Joe Morello

I tottaly agree, Joe Morello is one off the true jazz greats, without his solo with bear hands there probably wouldnt be a moby dick !
 
I love Morello's playing. I think I'm bored by drum solos in general, but his work on Castillian Drums at Carnegie Hall with Brubeck is just awesome.

On a different note, does anyone know how Joe is riding on the snare drum in Bossa Nova USA on the Live at Carnegie Hall Album? Does he have his hands reversed for playing this song? Or is he riding on the snare drum with his left hand using traditional grip?

Steve
 
Regarding Bossa Nova USA on the Carnegie Hall album: I always thought Morello was playing the eight note pattern with his left hand and accenting with his right.
 
I've been a Morello fan for years. When I was a senior in high school I attended a clinic he did sponsored by the local musicians union. I was in their student jazz band and got to meet him and play his drums! I was in heaven. Later when I heard a John Bonham (Led Zep) solo I thought it sounded like a Morello impression. Bonham was obviously influenced by Morello like a lot of us! Far More Drums from Time Further Out is one the greatest drum solos of all time.

Wow thats lucky that you got to go to a drum clinic of his. And now i that i think of it, John Bonham does seem to kinda play his solos like Morello, except its alot more heavy sounding. Pretty cool.
 
I've always wondered what exactly Joe's doing with his bass drum 1/4 of the way through this http://drummerworld.com/Videos/joemorello1963.html solo. Is that a double stroke or some ridiculous triple? It wouldn't surprise me - he's clearly doing something very rapid with the rebound.

im thinking it might be some for of heel toe. Or this thing that Zoro does. Go to Zoros page and check out the clips, one of them has something to do with using the rebound of the pedal for another hit.
 
I was basically in disbelief while watching his technique videos Bernard recently posted. I yelled, "Honestly! I mean c'mon!" he really makes every other drummer look like a rookie. He'll play something faster I'll ever get it to in my entire like and simply say "M'kay?" I've always been a fan of Joe but after watching his technique videos I have to say that he may just be the greatest living drummer. He has better technique than all the fusion guys that I adore.
 
It's hard to know what to say about Joe that hasn't already been said. I know that when I first heard him I was just blown away. All the guys posting on this thread know what I mean. His touch, chops, the sound of his kit, the effortless way everything sounded so natural. His astounding bass drum technique....

I hope a lot of the younger guys check him out. He's one of a kind.
 
Joe Morello has been my favorite drummer ever since I was a little kid and found Brubeck's Time Out album in my old man's record collection and put in on the turntable.

His chops are incredible, he is a master of time, and he plays ever so muscially.

He's a ham too. In one of his educational DVD's he is demostrating how when keeping time the bass and hat etc. need to hit at the exact same time and not all sloppy and asynchrous like how his student Danny (Gottlieb) does it. LOL.
 
One of my favorite solos is from the Newport Jazz Festival album of 58 by Joe called Short N Bread

Can you please let me know on what CD or DVD Joe Morello's Short'N Bread is available. I have been trying to find that for quite some time. The '58 Newport Jazz CD listed on Amazon does not list Short'N Bread. I first heard it on the radio when I was a teenager back in a former British colony in the Indian Ocean.
Unfortunately although Brubeck and his original quartet played in that country during a national exhibition under the auspices of the US State dept I never got to see them because I was only into Dixieland jazz and could not appreciate mainstream jazz. Ironically, I attended that exhibition and was passing the "Greenhouse" with my two brothers when we could actually hear Joe Morello take one of his thundering solos!
I might add that a few years ago I attended the ceremony at Berklee College of Music's special event honoring Joe's musical contibutions which he attended and gave an exhibition of his drumming! I was also fortunate to see Dave Brubeck and his newer Quartet perform here in Boston on another occasion but i still very much regret missing seeing and hearing Brubeck's original quartet.
I would appreaciate as much details on the above recording as possible.
 
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Can you please let me know on what CD or DVD Joe Morello's Short'N Bread is available. I have been trying to find that for quite some time. The '58 Newport Jazz CD listed on Amazon does not list Short'N Bread. I first heard it on the radio when I was a teenager back in a former British colony in the Indian Ocean.
Unfortunately although Brubeck and his original quartet played in that country during a national exhibition under the auspices of the US State dept I never got to see them because I was only into Dixieland jazz and could not appreciate mainstream jazz. Ironically, I attended that exhibition and was passing the "Greenhouse" with my two brothers when we could actually hear Joe Morello take one of his thundering solos!
I might add that a few years ago I attended the ceremony at Berklee College of Music's special event honoring Joe's musical contibutions which he attended and gave an exhibition of his drumming! I was also fortunate to see Dave Brubeck and his newer Quartet perform here in Boston on another occasion but i still very much regret missing seeing and hearing Brubeck's original quartet.
I would appreaciate as much details on the above recording as possible.

