Tasteful prog-rock drumming has a few notable purveyors, (one such who's coming up in just a few here), and Porcupine Tree's Gavin Harrison is soyently one of them. Porcupine Tree was mine and I'm sure many others first introduction to Harrison's deliciously fitting playing, but the dude has a massive list of bands and artists he's appeared live and in session with as well. In more recent years, he's been in the multiple drummer incarnation of King Crimson and has played on both Steve Wilson's solo album Insurgentes and in Wilson and Mikael Åkerfeldt's side-project Storm Corrosion. He was even Iggy Pop's drummer in the late 80's, a gig that by his own admittance he was separately skilled/over-qualified for. Progressive rock is really Gavin's strong point as a drummer. Just ask Modern Drummer readers for four years in a row. In Absentia, Harrison's Porcupine Tree debut, is one of the very finest drum performances committed to record and one of a handful that I could pick out as a big influence on how I personally aspire to play. Awesome cymbal coloring and a warm yet tight drum sound that is an envy to most.
24. DENNIS CHAMBERS
As
a drummer, it's ass difficult to get one or two high-end session or
touring gigs without being able to read any music notation. It's
virtually impossible to get decades of them without said
reading abilities.
Dennis Chambers therefor is an anomaly. Perhaps more than any other
professional drummer, the beats speak louder than anything else here.
All a band leader or recording artist needs to see or hear is anything
by this guy doing his thing and they immediately wanna work with him.
And this is completely understandable. What Dennis Chambers can do with
his hands is what nobody on earth can do with theirs. Chambers built
his chops growing up bashing away on pillows and as a mountain of a man,
he fucking destroys his drum kit. Not only will his superhuman fills
make you fall off your chair, but his funk back beat is second to no
one's on this planet. He consistently has one of the tightest pocket
grooves any drummer has or will ever possess, clearly reason number uno
so many gigs keep piling up under his belt. Certain musicians really
are just straight-up gifted and Chambers be one of them.
23. TONY WILLIAMS
22. DEREK RODDY
I haven't had a death metal drummer appear for awhile and well, the best for last hath been saved. I've made a point to accumulate any and everything Dererk Roddy has played on since I first heard Hate Eternal's King of All Kings. But then when I Monarch came out, this man instantly became my favorite extreme metal drummer. And that's because he's the best extreme metal drummer. The I Monarch performance really is the be-all-end-all of this kind of drumming and in addition to the playing, Roddy's sound on it is the best I've heard in the genre as well. This guy exceeded 250 bpm's on a regular basis at his fastest with H.E., but he's since proven himself to be an incredibly versatile player outside of the blast beat dominance. His own solo-instrumental-metal project Serpent's Rise showcases a wealth of grooves and styles, much more in the World music realm. And he's frequently called upon to lay down tracks for other bands and artists, like Today Is the Day, Aurora Borealis, Paul Gilbert, and just random blues bands in and around the Tampa area. A seasoned clinician and educator nowadays as well, not only spreading the gospel of blast-beat drumming but also of diversifying ones playing and keeping your musical chops and tastes as far reaching as possible.
21. MARK ZONDER
20. TONY ROYSTER JR.
When you're better than 95% of the drummers who have ever lived and you're only twelve years old, then you're a drummer who peoples are gonna keep an eye on. Sure enough, still under thirty at this writing, Tony Royster Jr. turned out to be an absolute demon at the drum kit. His chops are all the chops. He plays faster than Cobham or Chambers and harder than both. And he seems to know a couple hundred more licks as well. Oh and he can do stick tricks too. Watching Royster play is like watching someone who's probably breaking a bunch of Guinness World Records as he's doing so. Obviously, this guy is gonna get work for the rest of his playing days and he's already been Jay Z's regular drummer for years now. When letting loose in his own band though, or giving drum clinics, making instructional DVDs, or solo appearances at music festivals, is really when he busts out all the tricks. Or probably only a few of them since he just keeps getting better and better and blowing us all away with more and more dazzling feats of drumming aptitude. If this keeps up, I can only imagine every drummer on earth will be out of work in a few decades and this guy will have a monopoly on the bidness.
18. VIRGIL DONATI
17. KEITH CARLOCK
When it comes to pocket players, the eternally sweaty Keith Carlock is the very best around right now. He may be the most fluid drummer alive as well. Carlock has gotten re-occurring gigs with John Mayer and Steely Dan, (both of which, especially the later, are pretty much like winning an Oscar for a drummer). And his playing in other musicians' bands is always tasteful and expertly suited. But when letting loose in his own fusion band or in solo form, Carlock's ghost notes just never stop. Just watching this guy behind a kit by himself is more musical than most full bands you can see or hear. Keith composes his solos on the fly naturally, but does so as if he's playing along to a fictitious song in his head, which makes them funky as all get out, swing like crazy, thunderous, and busy-bee exercises that still manage to not at all seem showboaty or indulgent. His technique is somewhat interesting too as he seems to lay way back on the stick using trad grip, yet flows in a way that makes it all seem easy. Trust me and ask any other drummer though, it's not at all.
