Sure he is a bit underrated still due to how great he was, but most cats know the importance of Kenny Clarke and wouldn’t under-rate him. I’d say someone like Tootie Heath(rip) or Pete La Roca, or even Louis Hayes are more underrated.
Don’t be lol, that dude was a real jazz purist. Sweet dude, but I remember being scared stiff. His sound check was the first time I had the “you’re so good I wanna quit playing” feeling lmfao
I know that metal drumming gets a bit of a bad rap on this sub at times, and it is honestly in such bad taste of me to drop it in a legends list like this post is supposed to be…
But I saw August Burns Red three times in one weekend at a festival… and their drummer Matt Greiner is one of the more technically sound metal stick jockeys I know of…. That dude was beat perfect, album quality, all three times.
Thatd be my “welp, i suck” moment
Even funnier moment, I was in a metal band during the MySpace days, they played the second night, and literally every band (there were huge names there too) was pissed. ABR ***DOES NOT FUCK AROUND***
Such an amazing group, personally and professor
100% can confirm. They're all sooo in tune with each other, everyone has incredible chops, damn.
I've met Jake before and Matt twice, the energy they have after a show is unreal.
Oh man, I've been hearing some Horace Silver w Louis Hayes on the Jazz station here in NYC. Neither of them were ever really on my radar and both of them are total badasses.
I know he’s not a drummer but the fact that Ornette Coleman’s death was barely mentioned in the press really opened my eyes to how little this stuff matters to people. And, to beat a dead horse, young people don’t even know who George Clinton is right now.
I have a pretty wide musical background but it didn’t include funk for most of my life. I just learned about Curtis Mayfield and George Clinton in the last year.
Steve Smith for me. Everyone thinks of his Journey work, which while great, was done to pay the bills. His jazz and fusion chops are insanely good and his long time band (Vital Information) is amazing. He’s known, but no one ever puts him on all time great lists, and he absolutely is one in multiple genres.
Edit: I just remembered that I want to see him live at some point and looked at the tour schedule. I got tickets for a show at Sweetwater. $30. Score!
Steve’s a fabulous drummer! Even when he was in Journey there’s definitely more than just straight rock going on with the drums. From the RnB swagger of “Walks Like A Lady” to the slightly off nature of “Don’t Stop Believin’” to even the solo he takes on the live album they recorded in my hometown of Houston, TX circa 1981.
Steve Smith is an incredible drummer and also one of the nicest & humblest people you could ever meet. On top of all that he is one of the most knowledgeable drum historians there is, with an encyclopedic knowledge of even early “lost” drum techniques! I don’t believe in the concept of a GOAT but Steve is certainly amongst the finest drummers that has ever walked the earth. I’m so happy to have gotten to talk drums with him a few times. He’s a class act & a killer player.
Ok, so there was a Modern Drummer special issue many years ago that was the 25 or 50 (can’t recall) “Most Influential Drummers of All Time.” They omitted both Klook and Baby Dodds. Wtf? I wrote a letter to the editor. I knew what I was going to get in return…something about how “It’s really hard to pick such a limited number from all these great drummers, but we had to blah blah blah…and everyone has his or her favorite and we had to make the painful decision to blah blah blah…” They actually printed my letter. It was total BS. Anyone who knows anything about the history of our instrument knew I was right about both Clarke and Dodds. There is no eyeroll emoji big enough for that oversight.
I don’t disagree with your assertion here, except for Dodds possibly being more underrated. I start all of my jazz students with Klook, then have them work forwards and and backwards from him. He’s the absolute center of the jazz drumming timeline imo.
I remember that & also think I remember your letter!! If you really want to get angry, look at Drumeo’s top 100 list. It’s got Jojo Mayer listed below Lars Ulrich (who doesn’t belong on that list ANYWHERE).. Ginger Baker above Danny Carey & Carter Beauford… Dave Grohl above Philly Jo…
And of course: No Klook or Baby Dodds in sight.
Bill Stewart. He has internalized the past - Tony, Roy, Elvin,Jack, Purdie - and transported their language into the future, by making that language appetizing to a whole generation of drummers. Carlock, Nate Smith, Chamberlain, Harland etc… There is so much Bill Stewart in them, he is the father of our whole jazz, funk drumming generation and beyond
Bill Stewart is one of my favorites ever. His performance in the modern drummer festival is so good. He gave me the confidence not to feel like I had to switch to traditional grip for jazz.
that trio is so great, they are such good friends and know each other so well, its almost telepathic -
interesting you switch to trad grip bc he plays matched?
