uh...oh yeah, and...uh, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Wreckl, Virgkill DoneKickedYoIce-T, Stv Smith, & Dennis Chambers [around HERE sometimes, anyway!!] ;c)

There's really a LOT of "underrated" cats out there, guys we've never heard of...yet...

OH yeah. I spent WAY too much time on this.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 21, 2004 07:14 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>

Whoops! Forgot about....Rufus "Speedy" Jones....catch him on the newer Hudson DVDs ("Classic Drum Solos vol. 1 & 2).

How did THIS guy fly under the radar?!?!

Words can't do it justice...it's just a pleasure to watch him play...to see those sticks flying so effortlessly.

Yeah man, Tom Knight! TOTAL Badass!

Ed Uribe...

http://www.pearldrum.com/e_uribe.asp

I've mentionned him before... Seen him with Tiger Okoshi as he had replaced Robbie Gonzalez. Actually, I went to the gig expecting Robbie to be the drummer, I had heard so much about him...

Ed Uribe did not disappoint AT ALL. This guy's got a pocket, Fusion-like Chops, strong funk backbeat and an outstanding knowledge of Afro-Cuban and Brazlian rythms, wrote two books on the topics.

[img]eek.gif[/img] Just noticed that Ed recently collaborated to the Second Edition of Rick's Licks by Rick Gratton.

A Quicktime clip of Ed playing the KAT Electronic kit HERE

Ed also owns a recording studio, multi-media production, Web designs... www.dancingplanet.com Hudson Music being one of his clients... Lots of Drummer World short clips (if not all) were edited by his company.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ August 21, 2004 11:52 PM: Message edited by: Beat Hit ]</font>

Sipe, Gravatt, & Ashbaugh!!! Yeah, right there with ya! I knew a guy, when i lived in MN, who is a drummer in Minneapolis and he played percussion on a gig with Eric Gravatt. Said when they traded, people literally put their instruments down and just watched Eric. The word was that he could have been one of the baddest cats ever but circumstances didn't go that way. He now works at a prison in the Twin Cities. T Bozzio said he probably influenced him more than anyone else ever. Underrated for sure.

Hi guys, I'm a drummer from Brazil and this is my first posting here. My favorite underrated drummers:

WOLFGANG HAFFNER (from Metro) - I love the way he uses splashes and crashes and his very clean technique.
HARDY FISCHOTTER (from Susan Weinert Band) - german monster drummer, Colaiuta-influenced.
ALBERTO D'ANNA - great drummer from Italy. Check out "Ricardo Fassio Tankio Band Plays the Music of Frank Zappa"!
TOSS PANOS - I love his drumming in Fire Merchants' Landlords of Fire and Mike Keneally's Half Alive in Hollywood and Sluggo.
MARK BRZEZICKI - nice drummer from rock band Big Country.
MARK WALKER - an American drummer who plays Brazilian music superbly.
JOJO MAYER - powerful playing with Screaming Headless Torsos.
GENE LAKE - Screaming Headless Torsos' live album and Fiuczynski/Medeski's Lunar Crush have some bombastic fills.
JOEL TAYLOR
MARK CRANEY
CLAUDIO TROTTA - some serious drumming with Deus ex Machina, an Italian prog-fusion band.
JOEL ROSENBLAT
BARRIEMORE BARLOW - great drumming with Jethro Tull.
JOEY BARON
CASEY SCHEUERELL
PACO SERY - very musical drummer from marvellous french band Sixun. Jaco Pastorius asked him: What planet did you come from???
ANDREW GANDER - virtuoso drummer from Australian band Sonic Fiction (that includes members of Chad Wackerman band).
RALPH HUMPHREY

Maybe I could include more three drummers: GARY NOVAK, ZACH DANZIGER and CHAD WACKERMAN.

I think the guys name is Curt Covington??

Saw him play one night at La Ve Lee here in Studio City with Scott Henderson. This guys was a Mofo!!!! Tons O'Chops. Threw the kitchen sink and then some to us all night.

Michael Bland (aka Michael B) eats John Blackwell for lunch...maybe even literally! [img]rolleyes.gif[/img]

Ralph Humphrey is another one of my "unsung heroes". His versatility & odd time command are pretty badass.

James Gadson, Benny Benjamen, Clyde Stubblefield, Mark taylor, Squarepusher [img]wink.gif[/img] Frank Dunlop, etc etc