© -Steven
Cerra , copyright protected; all rights reserved.
I’ve shared this
quotation from trumpeter, composer and band leader Wynton Marsalis before, but
it bears repeating in the context of this blog feature: “Change the rhythm and you
change the music.”
Drummer Steve Gadd
changed the rhythm and he changed Jazz.
The revolution
that he brought to Jazz drumming is akin to what Gene Krupa did for swing
music, Kenny Clarke and Max Roach did for bop, Philly Joe Jones did for hard
bop and the polyrhythms that Tony Williams and Elvin Jones brought to Jazz in
the 1960s.
Of course, many
other drummers made their contributions to changing the “time feel” of Jazz and
therefore changing the music over the years but, with the exception of Tony Williams,
few other drummers bridged Jazz into Rock and Salsa to the extent that Steve
Gadd did.
Earl Palmer, Jim
Keltner and Hal Blaine made a fortune as “in the pocket” Hollywood studios drummers for Rock sessions and
while are all very fine drummers, Steve Gadd brings many added dimensions to
the backbeat drumming the predominates in today’s Jazz-Rock fusion.
He wraps the backbeat
in a New Orleans marching band syncopation in the manner of drummer Idris
Mohammed, simplifies the right-hand cymbal beat to a straight four-four, plays
a cow bell as though it is a ride cymbal to create Latin Jazz inflections which
he also heightens with the addition tom toms; tunes his drums to sound flat and
tubby including a tight, cracking sounding snare drum and carefully crafts
sustained grooves that give the music insistence and intensity.
Steve grooves,
cooks and burns; his playing is never flashy but he always envelopes you in the
rhythm he lays down.
His versatility is
such that he sounds equally at home backing Rock vocalist James Taylor, or the
late, pianist Michel Petrucciani or making classic Jazz recordings with Chet
Baker, Paul Desmond and Jim Hall.
Yet, whatever the
setting, you can tell immediately that it’s Steve Gadd.
At one time in
Jazz parlance, to refer to a musician as a “bad” player meant just the
opposite. A “Bad” player was one who had the epitome of skills, one who
sometimes left you shaking your head in disbelief over what you had just heard.
“Badd” Steve Gadd
is one such musician.
Steve has a new CD
out and I thought I’d call your attention to it by sharing the following media
release from Chris DiGirolamo’s Two for
the Show Media.
Gadditude [BFM Jazz 302 062 418 2] – Street Date: September
3, 2013
Drumming Icon
Steve Gadd Leads All-Star Crew on Gadditude Grooving new session for BFM JAZZ features fellow James Taylor sidemen.
“For Gadditude,
his tenth outing as a leader and second for BFM Jazz, world class drummer Steve
Gadd got a little help from his distinguished friends - guitarist Michael
Landau, keyboardist Larry Goldings, trumpeter Walt Fowler and bassist Jimmy
Johnson. Together they had already established a high degree of bandstand
chemistry as the touring band for superstar singer-songwriter James Taylor.
That goes a long way in explaining the sense of comfort and ease from track to
track on this relaxed session recorded in just one week at Landau's home
studio. "It was like a big family affair," says Gadd. "It's fun
to get together with people that you care about, that you trust musically and
just share the energy and try to make the music the best that it can be."
While Gadd's
inimitable touch on the kit - the same one that defined hundreds of studio
sessions since the 70s - underscores these nine tracks with understated
authority, the rest of the Gadd Band follows suit with a collective feel that
is relaxed, economical and imbued with deep soul. Together they put their own
unique stamp on Keith Jarrett's "Country" and The Windup" and
Radiohead's "Scatterbrain," along with evocative originals by Landau
and Goldings.
"These guys
are all great players," says Gadd. "We've played together a lot in
James Taylor's band and I've also played with them in other circumstances too.
They're some of the best guys in the world. And my belief is, when you put
people like that together, the music will sort of dictate what will happen.
That's where it was at on this session. We picked some music, put our heads
together and everything fell into place real naturally."