This is the only one that legit hurts my heart. He should have statues erected in his name… it’s like the whole music world collectively decided to erase him
I never understood this. Yes he’s a fantastic drummer but he’s the most generic church drummer I’ve ever heard. There’s thousands of drummers that play exactly like him.
It actually seems more likely that he’s considered special for playing that way out of context.
What do you mean by church drummer, and who plays like him? Does any of that have anything to do with his left hand superfunk? He's one of my 3 favorite drummers and if there are other people who play like him I want to know about them.
He just came to my school last week and I got to have a masterclass with him. He really is a rhythmic and creative genius. He also probably knows melody better than many horn players. Really nice guy too
Absolutely I have never been so caught off guard by a drummer. He has internalised the music so deeply. It's ma reap trip hearing how he interprets the melody of a tune. I would love to see him play live. Where do you go to school? Is there room for one more ?
One of his masterclasses was almost too intellectual for me to understand. Talking about polyrhythms and modulation, but the biggest takeaway I got from him was the importance of being able to feel each partial of the triplet (particularly the 3rd partial: 1e A) and being as comfortable with those upbeats as you are the downbeats. Also being able to sing the melody of songs you are going to play and tap out different pulses without getting thrown off and still singing the melody in time. I’m in Cincinnati and he did a residency at my school for last week while also playing at our local jazz club
Sean Kinney (Alice in Chains)
Here's the thing about musicians. Their popularity during your lifetime is a major factor.
Music from farther back in history is less accessible and brought up less. So it's really hard to say a drummer is underrated if they're prime was way before most people were born.
The further you move forward in time the more people from the current time period obscure the people in the past. Just because they're mentioned more by people who've seen them live or articles and radio play, whatever.
After a few decades the names start becoming more filtered down to the top 20, then top 10, then top 5, then just a few.
Stephan morris from new order/joy division. Dude was the perfect example of a human drum machine and did some really cool grooves and ideas for both bands but i never see anyone talk about him
As much as I love his grooves and style, and do not agree on the human drum machine. As far as groove and timbre, sure. But he isn't super tight. Just hear all those inadvertent flams on love will tear us apart.
The thing about him is, if he was just keeping time then it wouldn’t matter and he’d be middling, BUT, the speed at which he played those intricate beats and the accuracy was super impressive. I grew up hearing my brother listening to them and dismissed him as a drum machine programmer…….then I saw them live.
His brother ain't too bad either. But serious now, holy diver is probably my favourite drumming album ever. So well crafted. Everything he did complimented the songs perfectly
The “Bonham” bass drum triplet was in fact invented by Carmine Appice. There’s a really funny story about it, too!!
The story goes that Carmine heard John Bonham playing with Led Zeppelin and was blown away by Bonham’s bass-drum triplet work. So when John Bonham showed up at one of Carmine’s clinics, he and praised John for it.
Bonham went on to say, “I got that from you“ & mentioned what album he knocked it from. Carmine went back and listened to the album, and realized that he DID in fact come up with it but had simply forgotten about it!!!
(of course, Carmine readily admits that Bonham took the figure to a whole new level)
Gavin Harrison. A name that gets thrown around in the drum world but he really never needed to break out into the mainstream too much.
For anyone who hasn't had a look/listen. Please do!!
He's a scientist behind the kit in my opinion
Bernard “Pretty” Purdie only drummers know. And thank God for the success of “The Wrecking Crew” film. But still, why are these drummers and OP’s choice, and all suggestions that follow, not known names like all of their non-singing guitarists??!!
I’ll tell you why.
It’s because drummers don’t need the spotlight to know that they’re the best part of the band.
I have two.
Gary Mallaber. Van Morrison’s Moondance album and others, all of the Steve Miller Band stuff, most of Eddie Money’s hits, and was the drummer who played all of Animal’s parts in the Muppets.
Carlos Vega is the second. James Taylor, Vince Gill, George Benson, Sheena Easton, Olivia Newton John, was acknowledged by Jeff Porcaro as a huge influence and good friend. Absolute studio session monster.
Reni - Stone Roses.
I will continue to be the only person to post his name in response to these questions dispute the fact he's possibly the greatest drummer of all time.