16. BILL BRUFORD
The best rhythm section in all of progressive rock, I'm calling it, is Chris Squire and Bill Bruford. Well both of these men could probably jam with a tree and it would still sound ballsmazing, but with their powers combined, no sweeter sound could be heard in virtually all of rock music. But we're only talking about Yes here, and only a few years total of Yes' overall history. Bill Bruford has two other household name prog bands he also served with in and around their prime, Genesis briefly and more importantly King Crimson. Red and Discipline by the later are the two best albums in said band's catalog next to Court of the Crimson King, and Brufod's hugely distinctive playing is on both. His two solo fusion bands, Bruford and Earthworks, have been his main gigs since the late 70's more or less and all throughout this man's career, the playing has been of the uppermost stellarness in quality. He's a jazz drummer playing world music and rock all at once, with a delicate touch on the instrument that not only fits, but incredibly enhances any and every project he plays on. Best snare drum sound in prog, hands down as well.
15. THOMAS LANG
What we have here folks is the absolute biggest freak drummer in the entire world. Or any other world. Virgil Donati is another and before I caught wind of Thomas Lang, I simply assumed Donati was the only such alien that came to our planet to simply make us all quit playing the drums. You can't really nitpick technical skills where these two men are concerned since really, they can both play all the notes in all the orders at all the speeds there are. Lang though, in addition to the very sickest stick tricks a drum set drummer possesses as well as foot work that is more dynamic than every other drummer's snare work could possibly be, also seems to have maybe just a better ear for taste. And this is not at all to knock Donati who is impervious to knocking, but Lang can and does play totally laid back and unrecognizable from his clinician "cosmic quaking" drum solo fury with a slew of session gigs with pop and rock artists. So there's some restraint on display here is what I'm getting at. But yes, I've never seen a drummer who on a technical level is better than Thomas Lang. He is Impossible Man. And not to keep comparing them damn it all, but as opposed to Donati who often looks like he's about to turn into the incredible Hulk when playing, Lang generally looks totally relaxed. As if to say "yeah, you really can't do any of this". Touché Mr. Lang.
14. TERRY BOZZIO
Since always, the job of the drummer was to be the time keeper, the anchor for the rest of the music to rest firmly on. It's a supporting role mostly, though occasionally a lead one depending on the player and on the music itself. Then Terry Bozzio came along and after a few decades of playing by the rules for the most part, (if playing with Frank Zappa is "playing by the rules"), up and decided on his lonesome that he was bored with all that and should be doing something else with his drum set. So over the years, he eventually got enough drums to encompass EVERY drum set, filled his cymbal arsenal with nothing but chinas, and set about a one man quest to turn the drummer alone into a solo band. Bozzio solo albums are true drum solo albums. It's just him and his kit that needs it's own zip code. I've seen this guy live and he wasn't giving a clinic but a literal solo drum performance. To see these drum set compositions performed is to see what no one has or is even trying to do with the instrument. Bozzio is a complete one of a kind. He does lay down grooves with various other musicians and lends his unique skills to a few session gigs, but the playing is still like no other. Bozzio's patterns, grooves, fills, and sounds are all masterfully constructed and the independence and musical ear this man has on the kit is extraordinary.
13. NEIL PEART
Outside of Bonham, Ringo, and Moon, the next drummer that the average citizen could incorrectly pronounce off the top of their head would be Neil Peart. Peart did for the rock drummer what Eddie Van Halen did for the rock guitarist. All of a sudden, it simply wasn't enough to sit back and lay down a groove for the riffs to sit on top of. Neil Peart, the Professor, made those drum parts the song's lead and most intricate instrument. Rush's music was the type of prog rock that you could still headbang to, as complex as Yes or as heavy as Deep Purple if need be, and Peart upped his drumming to the hitherto unknown areas of creativity. A drummer can't just sit behind the drums and "wing" a Rush song. You have to LEARN these drum parts. No one did drum fills like Peart did, where 8th or 16th notes rolling down the toms were out, and choppy combinations which would often incorporate the hi-hat and kick drum, were in. Neil played tighter than anybody ever had and really set the benchmark for what all future hard rock and metal players would base their style off of. All this, and we're not even at the discussion about the reason most people continue to go and see Rush live, which is the Neil Peart drum solo. They are the most entertaining and carefully constructed in rock music and showcase a man who, at the end of the day, really does care a whole lot about what he does for a living.