Like no other
drummer on the scene over the last four decades, Gadd has an uncanny ability to
get 'inside' a tune. Gadditude is yet another example of the highly respected
and hugely influential drummer finding the 'pocket' and making the music feel
so good. The opener, Landau's "Africa ," carries a cool, mysterioso vibe that recalls Bitches
Brew-era Miles Davis. With Gadd cooking on a low flame underneath,
Landau offers slinky guitar lines on top of Goldings' hovering Hammond
Goldings'
beautiful ballad "Ask Me" has the composer switching to Fender Rhodes
and Gadd resorting to his signature drum 'n' bugle corps grooves. "That
was like a snare drum thing," he explains. "I love the sound of the
snare drum and I love that kind of playing, and it just sort of worked for this
song." Fowler, a former member of Frank Zappa's band who more recently has
been doing orchestrations for movies, contributes some clear, open flugelhorn
on this lyrical number.
Shifting gears, they
put a new spin on Keith Jarrett's "Country" by playing it in 3/4,
with Gadd's alluring brushwork setting the table for Goldings' gospel-ish
Wurlitzer work and Fowler's bright horn solo. "I came up with the idea of
doing it in three," says Gadd. "It's such a great Keith tune and we
just tried to make it feel like it was our own."
Goldings's other
composition here, "Cavaliero," is paced by Gadd's ultra-relaxed,
behind-the-beat second line groove and colored by Landau's Ventures-like guitar
lines. The bluesy "Green Foam" is a group composition that hinges on
Landau's catchy guitar riff. It is reminiscent of Junior Wells' take on
"Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" from his landmark 1965 album Hoodoo
Man Blues (a familiar riff later 'borrowed' by Jimi Hendrix for his Band of
Gypsys tune, "Who Knows"). "All of those old songs are inspiring
to all of us," says Gadd, "so we just started grooving on that riff
and went a little bit crazy with it. But it was all fun. We had a lot of fun throughout
this whole session." With Goldings on organ, this earthy number shifts to
a downhome blues midway through, and Gadd provides the momentum.
The great drummer
then puts up an undulating groove under a Stax/Volt flavored interpretation of
Abdullah Ibrahim's peaceful "The Mountain" (from 1985's acclaimed
Water From An Ancient Well), which has Goldings on Wurlitzer and also features
another potent trumpet solo from Fowler.
Landau's "Who
Knows Blues" is a N'awlins flavored shuffle with Fowler on muted trumpet
and Goldings providing a velvety B-3 cushion beneath him. Landau takes his time
on an economical solo here that recalls Gadd's erstwhile bandmate in Stuff, the
late Cornell Dupree. This moves into an energized romp of Keith Jarrett's
original, "The Windup." After navigating through the tricky head,
Gadd settles into a kind of calypso flavored beat as Fowler and Goldings add
uplifting solos. The date concludes with the group's take on Radiohead's
atmospheric "Scatterbrain" which is a nice feature for Fowler, who 'sings'
through his horn with unbridled lyricism. "That was Jimmy Johnson's idea
to bring in that song," says Gadd, "and I really liked the way it
came out. It's one of my favorites on the record."
"I think all
the grooves were pretty cool on this thing, they felt pretty comfortable,"
says the man whose extensive list of credits include landmark recordings with
the likes of Paul Simon, James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Steely Dan, Chick Corea,
Al Di Meola, Stanley Clarke and Chuck Mangione. "It's a good listening
album, pretty melodies, good playing. And I hope people like it."
Gadditude, the
great drummer's second album for BFM Jazz, is scheduled for release on
September 3. It marks the first joint marketing venture between BFM Jazz and
PledgeMusic, which will give fans the opportunity to enjoy exclusive videos
that feature early versions of the tunes, behind-the-scenes clips from the
recording sessions and exclusive signed CDs. "It's a rare chance to see
what it's like to be in the studio with us day by day as our new album takes
shape," says Gadd. "And a significant portion of your pledge will go
to an incredible organization that I care about deeply, called MusiCares, which
provides assistance for music industry people in great times of need."
This link will take you to YouTube where you can preview the Africa track from the CD.
Fantastic!
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