More on that Steve Gadd lick from the Full Compass transcription. It’s essentially a familiar kind of four note tom ruff ending on the beat with the bass drum, with an extra snare drum note […]
Category: Steve Gadd
Transcription: Steve Gadd Afro 12/8
Here’s Steve Gadd playing the whole first part of Full Compass, from George Benson’s record Bad Benson— it’s a fully arranged thing, with some drum breaks. It’s an Afro-feel 12/8, modulating to 4/4 at the […]
Daily best music in the world: four by Steve Gadd
Taking a moment to dispel a totally absurd impression of Steve Gadd that has somehow formed in recent years: that he is some kind of conservative “groove” player, which… …no. He’s extremely influential on the […]
Very occasional quote of the day: simpler ways of playing
“You have to see the truth in the simpler ways of playing. That was a real challenge to me. I realized that technique doesn’t mean a s* if you can’t play a back beat in […]
Very occasional quote of the day: a thousand answers
“Teaching requires just as much time and effort as playing. There are a thousand ways to ask one question and a thousand ways to answer it. You’ve got to have the time to understand your […]
Very occasional quote of the day: the instrument itself
“If you get too involved in the playing of the instrument itself, you forget that the whole purpose of what you’re doing is to add to the music. There’s more to music than having control […]
Very occasional quote of the day: a lot of technique
“I could be playing for a month and never run into anything that requires a lot of technique. It might require that I play very simply. If you’ve got a lot of chops and you […]
Free Steve Gadd book
Here’s an excellent free book on Steve Gadd by Danish drummer Hans Fagt. Originally released in 1985, it contains the key bits— mainly grooves and solos— from some of his bigger recorded performances, from the […]
Groove o’ the day: Steve Gadd – Casino
This is Steve Gadd’s opening funk-Afro 12/8 groove from Al Di Meola’s epically absurd fusion opus Casino, from the album of the same name: Listen to the recording and note the different qualities of accent— […]
Transcription: Steve Gadd – Autumn Leaves
We should make a series out of this: “little known records where you can learn more about a drummer than from his really famous ones.” Something like that. This 70s album by Chet Baker gives […]
Gadd on time
Another item from Rick Mattingly’s 1983 Modern Drummer interview with Steve Gadd. It’s encouraging that a lot of the very common fuzzy talk about time makes no more sense to the greatest studio drummer in […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Steve Gadd on reading
“Reading improves just from doing it. It wasn’t easy for me, but thanks to the encouragement of my teacher, John Beck, I stuck with it and it has been very useful. The more you do […]