12. STEVE SMITH
Journey's an example of a band that was just getting huge and they pretty much had the pick of the litter and could get the best drummer available to join the winning team. The man they got was enormously over-qualified fusion drummer Steve Smith. Smith continued with Journey all through the 80's and all through their hits, which paid the bills and pretty much assured he'd never really have to work again, but for decades now he's been solidifying his reputation as damn near the best all around drummer alive. There's a many a session gig under his belt as well as his own on-going fusion outfit Vital Information. And Steve Smith has even taken over the Buddy Rich Big Band for tours and recordings. Both Smith's flawless technique and his total mastery of every possible style and approach to jazz drumming are unparallelled. Jazz drumming for most of my life was a complete mystery as far as execution goes, but Smith was the first I'd seen who actually shed some tangible light on the subject. So as an educator therefor, he's wholly admirable. His two instructional DVDs, Drum Set Technique/History of the U.S. Beat and Standing On the Shoulder's of Giants, prove that he's a walking encyclopedia of drummer knowledge. There's enough totally practical information on both that they make all other such instructional DVDs obsolete.
11. STEVE GADD
Yup, good ole Steve Gadd, who's widely regarded as the finest session drummer of all time. On his resume is one of the top five most famous drum grooves ever in Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover" and what many a fellow drummer would sight as the best drum solo ever played on Steely Dan's "Aja". And when you want the very best pocket in the business, right again, it's Steve Gadd to the rescue. There's a lot of "bests" and "of all times" where this man is concerned. Gadd is remarkable in the fact that his style is very unique and noticeable yet called upon more than probably anyone's. Not that this doesn't make sense mind you, since who in their right mind WOULDN'T want Gadd playing on their records, but it's unique in the fact that most session musicians who consistently get work are chameleon type players that can sound like whoever the producer wants on any given track. Gadd sounds like Gadd and it's goddamn glorious. There's an awesome moment in the Burning For Buddy making of where Neil Peart talks about Gadd setting up and leaving his kit in the studio overnight and, naturally, Peart couldn't resist but to sit down and play it for a bit and it just sounded awful. With Peart playing it. But as soon as the man himself got behind his own home, there it was, that legendary sound and feel.
10. CHARLIE WATTS
Like I said in the forward, there are non-technicians who are remarkable drummers and this really goes for all musicians, not JUST drummers. And Charlie Watts is just such a drummer who's never busted out a fill or a solo or a technically dazzling bit of wizardry that made any other fellow skinsman throw their hands up and say "fuck this I quit". But oh, what he has done instead. Brought up with and maintaining a love of jazz that is equal to no one probably, (it certainly seems the man still listens to no other type of music), Charlie Watts was once in the long, long ago a jazz drummer before the Stones came a knocking. Well, he's always continued to call himself a jazz drummer and has had his own big band for decades now so really, who are we to argue with him? He's a jazz drummer who just so happens to be in the second biggest and most famous and lauded rock and roll band of all time. And as his fellow Stones have always said themselves, Watts is the best musician in the band and without him, no Stones at all would there be. Charlie Watts for my money has always had one of the absolute tastiest grooves in music period. He simply makes every song he plays feel absolutely perfect. And in this regard, he's really the world's most perfect drummer.
9. GINGER BAKER
There are astonishing chops on display where Swiss/gloriously afroed Jojo Mayer is concerned. One handed rolls, heel-toe doubles with his feet, and a mastery of the Mooeller stroke, (which he dedicated an entire instructional DVD too), enable him to basically play anything. A jazz drummer in a roundabout way, at least in his early career beginnings, for years now Mayer has been gaining more acclaim for his work with electronic music. Meaning he plays electronic music without electronics. In an effort to not be topped by programed drum machines, Mayer figured "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em", and began a self-taught technique he dubbed "reverse engineering". Utilizing various methods, and a few tricks in the form of some nifty gear and cymbals, Mayer can essentially play most any drum 'n' bass grooves with his acoustic kit. And watching him do this is pants-shittingly awesome. Mayer's main group Nerve is a live electronica band that has a mixer as a member, and the band as a whole sounds like a DJ record that took years to produce. Only they are improvising live and unhinged. Modern technology son. A freak drummer with his eyes and limbs perpetually gazed to the future, Mayer is at the forefront of this kind of playing ,(far as drumming goes), and it's a remarkable thing.