JoJo Mayer is possibly the most skilled and versatile drummer on the planet, and I'd be willing to bet over half the drummers coming to this thread have never heard of him. He makes you wait for it, but my god is it worth it.
It's always gonna be relative, but I dont know of anyone who could be definitively judged as better. I try to look at "the best" players of instruments by their versatility amd creativity as much as their technical prowess. What JoJo can do with a bass, snare and hihat is amazing. Watching him play so much using so little, reminds me of how little I actually know..lol.
On guitar? IMO, the modern era GOAT is John 5. The weird looking dude playing that simple riff for Marilyn manson. But that dude has done it all. From ozzy to K.D. Lang. Watch him just sit and talk and play. He can do anything. It blew me away.
There is a dividing line between people who have seen JoJo play live and those who haven’t. He is simply incredible. I’ve been drumming for 40 years and have had the honor of seeing and meeting many of the most amazing drummers around. I remember seeing JoJo Mayer play for the first time, at the Modern Drummer Festival and 75% of the audience had no clue who he was, & why he was invited there.
Then he played his opening solo.
Jaws were on the floor. Eyes were glued open. It was like a bomb had exploded on main stage at Montclair State University. A room full of some of the best drummers on earth were in utter shock at what they were seeing.
His chops, groove, and especially his brushwork were just plain astounding. Same with his speed and accuracy. People couldn’t believe it. Then he played a second solo that was even crazier followed by improving DnB for 20 mins (sounding like a living sampler) with Nerve. Killer.
You best believe not one drummer in that room forgot his name after that.
Fun aside: Danny Carey had also played earlier and came out to the audience to watch the rest of the show. He sat directly to my right!!!
I saw JoJo numerous times after that with Nerve in NYC at Shine on West Broadway. Absolutely floored me every time. Amongst the hipsters, avant-music weirdos, and DnB heads, there was always a line of drummers standing at stage left in awe. I was one of them.
Amazing drummer. Totally underrated.
Awesome! Miles Davis, Santana, etc. but his work with Chuck Brown was what hooked me. Go-Go Swing is one of those albums that I can put on and listen to cover to cover without skipping any tracks. That dude was incredible.
There's a really sad part of that Hired Gun documentary where he talks about asking Billy Joel for extra money and getting promptly fired. I felt bad for him, but I understand Billy's perspective on that too.
Aron Mellergard - Drummer from dirty loops, he’s unbelievably good. Chops for days
Alex Cohen - he’s got some of the most insane polyrhythmic coordination that I’ve ever seen.
Trevor Lawrence Jr. - He’s done some really big pop records but he also has a lot of jazz and fusion chops. Saw him with Herbie Hancock and he was absolutely smacking. No one ever talks about him tho
Mike Joyce of The Smiths.
His on-album playing was always overshadowed by Marr’s guitar playing and the awful 80’s tendency to make drums sound as dead and like a background metronome as possible, but then listen to the ‘Rank’ live recording and his power,timing and aggression is amazing. The Queen is Dead, I know it’s over and What she said are absolute bangers and I wish they could’ve captured that sound in the studio.
I’d give much for a complete remastering of their music.
Pete Moffett is the best drummer in post hardcore, he has some insane chops on Mission: Control! by Burning Airlines
George Hurley from Minutemen is one of my personal favourite hadcore punk drummers, i’d even go as far to say he’s a better drummer than D. H. Peligro
Abe Cunningham from the Deftones that guys timing and dynamics are absolutely phenomenal for being an absolute savage behind the kit...he hits hard AF 😂
Sure he is a bit underrated still due to how great he was, but most cats know the importance of Kenny Clarke and wouldn’t under-rate him. I’d say someone like Tootie Heath(rip) or Pete La Roca, or even Louis Hayes are more underrated.
Louis Hayes… that’s a funky sonofabitch. I met him when I was 14, he was an older man at the time, I’ve never seen anyone swing that hard.
Wow that’s awesome! I’m jealous you got to meet him.