I just realized that Short/nin/Bread is actually on Dave Brubeck Quartet's "Gone With The Wind" CD which I had not accessed and listened to for quite awhile.
 
If you liked Shortin' Bread solo check out Deep In The Heart Of Texas solo on Southern Scene album by Brubeck. Morello is also the best brushes player I've ever heard.
 
My favorite Jazzer. His drumming makes my spine tingle, its so creative. Listening to Joe solo is like listening to good poetry. It's very lyrical and intense. Even though he is not known as a big solo guy, He is damn good at them. Most drum solos/breaks I hear feel like a pause in a song rather than a progression. Joe's solo's and breaks truly bring the song to another level. For example, my favorite drum solo;

http://youtube.com/watch?v=B0XED9VI2cg

This 1964 drum solo in the song "Sound of the Loop" is my favorite. It's incredibly musical. The intro is awesome aswell.

[Edit] also check out these drum breaks in Brubecks cover of "Take the A Train". Taste, personified.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EbUklDXdH2o
 
My favorite Jazzer. His drumming makes my spine tingle, its so creative. Listening to Joe solo is like listening to good poetry. It's very lyrical and intense. Even though he is not known as a big solo guy, He is damn good at them. Most drum solos/breaks I hear feel like a pause in a song rather than a progression. Joe's solo's and breaks truly bring the song to another level. For example, my favorite drum solo;

http://youtube.com/watch?v=B0XED9VI2cg

This 1964 drum solo in the song "Sound of the Loop" is my favorite. It's incredibly musical. The intro is awesome aswell.

[Edit] also check out these drum breaks in Brubecks cover of "Take the A Train". Taste, personified.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EbUklDXdH2o

I'm in the same boat. He's not just my favorite jazzer, but my favorite drummer of all time. I've been a huge Morello fan ever since I found a Brubeck recording in my old man's record collection when I was a kid. He's a technical wizard and everything he played was done in such a musical way, always what was just perfect for the tune.

I recently managed to finally complete my collection of Morello's educational materials. Picked up a copy of "Off the Record" on ebay. It's a 1966 book of transcripts of some of his solos from various recordings with the Brubeck quartet. It's very sweet. It starts with some basic reading exercises, then before each solo trascription is a series of exercises to help one with the ideas expressed in the actual solo.

Thanks for posting that like to the A-Train video. I hadn't seen that one yet. I love the move he does at about 9:24, dropping the stick down on the snare like that.
 
Joe Morello is amazing. Plain and simple. He's easily my favorite drummer of all time. His one-handed open rolls are an order of magnitude faster than my two-handed closed rolls. Hell, his bass rolls are faster than my two-handed buzz rolls. :| More importantly, he's a real musician. He knows the piece, he knows how the drums can best add to it, and he knows full well how to get those drums to do it.

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but he has a series of instructional videos that you can get on Netflix. You can tell from his demeanor that he's a cool dude, and totally down to earth. That alone makes me like him a hundred times better than Buddy Rich.
 
My favorite without question. He's a huge inspiration to me. That said, I decided against making a topic about what I'm about to say, as I felt it not quite urgent enough to warrent an individual thread that already semi-exists. Anyway, I discovered, while trying to send him a personal message a little while back, that his site doesn't seem to exactly be optimally functional; I don't think that the contact system on the site actually work anymore. When you try to send a message, you are directed to a page that says the following: FormMail-Clone The system administrator has disabled this script. Now, I've searched, but I can't seem to find any other information on how to contact him. I'd really love to meet the man while he's still around, but I can't do that if I don't know how to find him! If anyone has any information regarding this, its divulgence is very greatly appreciated. :\
 
My favorite without question. He's a huge inspiration to me. That said, I decided against making a topic about what I'm about to say, as I felt it not quite urgent enough to warrent an individual thread that already semi-exists. Anyway, I discovered, while trying to send him a personal message a little while back, that his site doesn't seem to exactly be optimally functional; I don't think that the contact system on the site actually work anymore. When you try to send a message, you are directed to a page that says the following: FormMail-Clone The system administrator has disabled this script. Now, I've searched, but I can't seem to find any other information on how to contact him. I'd really love to meet the man while he's still around, but I can't do that if I don't know how to find him! If anyone has any information regarding this, its divulgence is very greatly appreciated. :\
I have seen recent ads in Modern Drummer and other mags where he is giving private lessons in NY. (Big $$$).
 
Mr. Morello is a lowly drummer with a great feel and technique. He is so natural, spontaneous, authentic player that has given so much to the drumming world.

I´m enjoying this one: http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/joemorello1963.html

...just nice and simple! none of those 3-pedals, 10+ drums and 15+ cymbals in nowadays.

Thank you - Mr. Joe Morello!
 
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