I really enjoy some cool drum solos on Big Band music, such as Sing Sing (with a swing) (Benny Goodman’s band).
Any suggestions?
That was Gene Krupa, *the *big name in the biz, who later had his own band. So, anything with him.
Babalu with Desi Arnez has a big solo in the middle on the Conga drum.
Search for Buddy Rich on YouTube. Some great stuff there, and a drumoff with Krupa also. I also found a video of Sing Sing Sing made for some movie.
Indeed their first suggestion was the very song I really like.
Krupa. Check.
Rich. Check.
Don’t forget Louie Bellson, who played with Goodman, Duke Ellington, Tom Dorsey, Harry James, and more. Here’s a taste.
Agree on Louie Bellson, disagree strongly on Buddy Rich. Listen closely to the brilliance of Bellson on Skin Deep, then try to find anything remotely comparable for Rich, who was mainly a crash and bash drummer with a lot of speed.
Rich was flashier than Krupa, but I’ll take Krupa’s deft playing over Rich’s any day.
No contest.
I only meant to note that Krupa and Rich had already been mentioned, and that Bellson should be, too. I’m not going to even attempt to rank them.
I was going to mention Cozy Cole and Chick Webb, and I see they are on that list. (Cozy Cole may also be the only drummer to have a drum solo hit the Billboard Hot 100.) ETA: looks like not the only one, but “one of the few.” Wonder who the others are.
Big Noise from Winnetka by Bob Crosby and the Bobcats. This first recording of the piece isn’t really big band music - it’s a drum and bass duet. At one point the drummer Ray Bauduc uses his drumsticks on bass player Bob Haggart’s strings.
You can watch them playing it here.
There could be a thread for small group drummers, methinks. The likes of Philly Joe Jones, Joe Morello and many others come to mind.
Yes, I was going to mention Joe Morello, too. He’s not big band at all, but he swings, and employs a lot of the same technique when playing the strange time signatures The Dave Brubeck quartet used in their early days.
I’ve mentioned before that Louie Bellson used to visit the Morello family home, and jam sessions would usually result. A young Joe must have been influenced by Bellson’s style, and you can hear similarities on their recordings.
Yup. It’ll drive you crrrrrrrrrrazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzyyyyyyyyyyyyy or insane, or WAKE YOU UP!
My home town is down south from Winneka … Hinsdale. :rolleyes:
Gene Krupa is the beginning and the end.