Jeff Porcaro

a song he plays on the rambo soundtrack.. "its a long road" also shows some very very great drumming from him.. its incredible how his toms and rhytm just seem to flow with the music.. none like him anymore...
 
Here's a question that asked to Steve Lukather and his answer kinda explain what made Jeff so great!


"Hey Luke! What makes a good drummer?"


Luke: Well, groove, TIME, FEEL and taste. Chops are great and a plus, but that does NOT make a great drummer!!! I have been blessed to play with the best there is on the planet at one time or another. I don't know why but I guess "right place right time". I was raised sitting and playing with Jeff Porcaro when I was 15. Not too many cats are that lucky. From there I was turned on to all the greats, young and old. Hell, Ringo was my first drum hero and his work still holds up!
 
Robin said:
Here's a question that asked to Steve Lukather and his answer kinda explain what made Jeff so great!

My best friend has taught for 27 years. He was heavily influenced by Gadd, Seraphine and Jeff Porcaro. Dave told me:

"I've seen TOO many drummers RUIN a solid groove with too many notes. Get a basic
1/2/3/4 pattern going just snare and kick---and lock that down FIRST; the rest will follow."

The man is correct.
LUKE hit the nail SQUARELY on the head. I've said this before and I'll type it again just because. Two words in the English Language describe Jeff Porcaro's playing.

"Impeccably Elegant".

WHY?
MASSIVE chops.....reigned in....for the sake of the groove---not that the chops never showed up-they DID--just quietly sometimes. Then there are times when his playing just rips the top of your head right off. ("Calling Elvis".... "I don't Hear You" (Boz), "How Many Times" -that fill 4:06 into it....). There's a Jazz Shuffle example on the Hal Leonard DVD----he demos that and then turns right around and applies it to a contemporary tune.
A JAZZ shuffle turned inside out! But THE best example of him turning things upside down?

"Jake to the Bone"..........COUNTING that is a pain in the @$$! It was all "feel".
There was a rockin' cat that NEVER once betrayed his Jazz roots, and those of us who remain are better for it.

Theresa B.
 
oliverlawford said:
I really been into listening to the great jeff porcaro playing with Toto and have been really inspired by his amazing playing...

I was wondering if anyone could tell of other albums, bands, etc of which jeff has played with so i can further check him out and study his playing and hear the legend in action...

thx

Oli

Hi!
I'm also very exited about Jeff's wonderful playing and have some records he've done with several artist (among them all). I highly recomend that you check out the stuf he did in the mid-70's with Steely Dan, that's really colourful and musical playing. Another record is "Take It To Heart" with the vocalist Michael McDonald, wonderful musicmanship with (offcourse) Jeff on drums and Abe Laboriel on bass and guitarist Michael Landau. He've also done some great work with Larry Carlton that i like. Check out Michael Jackson's "Thriller", too. Though this is a real best-seller and what you hear is simply the pure and wonderful voice of Jeff Porcaro.

But try to check out this by your own, a great site is http://www.povlab.org/jeff.porcaro/. Here you can find a complete list av all studio gigs he've done; what tunes he plays on, the release year and so on. Great site! I guess you've looked on this site and at the same time have downloaded the short film clips. They're tooken from his drum instruction video (released in 1989) and it's teriffic.

God luck and God bless!
//Emanuel
 
groovemaster_flex said:
i luv playing to lido shuffle! =) playing along to any song on the "silk degrees" album is so much fun =D.


Some of my favorite Jeff Porcaro grooves ever:

"Calling Elvis" (Dire Straits)
"The Bug" (Dire Straits)
"That's Why", "I keep forgettin'" (Michael McDonald)
"Gaucho" (Steely Dan)
"Another Time; Another Place" (Sandi Patti)

These are just a few of my favorite grooves Jeff ever played.
But the one lately that's become an earworm ("stuck in my head for the entire day") is "Mushanga".

That groove----is just monsterous!
Never will there be another guy exactly like him. Is there any wonder he's missed, still?
T
 
yeah, Mushanga is a great one!

And I also LOVE the sweet groove he puts out on the Michael jackson song "The Girl Is Mine" ( with Steve Lukather & David Paich from Toto on guitar and keys ) It's so groovy!
 
My fave Jeff drumming would have to be Toto hold the line I love that song and his fast single kicks towards the end
 
I'm sure those of us who love Jeff have searched Youtube for every Toto clip there is, but this one I keep coming back to time after time.

Georgy Porgy live 1979

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xWj4iHx6EIY


Towards the end (around 4 minutes), after the piano solo when the bassist starts doing those funky octaves and jeff opens the hi hat (disco beat) is so darn smoooooth ahh! And Jeff's brother Steve on the synth to stage right is a riot to watch!!
 
So many good examples. With a resume as long as his was, it's almost impossible to pick out a few favorites. He plays every track on the 'Katy Lied' album by Steely Dan with the exception of 'Any World' which Hal Blaine tracked. 'Lowdown by Boz Scaggs of course. Toto's 'Pamela' isn't as well known but worth finding.

If you can find his Star Licks video (I think it's finally on DVD as well) it's really worth it. You get to see his playing up close. His right hand has perfect technique. Those one-hand 16th note grooves are killer!
 
KzSgDrummer said:
I'm sure those of us who love Jeff have searched Youtube for every Toto clip there is, but this one I keep coming back to time after time.

Georgy Porgy live 1979

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xWj4iHx6EIY


Towards the end (around 4 minutes), after the piano solo when the bassist starts doing those funky octaves and jeff opens the hi hat (disco beat) is so darn smoooooth ahh! And Jeff's brother Steve on the synth to stage right is a riot to watch!!


Wonderful stuff !!! thz for the pointer :)
 
I hate the studio version of this tune but damn, this groove is frickin' tight. This is why Porcaro is the man. That's just great.

My first introduction to TOTO was this concert. I was pretty disappointed when I eventually heard the studio versions - so weedy in comparison.
 
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