ohiodrummer1964
Senior Member
I was just listening to the song Aja by Steely Dan, and thought about all the times I've read other drummers on here talking about how good Steve Gadd's drum fills are in this song. I absolutely agree, but one thing that doesn't seem to get mentioned is how well the drums fit in with the rest of the instrumentation, or how well all the players on that track work together to create the mood of the song.
For instance, Gadd's first flurry of fills is played underneath Wayne Shorter's first sax solo. Until then the song has a legato feel. Then, when the solo starts, Shorter builds in intensity, and Gadd does too. While they're doing that, the rhythm guitar, bass and piano start playing a driving, staccato rhythm that just builds in tension. Then when everything builds to the peak of intensity, everyone drops off out of nowhere and slowly winds down the tension and volume on a descending chord structure that ends back at the first chord that was played in the song, and then resume the legato feel they had played earlier. The overall feel of that solo is like climbing and clawing your way up the side of a mountain, and then when you reach the peak letting yourself fall backwards over a cliff and floating in the wind back down to the base.
I think that shows what true masters are capable of. A lot of people can play with great technique, but don't have the interpretive skills to paint a picture like that (say speed metal). And I love a lot of very simple musicians who have emotional depth but don't really have the technical ability to play beyond the simple (say Layne Staley). The players on Aja - Steve Gadd, Chuck Rainey, Michael Omartian, Larry Carlton, etc. have the chops to play whatever chart is put in front of them, but they go beyond that. It's like the technique is just one of the tools in their toolbox, but their true musicianship is in knowing how to use that tool to contribute to the finished work in its entirety.
Listening to music like that is like viewing a great painting. If you want to focus on brushstrokes and all the details that make the painter a great craftsman you can, but you can also look at the "overall" painting and just appreciate how all the colors blend and/or contrast to create a mood, which to me rises above the details.
For instance, Gadd's first flurry of fills is played underneath Wayne Shorter's first sax solo. Until then the song has a legato feel. Then, when the solo starts, Shorter builds in intensity, and Gadd does too. While they're doing that, the rhythm guitar, bass and piano start playing a driving, staccato rhythm that just builds in tension. Then when everything builds to the peak of intensity, everyone drops off out of nowhere and slowly winds down the tension and volume on a descending chord structure that ends back at the first chord that was played in the song, and then resume the legato feel they had played earlier. The overall feel of that solo is like climbing and clawing your way up the side of a mountain, and then when you reach the peak letting yourself fall backwards over a cliff and floating in the wind back down to the base.
I think that shows what true masters are capable of. A lot of people can play with great technique, but don't have the interpretive skills to paint a picture like that (say speed metal). And I love a lot of very simple musicians who have emotional depth but don't really have the technical ability to play beyond the simple (say Layne Staley). The players on Aja - Steve Gadd, Chuck Rainey, Michael Omartian, Larry Carlton, etc. have the chops to play whatever chart is put in front of them, but they go beyond that. It's like the technique is just one of the tools in their toolbox, but their true musicianship is in knowing how to use that tool to contribute to the finished work in its entirety.
Listening to music like that is like viewing a great painting. If you want to focus on brushstrokes and all the details that make the painter a great craftsman you can, but you can also look at the "overall" painting and just appreciate how all the colors blend and/or contrast to create a mood, which to me rises above the details.