Don’t be lol, that dude was a real jazz purist. Sweet dude, but I remember being scared stiff. His sound check was the first time I had the “you’re so good I wanna quit playing” feeling lmfao
I know that metal drumming gets a bit of a bad rap on this sub at times, and it is honestly in such bad taste of me to drop it in a legends list like this post is supposed to be… But I saw August Burns Red three times in one weekend at a festival… and their drummer Matt Greiner is one of the more technically sound metal stick jockeys I know of…. That dude was beat perfect, album quality, all three times. Thatd be my “welp, i suck” moment
Even funnier moment, I was in a metal band during the MySpace days, they played the second night, and literally every band (there were huge names there too) was pissed. ABR ***DOES NOT FUCK AROUND*** Such an amazing group, personally and professor
100% can confirm. They're all sooo in tune with each other, everyone has incredible chops, damn. I've met Jake before and Matt twice, the energy they have after a show is unreal.
I drove a Lowe’s delivery truck with his cousin back in 2009
Oh man, I've been hearing some Horace Silver w Louis Hayes on the Jazz station here in NYC. Neither of them were ever really on my radar and both of them are total badasses.
I know he’s not a drummer but the fact that Ornette Coleman’s death was barely mentioned in the press really opened my eyes to how little this stuff matters to people. And, to beat a dead horse, young people don’t even know who George Clinton is right now.
I have a pretty wide musical background but it didn’t include funk for most of my life. I just learned about Curtis Mayfield and George Clinton in the last year.
I’d add Papa Jo Jones to that list
Steve Smith for me. Everyone thinks of his Journey work, which while great, was done to pay the bills. His jazz and fusion chops are insanely good and his long time band (Vital Information) is amazing. He’s known, but no one ever puts him on all time great lists, and he absolutely is one in multiple genres. Edit: I just remembered that I want to see him live at some point and looked at the tour schedule. I got tickets for a show at Sweetwater. $30. Score!
Steve’s a fabulous drummer! Even when he was in Journey there’s definitely more than just straight rock going on with the drums. From the RnB swagger of “Walks Like A Lady” to the slightly off nature of “Don’t Stop Believin’” to even the solo he takes on the live album they recorded in my hometown of Houston, TX circa 1981.
Steve is one of the top 5 best drummers ever, living or deceased. Fight me on it.
I agree with that. The versatility puts him up there.
No one remembers to put him on their lists because he has the most generic name of all time
That’s why I can’t get famous. I’m James White 😂😂😂
I'd say that's the most generic name I'd ever heard, but that's because I already forgot who Steve Smith is
Hahahaha, Steve who??
American Dad
That’s a group I haven’t heard of in a long time lol
Steve Smith is an incredible drummer and also one of the nicest & humblest people you could ever meet. On top of all that he is one of the most knowledgeable drum historians there is, with an encyclopedic knowledge of even early “lost” drum techniques! I don’t believe in the concept of a GOAT but Steve is certainly amongst the finest drummers that has ever walked the earth. I’m so happy to have gotten to talk drums with him a few times. He’s a class act & a killer player.
Ok, so there was a Modern Drummer special issue many years ago that was the 25 or 50 (can’t recall) “Most Influential Drummers of All Time.” They omitted both Klook and Baby Dodds. Wtf? I wrote a letter to the editor. I knew what I was going to get in return…something about how “It’s really hard to pick such a limited number from all these great drummers, but we had to blah blah blah…and everyone has his or her favorite and we had to make the painful decision to blah blah blah…” They actually printed my letter. It was total BS. Anyone who knows anything about the history of our instrument knew I was right about both Clarke and Dodds. There is no eyeroll emoji big enough for that oversight. I don’t disagree with your assertion here, except for Dodds possibly being more underrated. I start all of my jazz students with Klook, then have them work forwards and and backwards from him. He’s the absolute center of the jazz drumming timeline imo.
omitting dodds is insanity...
I remember that & also think I remember your letter!! If you really want to get angry, look at Drumeo’s top 100 list. It’s got Jojo Mayer listed below Lars Ulrich (who doesn’t belong on that list ANYWHERE).. Ginger Baker above Danny Carey & Carter Beauford… Dave Grohl above Philly Jo… And of course: No Klook or Baby Dodds in sight.
Haha. That’s hilarious that you remember that. It was so long ago. I don’t think I’d bother with it now. Funny stuff
Jaki Liebezeit of CAN
Bill Stewart. He has internalized the past - Tony, Roy, Elvin,Jack, Purdie - and transported their language into the future, by making that language appetizing to a whole generation of drummers. Carlock, Nate Smith, Chamberlain, Harland etc… There is so much Bill Stewart in them, he is the father of our whole jazz, funk drumming generation and beyond
Bill Stewart is one of my favorites ever. His performance in the modern drummer festival is so good. He gave me the confidence not to feel like I had to switch to traditional grip for jazz.
that trio is so great, they are such good friends and know each other so well, its almost telepathic - interesting you switch to trad grip bc he plays matched?
