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Drummers you can't mistake

I know, we're supposed to put up astonishing or typical samples of recognisable drummers here. But I like this, and it's still recognisably Pierre...

 
droid2000 said:
Terry Bozzio in Missing Persons was a level above.

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Glad you mentioned Terry Bozzio.
My son (who became a huge Frank Zappa fan in his late teens - and remains one) introduced me to a track of Bozzio's playing that FZ had recorded (in the 1970s -- for quad) called Hands with a Hammer. It's pretty remarkable (and also quite well recorded).

 
Maybe not sonically, but visually...


At a favorite little bar in Japan on my first trip in 1986, they had a karaoke setup (of course), and a female Japanese Public School Music Teacher sang "My Way" and ended up in tears by the end of it.

Nobody else in the little bar was similarly affected.

Unfortunately the owner of the bar later killed himself by driving drunk, and the bar was no longer the same on the next trip in 1992.

Looks like it is totally gone now, along with most of my other favorite hangouts.
 
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The rock drummer that never sounded like other drummers to me was Stewart Copeland. I don't know that he was my favorite or the guy I thought was most skilled, but he has a unique style. He seems to skip beats you expect him to hit, and adds lots of off-kilter unexpected stuff. A friend that took drumming lessons (not the same thing as a friend that is a drummer) once told me "I hate that guy - he does everything wrong and it all works." He was in Oysterhead with Les Claypool a few years (doh!) decades ago, and I knew who was drumming after one song.
 
Guys, did we forget the late Vinnie Paul from Pantera? One of the most distinct and groovy metal drummers of the '90s. His double bass drum technique and sound on "Far Beyond Driven" in particular is fantastic. I can't believe there is a recording of him playing solo one of their more interesting and dense songs, "Use My Third Arm":

 
Saw Bill Bruford with King Crimson, U.K., and his Earthworks twice. I've posted about Bill Bruford before, in the '70's Pearls' and the 'Jazz Music' threads. The video for the Earthworks album didn't "quote", so here's a link to the original post.

Drummer Bill Bruford, of Yes & King Crimson, released his 1st solo album in 1978.

Allmusic: “Feels Good to Me goes far beyond the usual prog rock conceits of its time, and enters fully into the compositional structures and improvisational dynamics of jazz. Here he surrounds himself with mates: guitarists Allan Holdsworth and John Goodsall (Brand X); bassist Jeff Berlin; keyboardist Dave Stewart; ECM flügelhorn stalwart Kenny Wheeler; vocalist Annette Peacock… Bruford has yet to issue a solo recording as powerful as Feels Good to Me.”

Bruford released >30 albums in various collaborations, with plentiful session work, until 2009. This is most definitely prog, and not jazz, yet. Bruford went much jazzier after this. His ‘Earthworks’ album, All Heaven Broke Loose, was recommended in the Jazz Music Thread.:cool:

Bill Bruford, Feels Good To Me, full album: YouTube link ; Spotify link

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Bill Bruford, drummer for King Crimson, Yes and a long solo career, recently had a birthday (May 17, #74), so maybe have a listen to his band Earthworks 1991 album All Heaven Broke Loose. Allmusic: "The multi-themed originals feature top-notch playing by the quartet (Bruford on drums and electronic percussion, Django Bates on keyboards, peck horn and trumpet, Iain Ballamy on reeds and bassist Tim Harries) that looks toward Ornette Coleman at times... while traveling its own singular path. Full of unpredictability, subtle mood changes, touches of eccentric funk and a surprisingly creative use of electronic rhythms here and there, Bruford's band plays intense but sometimes melancholy and introspective music."

The video clip is from the album tour, with good sound, an Ian Ballamy vehicle. Please enjoy one of my favorite artists, who I saw with King Crimson, U.K. and Earthworks, each time an excellent show. :cool:

Bill Bruford's Earthworks, All Heaven Broke Loose, full album: YouTube link. Spotify link.


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