BURNING FOR BUDDY

BURNING FOR BUDDY

Buddy Rich was one of the most famous drummers of all time. Along with Gene Krupa and Louis Bellson, he was also one of the great big band drummers of his era. It may sound cliché, but even as a young performer you could see they definitely "broke the mold" when they made Buddy Rich. The fact that his band is still playing and recording after his passing (much like Woody Herman and Count Basie) is a testament to his longevity and contribution to the big band jazz idiom. Luckily, the success of Volume I allowed us to enjoy a Volume II.
Audio quality throughout is excellent. This is a fully digital multi-track recording that was not over-produced or over-mixed. Big band recordings are often done the old-fashioned way, with one or two strategically placed microphones, but that doesn't always do the drums and percussion justice. On these releases, we get to hear everything the drummers are doing--and trust me, it's a lot. There's rock drummers playing jazz grooves (Steve Smith from Journey, Neil Peart from Rush), jazz drummers playing rock grooves (Omar Hakim), jazz drummers playing jazz grooves (Steve Gadd, Dave Weckl, and Billy Cobham), and rock drummers playing rock grooves (Bill Bruford from Yes). There's also some outrageous double bass drum work (Simon Phillips) and excellent drum/percussion collaboration (Manu Katche and Mino Cinelu). In addition to a resurrected cut featuring Buddy Rich (which is one of the weaker tunes), these CD's also feature icons of modern drumming: Ed Shaughnessy (of Tonight Show fame), Joe Morello (featured with Dave Brubeck) and Max Roach (featured with Art Blakey but played with so many famous jazz artists of the last century you'd have to Google him to believe it). Incredibly, both Morello and Roach are featured on these CD's playing well into their 70's! With all the amazingly tight ensemble work delivered on these CD's (including amazing solo work by long-time Buddy Rich sax man Steve Marcus), it's easy to forget the arrangers and composers who made it all possible.
I find myself revisiting these two releases more often than I ever thought I would. Where else can you find a collection of some of our era's greatest drummers backed by top-notch jazz musicians, playing top-notch big band arrangements, recorded in top-notch digital recording facilities? As much as I like my old (Pablo label) Count Basie LP's, the audio quality just doesn't come close to these well produced (by Neil Peart of Rush fame) CD's. Try it!

A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF BUDDY RICH (1994)
320 KBPS
1. Dancing Men
2. Mercy, Mercy, Mercy
3. Love For Sale
4. Beulah Witch
5. Nutville
6. Cotton Tail
7. No Jive
8. Milestones
9. The Drums Also Waltzes Part One
10. Machine
11. Straight No Chaser
12. Slo-Funk
13. Shawnee
14. Drumorello
15. The Drum Also Waltzes Part Two
16. Lingo
17. Ya Gotta Try
18. Pick Up The Pieces

A TRIBUTE TO THE MUSIC OF BUDDY RICH VOLUME II (1997)
320 KBPS
1. Moment's Notice
2. Basically Blues
3. Willowcrest
4. In A Mellow Tone
5. Time Check
6. Goodbye Yesterday
7. Groovin' Hard
8. Big Swing Face
9. Standing Up In A Hammock
10. Take The A Train
11. One O'Clock Jump
12. Them There Eyes
13. Channel One Suite

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