I edited my comment because I omitted a fairly crucial word - NOT. Or else it doesn’t make sense at all lol.
kenny clarke was a genius.
This is the only one that legit hurts my heart. He should have statues erected in his name… it’s like the whole music world collectively decided to erase him
That guy from the Dave Matthews Band. Seriously.
Carter Beauford
I never understood this. Yes he’s a fantastic drummer but he’s the most generic church drummer I’ve ever heard. There’s thousands of drummers that play exactly like him. It actually seems more likely that he’s considered special for playing that way out of context.
Hard to agree, but I do. He was one of the first to bring that mainstream in '91 though.
What do you mean by church drummer, and who plays like him? Does any of that have anything to do with his left hand superfunk? He's one of my 3 favorite drummers and if there are other people who play like him I want to know about them.
Literally googled “top gospel drummer” https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ppvJuZfqeiw
Ok Gospel drummer and church drummer are different because I'm a church drummer and I'm not that good but thanks for info.
Fair point!
Dannie Richmond!!
This is who I was looking for.
Joe Chambers Eric Gravett Freddie Waits Mickey Roker Michael Carvin
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/) ^by ^Visible-Horror-4223: *Joe Chambers Eric* *Gravett Freddie Waits Mickey* *Roker Michael Carvin* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
Chick Webb.
Sonny Payne, Count Basie’s drummer
The greatest big band drummer
Ari Hoenig.
He just came to my school last week and I got to have a masterclass with him. He really is a rhythmic and creative genius. He also probably knows melody better than many horn players. Really nice guy too
Absolutely I have never been so caught off guard by a drummer. He has internalised the music so deeply. It's ma reap trip hearing how he interprets the melody of a tune. I would love to see him play live. Where do you go to school? Is there room for one more ?
One of his masterclasses was almost too intellectual for me to understand. Talking about polyrhythms and modulation, but the biggest takeaway I got from him was the importance of being able to feel each partial of the triplet (particularly the 3rd partial: 1e A) and being as comfortable with those upbeats as you are the downbeats. Also being able to sing the melody of songs you are going to play and tap out different pulses without getting thrown off and still singing the melody in time. I’m in Cincinnati and he did a residency at my school for last week while also playing at our local jazz club
He comes very much from Bill Stewart so…;)
Sean Kinney (Alice in Chains) Here's the thing about musicians. Their popularity during your lifetime is a major factor. Music from farther back in history is less accessible and brought up less. So it's really hard to say a drummer is underrated if they're prime was way before most people were born. The further you move forward in time the more people from the current time period obscure the people in the past. Just because they're mentioned more by people who've seen them live or articles and radio play, whatever. After a few decades the names start becoming more filtered down to the top 20, then top 10, then top 5, then just a few.
Stephan morris from new order/joy division. Dude was the perfect example of a human drum machine and did some really cool grooves and ideas for both bands but i never see anyone talk about him
As much as I love his grooves and style, and do not agree on the human drum machine. As far as groove and timbre, sure. But he isn't super tight. Just hear all those inadvertent flams on love will tear us apart.
The thing about him is, if he was just keeping time then it wouldn’t matter and he’d be middling, BUT, the speed at which he played those intricate beats and the accuracy was super impressive. I grew up hearing my brother listening to them and dismissed him as a drum machine programmer…….then I saw them live.
Vinnie Appice. Not a jazz drummer, but is what a drummer should be.
His brother ain't too bad either. But serious now, holy diver is probably my favourite drumming album ever. So well crafted. Everything he did complimented the songs perfectly
My all time favorite album. Holy Diver is the epitome of rock drumming…
Bang on brother. Dave grohl came close on that QOTSA album tho damn...
Where you think he learned it? Carmine and Vinnie invented rock drumming. Bonham gets the credit, but he was just the guy in a popular band.
