One of the most influential drummers of all time, Steve Gadd set a new standard in contemporary drumming techniques and performance, and in doing so launched a thousand imitators. Recording so many legendary drum tracks like; ” Aja”,” Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover” and “Nite Sprite”, there is no drummer alive today who in some way has not been affected by Steve Gadd. His influence is still very much felt and can be heard in the playing of everyone from Vinnie Colaiuta to Carter Beauford. And still to this day there is no one who can get “inside” a tune and find the “pocket” quite like the great Steve Gadd.
Steve Gadd was born in Rochester, New York, April 9, 1945.
Steve’s Uncle, a drummer in the army, encouraged him to take drum lessons at the age of seven; by the time Steve was 11 he had sat in with Dizzy Gillespie. Studied music at Eastman College, Rochester, playing in wind ensemble and concert band, and at nights in a club with Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Joe Romano and Frank Pullara. After college, drafted into army and spent three years in a military band.
After the army he gigged and worked with a big band in Rochester. 1972 he formed a trio with Tony Levin and Mike Holmes, going to New York with it. The trio fizzled out, but Gadd began to work extensively as a studio musician.
He also played with Corea’s first Return to Forever. 1970’s and 1980’s, toured internationally, recorded with Paul Simon and with Al DiMeola’s Electric Rendezvous Band.
In 1976 Steve became a member of the group Stuff with Gordon Edwards, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Cornell Dupree and Chris Parker, while continuing his heavy schedule of studio work. Towards the end of the 70’s, Steve had not only become one of the most in-demand drummers, but he had also become one of the most imitated, and revered drummers in the world.
In Japan transcriptions of his solos were on sale, and all the leading Japanese drummers were sounding like him. Chick Corea commented, “Every drummer wants to play like Gadd because he plays perfect . . . He has brought orchestral and compositional thinking to the drum kit while at the same time having a great imagination and a great ability to swing.”
The 90’s saw Steve become Eric Clapton’s first call drummer, solidifying Steve’s reputation as one of the most accomplished and skilled drummers of his generation.
Today Steve is just as busy as he ever was with one of the most intense recording and touring schedules in the business, spending time in the studio and on the road with Eric Clapton, Paul Simon and James Taylor.
Steve’s influence on the drumming community can be heard in players from all walks of life, whether they know it or not. His feel, imagination, and abilities are the signatures of his trademark sound. Few others can manage to get inside a tune like Steve Gadd.”
