[mymnduccete]

I had a punk rock band that warmed up for "GOB" when I was 15, a funk/jam band with two girl singers when I was 17, recorded a CD of original music with a pop singer when I was 18, and have played in every single context I can imagine since then... it's all served the jazz side quite well. I love playing hip hop and funk... it's a different feeling and sound than jazz. I know on the other thread I gave the impression that I'm a purist who hates other types of music. The truth is, I'm a purist who LOVES other kinds of music, and loves to play them. I spending time on your axe in front of an audience is essential, and no matter what kind of music you're playing, it will serve your endurance, showmanship, and execution exponentially. Whenever I get called to do a good pop gig or theatre work, I have fun. I had a blast doing Tommy a couple years ago. I know you're just playing with me, but maybe you didn't know that i DO play other kinds of music, and consider anytime I get a chance to play music a GOOD time.

As far as the old masters go... I have never heard anybody be able to sound like Baby Dodds or Sid Cattlett... the recording, the gear, everything is different... it's impossible. The techniques they used are so homegrown and hard to decipher on the recordings they are on, that it's nearly impossible to evaluate just how much technique they had. Buddy Rich is another story... I still haven't heard anyone on the drums come close to what he can do. For me, that's the ultimate in technique because it's also very musical and swinging. But the drummers I really admire, the more I lift them and try to play like them the harder I realize it really is to even come close to posessing the "technique" that Max or Philly had. Art Blakey had infamously terrible technique, but IMHO, the greatest time feel and sound of all time... simply ferocious! And so terribly difficult to imitate. Philly is another one... he had mountains of facility on the drums... real rudimental and classical shit. Totally impossible to sound like him. The only people I've ever heard that come close are Kenny Wasthington, Lewis, Greg Hutchinson and Clarence Penn, who all played with Betty Carter (as did Philly) and learned how to deal with those tempos on brushes... a whole different type of "technique", and one that is impossible to learn without playing. Philly sounded like Philly because he was a tireless student of the drums who combined that with a real, "street" awareness and learning on the bandstand.

The drums are a different type of instrument. Guys who spend hours and hours practicing but dont' play that often... you can tell right away when you hear them play. They impose what they've been practicing on the music, and it doesn't always work. The best education for a drummer is to learn a few beats and then throw themselves in a situation where they're just having to play it.... whatever it is. You learn pretty quickly what works and what doesn't from the looks you get from the lead guitarist. And nobody can argue with a great groove, at least, you'll never get in trouble for just laying down great feeling and great sounding time.