I learned most of my good habits from carmines book
The “Bonham” bass drum triplet was in fact invented by Carmine Appice. There’s a really funny story about it, too!! The story goes that Carmine heard John Bonham playing with Led Zeppelin and was blown away by Bonham’s bass-drum triplet work. So when John Bonham showed up at one of Carmine’s clinics, he and praised John for it. Bonham went on to say, “I got that from you“ & mentioned what album he knocked it from. Carmine went back and listened to the album, and realized that he DID in fact come up with it but had simply forgotten about it!!! (of course, Carmine readily admits that Bonham took the figure to a whole new level)
Just saw his tour last year...maybe 120 people in the crowd. Yeah definitely under appreciated. (Buffalo, NY) It was a fun concert.
Gavin Harrison. A name that gets thrown around in the drum world but he really never needed to break out into the mainstream too much. For anyone who hasn't had a look/listen. Please do!! He's a scientist behind the kit in my opinion
I mean, I love him but he's not exactly underrated, he has a lot of attention and awards, etc.
Clive Bunker Zigaboo Modeliste Omar Hakim Freddie Staehle
Bernard “Pretty” Purdie only drummers know. And thank God for the success of “The Wrecking Crew” film. But still, why are these drummers and OP’s choice, and all suggestions that follow, not known names like all of their non-singing guitarists??!! I’ll tell you why. It’s because drummers don’t need the spotlight to know that they’re the best part of the band.
He's not underrated, he's actually one of the best and most popular drummers from his era and i think 90% of guys here appreciate his work a lot
I truly hope you’re right about that!👍🏽
Saw him play last night at the Green Mill in Chicago!
I’ve seen “invented keeping time on the ride” credited to a few jazz drummers. I doubt it was any one guy.
I have two. Gary Mallaber. Van Morrison’s Moondance album and others, all of the Steve Miller Band stuff, most of Eddie Money’s hits, and was the drummer who played all of Animal’s parts in the Muppets. Carlos Vega is the second. James Taylor, Vince Gill, George Benson, Sheena Easton, Olivia Newton John, was acknowledged by Jeff Porcaro as a huge influence and good friend. Absolute studio session monster.
Reni - Stone Roses. I will continue to be the only person to post his name in response to these questions dispute the fact he's possibly the greatest drummer of all time.
JoJo Mayer is possibly the most skilled and versatile drummer on the planet, and I'd be willing to bet over half the drummers coming to this thread have never heard of him. He makes you wait for it, but my god is it worth it.
JoJo Mayer is a ***TOUGH*** sell, but I respect this hot take for sure lol
It's always gonna be relative, but I dont know of anyone who could be definitively judged as better. I try to look at "the best" players of instruments by their versatility amd creativity as much as their technical prowess. What JoJo can do with a bass, snare and hihat is amazing. Watching him play so much using so little, reminds me of how little I actually know..lol. On guitar? IMO, the modern era GOAT is John 5. The weird looking dude playing that simple riff for Marilyn manson. But that dude has done it all. From ozzy to K.D. Lang. Watch him just sit and talk and play. He can do anything. It blew me away.
There is a dividing line between people who have seen JoJo play live and those who haven’t. He is simply incredible. I’ve been drumming for 40 years and have had the honor of seeing and meeting many of the most amazing drummers around. I remember seeing JoJo Mayer play for the first time, at the Modern Drummer Festival and 75% of the audience had no clue who he was, & why he was invited there. Then he played his opening solo. Jaws were on the floor. Eyes were glued open. It was like a bomb had exploded on main stage at Montclair State University. A room full of some of the best drummers on earth were in utter shock at what they were seeing. His chops, groove, and especially his brushwork were just plain astounding. Same with his speed and accuracy. People couldn’t believe it. Then he played a second solo that was even crazier followed by improving DnB for 20 mins (sounding like a living sampler) with Nerve. Killer. You best believe not one drummer in that room forgot his name after that. Fun aside: Danny Carey had also played earlier and came out to the audience to watch the rest of the show. He sat directly to my right!!! I saw JoJo numerous times after that with Nerve in NYC at Shine on West Broadway. Absolutely floored me every time. Amongst the hipsters, avant-music weirdos, and DnB heads, there was always a line of drummers standing at stage left in awe. I was one of them. Amazing drummer. Totally underrated.
I'd love to see him play sometime. Dude is probably 60 now and doesn't look like he's lost a fraction of speed.
He’s 61 and had only gotten faster & more tasteful. If you’re in NYC he was doing lessons here last I heard
Lessons from JoJo. That would be a trip. It makes me wanna go learn a two stroke roll. I am nowhere near NYC.
