MusicRadar

Is Steve Gadd the most influential drummer ever? He's not saying

View in gallery

Is Steve Gadd the most influential drummer of all time? Could be. Along with Ringo Starr (with whom he's played alongside and counts as a friend), he's one of the few sticksman whose licks and patterns have been scrutinized, emulated and downright ripped-off by millions of drummers across the globe.

And with a resume that boasts sessions and tours with the likes of Chick Corea to Eric Clapton to Steely Dan to Paul McCartney to James Taylor to Paul Simon to you-name them, he's put his indelible stamp on rock, jazz, blues, fusion and pop. If there's a form of music he hasn't played, chances are it hasn't yet been invented.

"Every drummer wants to play like Gadd because he plays perfect," Chick Corea once said. "He has brought orchestral and compositional thinking to the drum kit while at the same time having a great imagination and a great ability to swing."

Gadd, however, sums it up thusly: "The word 'perfect'...I don't know anybody who's perfect. You go out there and do your best. And if you don't nail it, then you go out the next day and you try to get it right. That's really all you can do."

From the mid-'80s till the early '90s, Gadd led The Gadd Gang (which featured, in addition to Steve, guitarist Cornell Dupree, bassist Eddie Gomez, keyboardist Richard Tee and saxophonist Ronnie Cuber). The quintet tore it up on a number of critically acclaimed recordings. And now Gadd is back with a new band, the aptly named Steve Gadd And Friends, which sees him reunited with Cuber and working with new recruits, Paul Bollenbeck on guitar and Joey DeFrancesco on organ and trumpet. Late last year they recorded a live set at Voce's Lounge in Scottsdale, Arizona, which has now been released as the CD Live At Voce.

In the following interview, Gadd discusses his new band and album. In addition, he talks about some of the more notable artists he's performed with, along with his thoughts as to his standing in the drum world. (And in case you're wondering, yes, he does touch on his famous 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover progression.)

It's amazing how you guys sound like a band that has played together for years. Now, I know you've worked with Ronnie before, but Joey and Paul are fairly few to you, right?

"Well, yes and no. I met Joey when he signed his first record deal with Columbia. Over the years we had talked about playing together, but we never really did until recently. Our inspirations are the same, and we listen to the same kind of music."

Like what?

"I listen to a lot of Miles Davis. Then there's people like Art Blakey and Max Roach…all incredible musicians, of course. Joey grew up on the same sort of stuff. As far as organ players, he loves Jimmy Smith and Groove Holmes. I think he used to sit in with a lot of those guys when he was a kid. He comes from a musical family who were very supportive of what he wanted to do - similar to my upbringing - so we have a lot in common."

The musical telepathy between you and the other players really comes across on the new record. With a band like this, do you see yourself as the 'glue' - you know, the guy who holds it all together and lets everybody else shine - or are you the leader?

"It's my band, so I call the shots and come up with the setlists. As a leader, though, I do try to operate as the glue and allow everybody to do what they do best. That's what a leader should do, really."