Posts Tagged Drummer
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March 13, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Marching To The Beat Of Their Own Drums: Short Interviews With Ari Hoenig, Anthony Donaldson and Dave Weckl
There are drummer jokes for most musical occasions but almost all of them feature a punchline mocking the drummer’s intelligence. Talk to a good player and they’ll be thoughtful and wise; focussed and passionate. I talked to three great drummers – all set to be the star of the show for a few moments or […]Archive
February 13, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Bashing Out: My Top 10 ‘Drum’ Albums
I was hooked on Modern Drummer magazine as a teen. And I always liked reading the record reviews at the back of the Modern Drummer, they focused on drums and ‘drum’ albums or at least highlighted the drums and drumming on pop and rock records when they reviewed them. They might write-up a pop album because of […]Archive
February 4, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Ndugu Chancler
Leon “Ndugu” Chancler has died. He was 65. The pop, soul, funk, disco, jazz, R’n’B and rock drummer will be remembered best as the drummer on Thriller. The creator of the perfect beat in Billie Jean but he was a veteran who had worked with masters including Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis, George Duke, Jean-Luc Ponty, […]Archive
February 3, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Playlist: Paul on Drums – Big Macca Attack
“Ringo! The best drummer in the world? He’s not even”, so the famous quip goes, “the best drummer in The Beatles”. Attributed to John Lennon, it’s actually a clever piece of satire by the comedian Jasper Carrott. Not only is it the funniest thing he said it has a deadly accuracy – John Lennon might […]Archive
February 2, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast: Episode 101 – Ant Donaldson
Welcome to episode 101 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T, Yeastie Boys and Le Petite Chocolat. Here’s a chat with legendary Wellington drummer Ant Donaldson. I met Ant a few years back – having been an admirer of his playing across so many bands. The Razorblade, The Mantarays, The Six Volts/Front Lawn, The Labcoats, The […]Archive
January 19, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
Five Songs For Friday: 22 – Giving The Drummer Some…
Drum Solos! – wait, come back! You don’t often hear people crying out for more drum solos, or any drum solos. Even a lot of drummers hate drum solos. But sometimes you see and hear something special. And sometimes the drum solo – or an extended break – is, I dunno, “musical”, and exciting. Well, […]Archive
December 9, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Sunny Murray
Sunny Murray has died. He was 81. The American free-jazz drummer was born James Marcellus Arthur “Sunny” Murray. His influence on free-jazz drumming – on the very idea of liberating the rhythmic constraints, of exploring textures as a drummer/percussionist – is profound. Murray made records under his own name and with a variety of groups […]Archive
November 22, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Ben Riley
Ben Riley has died. He was 84. So, a good innings – sure. He was one of my favourite drummers. He is one of my favourite drummers. His playing – of course – lives on. So strong, so subtle, so supple, understated – and yet he was always right there, riding hard on the cymbal […]Archive
October 15, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. Grady Tate
The American jazz drummer and vocalist Grady Tate has died. He was 85. The cause: complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was one of my favourite drummers. There’s a good chance he was one of your favourite drummers too – even if you think you didn’t know his playing there’s every chance you did. He played […]Archive
October 3, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 489
Shelly Manne, Plays Richard Rodgers: REX (1977) If I have a weakness – in a guilty-pleasure/Achilles heel sense – it is solo albums by drummers. I don’t just mean when the drummer is a bandleader (as Shelly Manne was) or when they’re a singer/songwriter too or multi-instrumentalist. Though bring all that on also. But if […]Archive
September 21, 2017 by Simon Sweetman