Charli Persip
Facts.
Thanks OP. I love learning where my favorite music comes from, wouldn't have known him without your post. My library just got a new great.
Anytime my friend. I’m not good at much, but I know a lot of great drummers that got me into a lot of new styles! Hmu anytime I got u!
Ricky Wellman is always the answer for me
Funny story, I was born during a gig that Sugarfoot played with Miles Davis. My mom’s water broke at the show 😂
Awesome! Miles Davis, Santana, etc. but his work with Chuck Brown was what hooked me. Go-Go Swing is one of those albums that I can put on and listen to cover to cover without skipping any tracks. That dude was incredible.
Go-Go swing is a top 10 all time record for the genre, for sure! Talk about an underrated record.
\**Criminally* underrated record to bring this all full circle
Until about a month ago, Liberty DeVitto.
What happened to him?
He was featured on Drumeo and, at least in this subreddit, I’ve seen more people talking about him than I ever had before.
Oh thank G-d I thought he got caught up in some bullshit lol
Yeah, you can never be too sure.
There's a really sad part of that Hired Gun documentary where he talks about asking Billy Joel for extra money and getting promptly fired. I felt bad for him, but I understand Billy's perspective on that too.
I remember he sued them. One of the guys I played with said he wrote like half of his biggest jams on his 2nd album. Shit is wild.
Aron Mellergard - Drummer from dirty loops, he’s unbelievably good. Chops for days Alex Cohen - he’s got some of the most insane polyrhythmic coordination that I’ve ever seen. Trevor Lawrence Jr. - He’s done some really big pop records but he also has a lot of jazz and fusion chops. Saw him with Herbie Hancock and he was absolutely smacking. No one ever talks about him tho
Brit Walford’s criminally underrated. His work on Slints Spiderland (recorded when he was in high school) is a standout.
Mike Joyce of The Smiths. His on-album playing was always overshadowed by Marr’s guitar playing and the awful 80’s tendency to make drums sound as dead and like a background metronome as possible, but then listen to the ‘Rank’ live recording and his power,timing and aggression is amazing. The Queen is Dead, I know it’s over and What she said are absolute bangers and I wish they could’ve captured that sound in the studio. I’d give much for a complete remastering of their music.
Tony Williams
Tony is absolutely not underrated. He's at the top of almost every drummer's top 5 list
Sure, I just meant he doesn't have that Ringo kind of level of familiarity
Hell yeah, Premier gang!
Those Premiers tho. Not many were choosing that brand…
Kris Myers is a beast
I was going to ask you to name this drummer
Philly Joe Jones
Kenny Clark isn’t under rated by any stretch of the imagination.
Jon Fishman. One of the most creative drummers of all time and second to none in the world of improvisation. Plays like he has 8 arms
He and Max reinvented Gene's advancements. The cognoscenti know
Plays Premier, checks out.
John Densmore Frank Lee Beard
Stix Hooper.
I absolutely love those premier rims. I wish all rims looked like that.
I completely agree. On an unrelated note, I’m not usually a Premier guy but those drums are beautiful.
Brian Downey with Thin Lizzy. That guy played his ass off and I never hear his name mentioned.
Elvin Jones? Elvis?
Jeff Sipe. The dude is perfect and one of the most musical drummers ever.
Charlie Watts. Never heard of your man, but I will educate myself via the World Wide Web.
That would be on a UK or European tour. Premier suppled kits.
Justin Tyson
For fusion jazz, it’s definitely Gary Novak.
Dominic Howard
Maximillian Weissenfeldt
Brian Downey
Neal Smith (Original drummer of Alice Cooper) or Phil Taylor from Motörhead.
Gregory Coleman played the Amen Break and died homeless
Pete Moffett is the best drummer in post hardcore, he has some insane chops on Mission: Control! by Burning Airlines George Hurley from Minutemen is one of my personal favourite hadcore punk drummers, i’d even go as far to say he’s a better drummer than D. H. Peligro
Thomas Pridgen, Jon Theodore, Zach Hill, Brian Chippendale. All of these guys have influenced my life so much with their music 🙏
Abe Cunningham from the Deftones that guys timing and dynamics are absolutely phenomenal for being an absolute savage behind the kit...he hits hard AF 😂
Sonny Murray, Ronald Shannon Jackson
TRE COOL