Steve Jordan

Here's one I didn't expect, John Mayer covering Bold As Love.

Two surprises ... one is that Steve, rather than playing his usual impeccable groove, he plays loosey goosey with lots of fills like Mitch.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQSGa8nZs8g

He's played so many different styles with authenticity - never ceases to impress me.

The other surprise is JM's (unintentionally?) funny discourse on lurve :)
 
Two surprises ... one is that Steve, rather than playing his usual impeccable groove, he plays loosey goosey with lots of fills like Mitch.

The other surprise is JM's (unintentionally?) funny discourse on lurve :)

Yes Polly, impressive indeed, Steve's like a chameleon, he fits any mood, vibes, texture, feel, colour with such authenticity, he's up there with the greats, another virtuoso (hint, hint) within the world of drumming, I also liked the "false" ending of the song, a cliche it might be, but so well done here. :))

As for JM's speach about "lurve", cool, funny, but so true really...
 
After falling into a youtoob rat's nest, I ended up watching clips of Steve Jordan playing what is apparently some cymbals once owned by Elvin Jones. The cymbals sounded great ... Steve Jordan sounded greater.

I don't know what it is about him, but his groove is a mile wide ... and infectious as all get out. Like all the greats, makes it look so dang easy.

Like many in this thread, I watched much David Letterman to see him (back in the day). He can play anything and make it "happen" ... unreal.

All the big name drummers with big kits and bazillion BPMs .... forget it. Make it groove and make 'em not be able to sit still. Like Steve. That is what it is all about. ;-)

Peace and pocket,
radman

p.s. The link, should y'all be interested, is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuJKTONQG6w&feature=relmfu
 
Yes… Steve Jordan is one of my all-time favorite drummers. If you want to blow your mind.. check out the work he did on the Blues Brothers double CD greatest hits. It was a musical-comedy band - prompting some to think they were a joke - but the band was a monster collection of musical heavyweights. Listen closely to what he plays on the collection - it's a master class in composition, innovative musical fills, superb technique and shuffles.. in short the total package of what exciting drumming is all about. There are several passages where it sounds like he has 4 arms (riding the cymbal, shuffling the snare, riding an open/close hi-hat all at the same time).. or playing really fast ghosted 16ths on the snare. The Blues Brothers were no joke.. they were a killer band.
 
Actually belushi had a killer voice for that stuff. And Jordan is great with that band, along with duck Dunn. Check out Jordan on the keith Richards album talk is cheap. Great album.
 
Man, I have been on a Jordan kick lately and trying to find out more about him, see/hear more of his playing. There's not a lot out there about this man and he's not active on social media either. It's a shame.

Is he still playing Yamaha?
What's he doing now as far as playing?
 
Man, I have been on a Jordan kick lately and trying to find out more about him, see/hear more of his playing. There's not a lot out there about this man and he's not active on social media either. It's a shame.

Is he still playing Yamaha?
What's he doing now as far as playing?

I love that guy, but yeah, you gotta look him up on YouTube. He has quite a few things on there. I actually love his Vic Firth Performance Spotlight video. Not sure what he's doing now, but I think he's still with Yamaha.

I've even fell under his influence and have been playing alot with just a 22" Zildjian K Light Ride and my 17" hi-hats (comprised of two Zildjian A 17" thin crashes). I'm relishing in the PHAT slosh of those hats!
 
I love that guy, but yeah, you gotta look him up on YouTube. He has quite a few things on there. I actually love his Vic Firth Performance Spotlight video. Not sure what he's doing now, but I think he's still with Yamaha.

I've even fell under his influence and have been playing alot with just a 22" Zildjian K Light Ride and my 17" hi-hats (comprised of two Zildjian A 17" thin crashes). I'm relishing in the PHAT slosh of those hats!

Similarly, I just got an Acro, 16" hats (A Fast over A Thin), 22 K and 20 K dark with rivets. Lay the groove down.
 
Similarly, I just got an Acro, 16" hats (A Fast over A Thin), 22 K and 20 K dark with rivets. Lay the groove down.

I was kinda' interested in getting a Brady snare years ago when he was using those almost exclusively. But that "gun fire" rimshot he was getting? It was so pronounced as to be painful to my ears and I shelved the idea after I demo'd a Brady snare with wood hoops ;)
 
I was kinda' interested in getting a Brady snare years ago when he was using those almost exclusively. But that "gun fire" rimshot he was getting? It was so pronounced as to be painful to my ears and I shelved the idea after I demo'd a Brady snare with wood hoops ;)

Yeah, to me it was sort of a signature sound that he was doing and I didn't feel that it always fit the music so well. Cool for some stuff, but would be difficult to pull off in "real life."
 
Some of the things I picked up from Steve Jordan techniques;
- the oversized hihat cymbals. I settled on 15" although 16, 17 is cool too!
- shuffling the kick with the snare (swing-shuffle)
- straight shuffles morphing into 6/8 shuffles and back etc.
- 2 handed snare shuffles
- straight 32nd note triplets from a shuffle
- using left hand cymbal crashes to get better flow for fills
- oh yeah my fav - the leading hihat splash or cymbal crash, a beat before starting a fill!
etc. etc.
 
I love Steve Jordan. Got to see him play live at Crossroads. He's incredible. I love his 17" hi-hats. Totally ridiculous, but they sound amazing. I also recommend watching Herbie Hancock: Possibilities. There isn't a huge spotlight on him there but he lays down some really nice grooves on that documentary. And of course he's amazing with John Mayer Trio as well. Great groove. One of the best out there.

I haven't read the whole thread, but my band director at school was telling about this album not too long ago where the drummer lays down some crazy off-time grooves. He said that he lays down 5/4 and 7/4 grooves over 4/4 time signature throughout the song. Sounds kind of crazy. We looked it up and it's way hard to find we think but I think it was Steve Jordan on drums. Anyways I couldn't write it down at the time and now I forgot the name of the album and the band. Does it sound at all familiar to anyone?


Thanks

I think you may be referring to The 24th Street Band

Here's cut from them w/ SJ...KILLING this groove

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxF-y8Usj8M
 
This is a great forum (as I've said many times the past), but I think this video will be my standard answer for a lot of questions regarding things like, "what drums should I get", "what pedal do you think is the best?", "these are the cymbals I use", "how can I play fast?", etc.,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgfiYz4jo8I

I remembered a lesson I learned from the guys at Pro Drum years ago. I was hem-hawing on something I wanted perfect on my kit, and Stan just looked at me and said, "They're drums. You PLAY 'EM!" And I tried not to care so much after that. This video says the same thing too.

I hope you like it!
 
I dunno, it depends who's asking those questions and in what context. They aren't questions a beginner should be agonizing over, which they sometimes ask as if within the answer lies the secrets to unlocking greater skills.

As for the video, if that's the type of drumming someone's going to do then sure, their gear won't be terribly crucial as far as facilitating a high level of performance, from pedal performance to cymbal characteristics like decay etc. They can just choose drums that get the sound they want and get on with it.
 
Does anyone know if there is anyway possible to purchase a digital (downloadedable) version of Steve's dvd? I have the dvd, but most of our movies/shows are on my ipad/computer.
 
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