The Grand Master Buddy Rich

Very nice :)

If there would be sitting anyone else, I'd be a little bit irritated for such a categorical statements. But he is Buddy Rich... crazy drummer and warm person... just quick-tempered.

Also funny to hear things he said, since I saw his another solo on YouTube with decent lenght of time with matched grip. And that wasn't only on floor tom...
 
It is quotes like this that remind us of why Buddy was always on the cutting edge of the jazz world.
 
I think he is way to biased towards traditional. He's making it seems as though you really cant move around the drums well if you play matched when thats obviously not the case. I dont think he would be saying the same thing if he had rack toms going to the left. But thats just my two cents.
 
Sound like the typical "these kids these days" type statements us old farts tend to make every once in a while.


Dohh!!
 
What an interesting character. He's like the Barry Bonds of drumming.
Not much going for him in a PR sense, but an absolute master at his profession.
 
Well man you got to admit that calling Buddy Rich "Versatile" as I heard some Buddy Fans say is kind of overrating him, he was reasonable versatile in the realm of Jazz, but put him in a latin, or heavy metal gig and he would sound quiet awkward. In comparison to Vinnie Colaiuta who would be excellent in all of those situations And I think saying "Buddy Rich could have played any genre he wanted to" is a very weak excuse for his lack of versatality.

There are very few musicians about which it could be said that there is no way you could overrate them based upon the extraordinary level which they have attained. Buddy is among that few. Sorry but the words have not been invented to describe his achievement. This coming from someone who isn't a BR fanatic but who recognizes total genius when presented with it.
 
Buddy was certainly an interesting character. I had the distinct honor of spending some time with him behind his kit in '75. He was playing a gig in my hometown & my band had just finished a warmup set. He walked over & asked how long I had been playing (5 years at that time). He gave me a few quick pointers & I was absolutely in awe. BTW, the concert was perfection as I got to sit right in front of him.

My point is Buddy was always ready to give advice & guidance but had a disdain for drummer's who wanted a "quick" way or "magic pill" method to play like him. I think that is why he made those kind of statements, to mess with those type of people.

He was one of a kind & is still sorely missed.

Peace
 
I've seen some of the best drummers in the world, Dennis Chambers, Louis Bellson, Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, Carl Palmer, Steve Gadd, Dave Garibaldi, Virgil Donati, Peter Erskine, Billy Cobham, Lenny White, Rod Morgenstein, Mike Portnoy, Neil Peart, etc, and I've seen Buddy from about 10 feet away and I can say to this day I have never seen a drummer like Buddy Rich. He truly was one of a kind.
 
Opinion is opinion, but the only reply I would have to Buddy (if I had the nerve to refute his position on anything) is "Look how far you lean to the left while playing!" He skews his whole body to make up for his trad grip, which is just as big an issue as his statements about matched grip.
 
is this true?

from wikipedia "He received no formal drum instruction, and went so far as to claim that instruction would only degrade his musical talent. He also never admitted to practicing, claiming to play the drums only during performances."

if i only played live, i would suck so hard.... i work hard at home and only make progress because of it.
 
Yep so the legend goes man, though I'm sure that he must have spent hours practicing on his own when he was very young, he must have, but as soon as he started getting hired as a drummer (which happened when he was quite young) he spent all his time drumming pretty much, so there was no need to practice anymore. Buddy was not only gifted, but was also very lucky to be in the situation where he could drum all the time from an early age.
 
I went to your link and I'm not getting sound on the vid.

Never mind I went back and the sound is working now.

I can watch Buddy all day!
I first saw him as a child and I was hooked on drums ever since
 
Holy smokes, he sounds like a friggin machine gun! Man he was blazin back then. And those triplet fills..........he never misses a beat, geesh! I've always been blown away at his dexterity and the control he had. Heck, it's almost not fair at how good he was.
 
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