Today I thought we’d tackle something “light” and “easy”, which wouldn’t require a 25-minute video.
Just kidding. Let’s jump right in the deep end and attempt to answer who, among all the greats, is the singular GOAT when it comes to jazz drummers.
It’s not as easy a question as it seems, and it doesn’t even seem easy!
Do simply say it’s the drummer who’s reached the highest level of advancement? That would probably unfairly privilege modern jazz drummers. But they arguably had an easier job, since they could stand on the shoulders of their fore-bearers.
Maybe it’s the drummer who “ran the ball the farthest down the field” - i.e. advanced jazz drums the most relative to where they were before. That would necessarily favor the pioneers, because they had more “low hanging fruit”, and there was more “blue water” - a bigger canvas upon which to innovate, with less paint already there.
Or maybe it’s the outliers - those who were the most ahead-of-their time. That would favor those who took big leaps, and you could handicap it based on how set-in-stone the music of their era was.
It’s on this last metric where I think we get closest.
Anyway, I hope you’ll join me on this trip down memory lane, examining the contributions of some of the greatest jazz drummers in history.
And we’ll see if you agree with my conclusion at the end.
Know you’ll enjoy!