100 Greatest Jazz Drummers

Rick · **Joined:** Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:21 pm **Posts:** 455

100 Greatest Jazz Drummers

Jazz has had the broadest perspective of all genre's in music since it's first note to the present day. It is for that reason that this list is presented in the same manner, with respect to all the myriad forms & interpretations of Jazz that exist today.

Criteria: - These musicians were chosen for their originality, versatility, impact & influence within the genre. For their innovations & the technical ability for improvisation & musical expression in addition to their compositional skill & creative inspiration. As with all lists this is a subjective list and makes no claim of an official nature.

List compiled & Edited By: Rick Varner

Link: http://digitaldreamdoor.com/pages/best_jazz/best_jazzdrum.html

1. Buddy Rich
2. Elvin Jones
3. Max Roach
4. Roy Haynes
5. Jack DeJohnette
6. Tony Williams
7. Billy Cobham
8. Art Blakey
9. Joe Morello
10. Kenny Clarke
11. Gene Krupa
12. Dave Weckl
13. Harvey Mason
14. Peter Erskine
15. Chick Webb
16. Louis Bellson
17. Ed Blackwell
18. Bill Stewart
19. Steve Gadd
20. Papa Joe Jones
21. Connie Kay
22. Jeff "Tain" Watts
23. Philly Joe Jones
24. Paul Wertico
25. Big Sid Catlett
26. Rashied Ali
27. Warren "Baby" Dodds
28. Bernard Purdie
29. Clayton Cameron
30. Don Alias
31. Alphonse Mouzon
32. Alex Acuna
33. Paul Motian
34. Vinnie Colaiuta
35. Jimmy Cobb
36. Chad Wackerman
37. Shelly Manne
38. Johnny Vidacovich
39. Lional Hampton
40. Art Taylor
41. Billy Higgins
42. Lewis Nash
43. John Robinson
44. Danny Gottlieb
45. Antonio Sanchez
46. Bill Bruford
47. Alan Dawson
48. Dannie Richmond
49. Dennis Chambers
50. Ed Shaughnessey
51. Airto
52. Kenny Wollesen
53. Brian Blade
54. Gary Husband
55. Steve Smith
56. Alex Riel
57. Al Foster
58. Ben Perowski
59. Lenny White
60. Bernie Dresel
61. Panama Francis
62. Louis Hayes
63. Sonny Payne
64. Ed Thigpen
65. Jeff Ballard
66. Jay Lane
67. Gary Novak
68. Billy Kilson
69. Narada Michael Walden
70. Idrus Muhammed
71. John Riley
72. Abe Laboriel Jr.
73. Joe LaBarbera
74. Mel Lewis
75. Andrew Cyrille
76. Stanton Moore
77. Adam Nussbaum
78. Ben Riley
79. Cecil Brooks III
80. Simon Phillips
81. Joel Taylor
82. Marvin 'Smitty' Smith
83. Harold Jones
84. T.S. Monk
85. Terry Bozzio
86. Frankie Dunlop
87. Ray Barretto
88. Billy Hart
89. Stan Levey
90. Jimmy Campbell
91. Paul Barbarin
92. Joel Rosenblatt
93. Andre Ceccarelli
94. Martin Drew
95. John Guerin
96. Kenny Washington
97. Leon Parker
98. Luis Conte
99. Gene Jackson
100. Claude Ranger

thejew · **Posted:** Fri Oct 15, 2010 9:38 pm

Love the list Rick :tiphat:

Tis a shame that many of these great drummers are no longer with us...

pgm · **Posted:** Fri Oct 15, 2010 11:38 pm

What are some of everyone's favorite performances by these drummers?

Rick · **Joined:** Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:21 pm **Posts:** 455

thejew wrote:

Love the list Rick :tiphat:

Tis a shame that many of these great drummers are no longer with us...

Yeah, I had the good fortune to meet a few in interview for this list and a special memory was to have met Max Roach when I was a kid through an aquaintance of my Father. Obviously their talent shines in performance but to sit with these artists in a conversational setting and hear the stories told they're wanting to share, well, that's priceless.

Jestercide · **Posted:** Sun Oct 17, 2010 12:17 am

i saw Brian Blade with the Five Peace Band (McLaughlin, Corea, McBride)... He really blew me away... really. Hadn't heard him except on Dave Matthews' 'Some Devil' EDIT: Which actualy happened to be Brady Blade.. And i was atomized by his performance. Along with mcBride, but was already familiar with him.

Definitely the best jazz chops i've seen on the one stage. You'd be hard pressed to find a better line up that DIDN'T include Stanely Clark or one of these 'no longer with us' skin-slappers

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

When has Terry Bozzio done jazz?

beaverteeth92 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:09 pm **Posts:** 1163

RIP Joe Morello...

Rick · **Joined:** Wed Oct 06, 2010 7:21 pm **Posts:** 455

izkool wrote:

When has Terry Bozzio done jazz?

Terry was included because our own fusion editor Tom lists him as the 14th greatest fusion drummer of all time. Since Tom hears more fusion/sees more fusion live gigs etc etc than anyone I've ever heard of and since fusion is a sub genre of Jazz, hence I chose to include him in this list ....... which he qualifies for based on the criteria listed.

izkool · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 9:09 pm **Posts:** 140

Rick wrote:

izkool wrote:

When has Terry Bozzio done jazz?

Terry was included because our own fusion editor Tom lists him as the 14th greatest fusion drummer of all time. Since Tom hears more fusion/sees more fusion live gigs etc etc than anyone I've ever heard of and since fusion is a sub genre of Jazz, hence I chose to include him in this list ....... which he qualifies for based on the criteria listed.

When has Terry Bozzio done fusion? I've never heard of him doing fusion.

rockvirtuoso · **Joined:** Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:36 pm **Posts:** 2351

numerous albums with zappa and beck could be considered fusion

The Man · **Posted:** Sat May 28, 2011 12:30 pm

pgm wrote:

What are some of everyone's favorite performances by these drummers?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erE8WTngaAY

:cool:

mrsamtotheg · **Joined:** Fri Nov 18, 2011 7:09 am **Posts:** 349

I dont get buddy richs number 1 ranking , I know hes fast and introduced the speedy drum solos, and his compin is good , but he seemed to that lame ass big band swing shit his whole career, he hasnt done stuff like max roach ,elvin jones, tony williams, joe morello ,kenny clarke.

The Man · **Posted:** Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:44 pm

He's definitely a contender for the number one spot, but I agree that Elvin Jones and Max Roach have better credentials.

This is still a great list, though.

EDIT: And "swing" is not "lame-ass." A lot of that stuff is really great.

mrsamtotheg · **Joined:** Fri Nov 18, 2011 7:09 am **Posts:** 349

The Man wrote:

He's definitely a contender for the number one spot, but I agree that Elvin Jones and Max Roach have better credentials.

This is still a great list, though.

EDIT: And "swing" is not "lame-ass." A lot of that stuff is really great.

naw , only non jazz guys or jazz drummers got buddy at number one, and not all swing is lame ass , the big band stuff some if it super corny though, and buddy played some of that corny shit.

beaverteeth92 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 12, 2010 2:09 pm **Posts:** 1163

I'm a jazz drummer. At least 70% of other jazz drummers I know hate Buddy Rich because his fame relies almost entirely on soloing and he was a shitty bandleader. Krupa was a much better big band drummer because he knew his place in the ensemble and didn't just play music for the sake of showing off how fast he could do a single-handed roll.

100 Greatest Jazz Drummers

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