Why Steve Gadd Is The Grooviest Drummer In the World | Off Beat

one of the most highly regarded session drummers in the industry Steve gadd reportedly appeared on over 400 albums across a six decade career his incredible ability meant he could play a variety of genres with notable musicians including Paul Simon Steely Dan Paul McCartney Joe Cocker Grover Washington Jr chick Korea Kate Bush Eric Clapton and many many more so why exactly is he regarded by many as one of the best session drummers ever and how did he gain the reputation of having one of the best grooves in the game when asked about his drumming Inspirations Gad often mentions Jazz Greats like Buddy Rich Gene Krupa Max Roach Tony Williams and art Blakey which makes sense considering God was learning the drums in the 60s when hardbop and post-bop music were still thriving as the industry and popular genres shifted Gad mentions in an interview for modern drama that when I got to New York and started hearing some funk players I started to concentrate more on the groove than on the freedom of Straight Ahead stuff this word he uses here Groove is a hugely important facet of his playing Steve God is often described as having a deep pocket this is a classic drama term which is kind of difficult to concisely Define but it's essentially referring to playing with specific focus on Groove and Rhythm above all else when you search for deep pocket drumming on YouTube one of the top video results is entitled Steve gadd demonstrates a deep pocket Groove so rather than try and explain it I think it's just easier if I show you [Music] just Rhythm Groove something to get your head bobbing and Toes tapping to gain a better understanding into how he came to play this way his response at drum Clinic highlight his philosophy as a drummer and I really started paying attention to the feels and and playing more simply when I got into the studio when I got in the studio and heard it you know heard the uh what you know where the tomb was going to peek in the studio and if it got like that and you heard it back it just was almost incomprehensible you know it's I would start playing you know too busy and it would cover up who's every album I was playing on I started learning that it was uh you know more musical to start getting simple when it started to become a challenge to me to try and make it sound full starting from the other level starting from a real simple place than to than to think that the uh the height of the music was always the most technical and the most busy and and the loudest these are the cool principles of God's playing that Define his style and no doubt what made so many top 10 musicians go to him when they needed a drama Groove Above All Else listening and reacting to the music around you prioritizing the sound of the collective here he talks about his time playing with a band called stuff I was so there and I was so tuned in to watch and uh for for months all I would watch was Richard T's foot the way he tapped his foot so I could lock my bass drum in with it you know what I mean and I would watch to see if if anyone if you know if anyone if the guys if they were looking to see the kind of expression they had on their face to see if they if it was feeling good or if it wasn't you know we can hear the end result of this process on one of staff's most popular tracks foots where you can hear God really locking in with the bass and piano tying the whole Groove Together [Music] one of the most impressive aspects of God's playing is that this trademark Groove is present no matter the genre he was playing whether it was Latin jazz Rock Fusion r b pop or anything else [Music] foreign [Music] shared this great quote about how creative God is as an arranger I know that drummers love to learn some of the specific beats and rhythms he concox they should it's a great way to learn transcribe Steve's drumming but Steve's musical sense the way he interprets the compositions he puts his rhythms to is the essence that can be observed and learned from of course but that's Steve as a fine arts interpreter a kind of composer and a ranger really I think this is a really undervalued talent because there are many drummers that have fantastic technical ability whether it's a deep pocket groove or crazy chops but if you lack the ability to write original and stimulating drum parts that's a weakness as a musician whereas for Steve gadd he had the best of both worlds he had the technical and creative abilities to play and write a good case study for this is the comparison of the subtly effective drum groove on Paul Simon's hit song 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover and the radical and drum solo on Steely Dan's Asia [Music] foreign [Music] what's incredible about these two examples is that they're wildly different stylistically but both memorable drum parts and they perfectly fit the style of the song you can really understand where chick career was coming from when he described Gad as an arranger or composer the principles of feel and groove are still present when God's soloing an amazing example is this video where he along with Vinnie coloryuta and Dave weckel take turns soloing over a simple Groove you see kalahuta and wekel pull out every trick in the book flexing every drawing muscle they have but Gad just sticks to his core beliefs foreign [Music] it's fascinating to hear these three drummers Styles and by comparison you're made aware of how subtle God's approach is while still being able to be expressive with soloing similarly if we take a look at this Latin percussion Jam he does with Alex Acuna and Luis Conte his solo has incredible expression and personality the spaces he leaves the Dynamics the changes of tempo it's a great solo and what makes it an unmistakably Gad solo is that he never neglects the rhythmic feel foreign [Music] discusses his approach to soloing in more detail here I have the same approach soloing in Latin or that I would do you know have playing and other types I think in phrases either for or eight bar phrases and if I can lock it into four or eight bar phrases it makes for a more uh meaningful solo something that's it's I think that's more easily understood it doesn't I don't if I'm thinking in four bar phrases then the resolution point would be at the end of the fourth bar in other words if I'm thinking of a four bar phrase I could play anything in that four bar phrase as long as I know you know where I am in and what bar I'm at you know and then I would sort of like end the phrase and the end of the fourth bar and then begin another phrase on the downbeat of the beginning of the next four bar phrase this is a typically pragmatic Steve got approach to playing focus on phrases four or eight bar repetitions and importantly these decisions are made in his own words to create a more meaningful solo something that's more easily understood if you go back and watch his two other solos I've mentioned you can see him playing in the way he describes but let's take a look at one of his other solos and how it conforms to this four bar structure he mentions foreign [Music] thanks so much for watching guys if you enjoyed the video please drop a like And subscribe if there's anything I missed out or if there's another drama or musician you want me to cover then leave a comment below thank you foreign

Channel: Off Beat

Views: 519,135

Keywords: music, video essay, theory, analysis, video, essay, stewart copeland, drumming, off beat, offbeat, steve gadd, steely dan, paul mccartney, paul simon, kate bush, chick corea, al di meola, eric clapton, drummer, steve gadd groove, steve gadd deep pocket, steve gadd video, steve gadd analysis, steve gadd solo, steve gadd live, steve gadd drums, steve gadd aja, vinnie colaiuta, dave weckl, steve gadd (musical artist), drum cover, drums (musical instrument), solo, drum solo

Id: R_xOconY6H0

Length: 9min 39sec (579 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 13 2023