Re: Buddy Rich's grip..
Having studied with Henry Adler, I agree that Buddy's grip is different. Henry modeled the way he taught students to hold their sticks and turn their hands on how Buddy did it (along with the fulcrum used by violin players). This included holding the right hand stick between the thumb and first crease of the forefinger. You would actually see a space between yhe thumb and forefinger. The right hand would generate movement by thew wrist, but also by the tip of the forefinger, as well as the 3d and 4th fingers. The left hand was propelled mostly by the thumb (using traditional grip), with the fingers very active in the process. The one difference that surprises people - and it surprised me, too - is how the left hand holds the stick with the palm facing up. Henry always said that to do otherwise would limit the turn of the hand.
Having studied with Henry Adler, I agree that Buddy's grip is different. Henry modeled the way he taught students to hold their sticks and turn their hands on how Buddy did it (along with the fulcrum used by violin players). This included holding the right hand stick between the thumb and first crease of the forefinger. You would actually see a space between yhe thumb and forefinger. The right hand would generate movement by thew wrist, but also by the tip of the forefinger, as well as the 3d and 4th fingers. The left hand was propelled mostly by the thumb (using traditional grip), with the fingers very active in the process. The one difference that surprises people - and it surprised me, too - is how the left hand holds the stick with the palm facing up. Henry always said that to do otherwise would limit the turn of the hand.