7. DANNY CAREY
One of the biggest beasts of a musician and a man who truly beats the living ass out of his kit is Tool's Danny Carey. Carey is six foot five, built like a superhero, and even at the age of fifty-three, still makes his drums cry. For my money, Danny Carey is the best prog-rock drummer on this earth. Tool can be classified as many things genre wise, to the point where they really are their own genre. As most of the best bands truly are. But the prog tag certainly belongs as odd-time signatures, and challenging, long compositions that utilized various themes and dynamics, are all textbook progressive music staples and all are Tool staples as well. Carey's demanding polyrythmic playing, (which is constantly changing and building throughout each song), is incredibly tricky to pull off let alone compose in the first place and then memorize. And then of course, play with such a ferocity and enormous, Bonham worthy groove. Carey has composed drum parts based on specific geometrical designs and numbers, namely the unicursal hexagram or "Thelema star", and he possesses a massive understanding of the occult and magic which creeps into his very playing and performances. He likens his drumming to that of performing a demon containing ritual, (seriously, check it out yo). There's a dedication here to his art on levels few drummers maintain. At the end of the day though, Danny Carey likes hitting things hard and playing rock music like a goddamn boss.
Vinnie Colaiuta may have the most impressive resume of any drummer. A Frank Zappa grad, who just so happened to play on my favorite of all Zappa albums Joe's Garage, Vinnie was the best drummer his old boss ever had. And as a quick look at all the guys who once filled said spot clearly shows, this is saying something. Post-Zappa, Vinnie threw himself headlong into session work as a method actor would into acquiring as many completely different roles as possible to further their craft. Vinnie's had steady placement in Sting's, Joni Mitchell's, and Jeff Beck's bands, but there's gazillions more. He's played on Barry Manilow, Destiny's Child, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Hilary Duff, (cause why not?), and Megadeth records. And he's also worked with most every living jazz bandleader of note such as Bill Evans, John McLaughlin, Chick Correa, Herbie Hancock, etc. The list really does just go on and on here with no sign of ceasing to go on and on. But simply laying down competent if not extraordinary tracks with every artist under the sun isn't enough on it's own. What Vinnie Colaiuta can do on the drums is what basically no one can. Steve Vai tells a hilarious story of how Vinnie was sight reading a Zappa song even more bonkers than "The Black Page", where every drum hit was written out, and while sight-reading said piece and hitting it out of the park, he was also taking quick breaks to eat sushi mid-groove. Yeah, you try that and see how catastrophic that goes for ya.
4. DAVE WECKL
This be another drummer that on a technical level, absolutely astounds me. I can honestly say that along with Buddy Rich, I can't play ANYTHING that Dave Weckl can. Like literally every groove, every lick, every fill. I got nothing. I can watch footage of this guy playing whatever, traditional jazz, fusion, Latin, rock, or the sickest drum solos on earth and I am totally at a loss as to how he's killing it so much. And the solos yes, truly are astronomical. When off in his own realm, Weckl sounds like he's fluidly playing every phrase and lick ever printed in any drum book ever. Which no doubt, the man has painstakingly memorized and perfected over the decades. Dave Weckl is one of the most disciplined musicians on earth. He's said that when he first started playing drums, he straight-up told his dad that he wanted to be the best drummer in the world. And by Satan, he's just about done it. Untold hours of practice and studying with several teachers over several years, he has trained his abilities to the point where he's untouchable in the skills department. Weckl dedicated a large part of his first instructional VHS Back To Basics to a "finger method" that he had been using for years only to, twelve years later, dedicate an entire OTHER DVD to his perfected Moehler method. So yes, he totally mastered two completely different techniques and played better than anyone ever with each. Fuck this guy is what I'm saying. Ha.
3. IAN PAICE
2. BUDDY RICH
1. JOHN BONHAM
Buddy Rich the best? You betcha. But this here mein friends is a "favorites" list, not just the best there are at the instrument. And John Bonham unwaveringly has been my favorite drummer since exactly the day I decided to start playing drums. His throne hath never been over-taken and never will. I have John Bonham to thank for what little ability at playing drums or any other instrument I have at all. When I was twelve, my cousin and mother were having a conversation on who the best musician in Led Zeppelin was. My Ma said John Paul Jones and my cousin said John Bonham, (funny neither of them said Page or Plant). I inquired who this Bonham fellow was and after a quick history lesson, (my cousin played me "Kashmir", "Whole Lotta Love", and probably "When the Levee Breaks" and told me to just pay attention to the drumming), that sirs and ma'ams was all she wrote. Right then and there, that simply, I decided I have to play these things. No musician has ever had an impact on me like that, where simply paying attention to what they were doing changed my life. To this day, Bonzo has the sickest, heaviest, most textbook perfect thunderous groove of all time. Everyone who plays grooves on the drum set, which is really every drummer, should play like Bonham. Or at least take some goddamn notes from the man. Though as much as there is to learn from exactly how much to lay back on the beat and making a song feel the best it can, there are certain elements that one simply cannot learn. I've prided myself with learning every John Bonham groove and drum fill ever, but do I sound like Bonzo when I play them? Of course not. No one does. He was irreplaceable, (hence Zeppelin disbanding), and there is no drummer past or present that I would rather listen to or ideally play like.
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