Drummers

[BOP]

Just for the heck of it. It's kind of cool to see some of the roots of drumming as it's evolved into jazz, rock, and so on. Some of my favorites, as well as some big names, forgotten names.

Warren "Baby" Dodds and his brother Johnny played with some of the early big band, jazz, and swing orchestras. By early, we're talking early 1900's through the 1940's or so. I think I read somewhere a while back that the floor tom, which he was one of, if not the first, to implement, had a leather head, which makes sense, given the time period.



Another rare video of Dodds:






A biography:
Drummerworld: Warren Baby Dodds

DrummerWorld touts this as the first instructional drums video ever. It's one of less than a handful of known recordings (video or audio) of Baby Dodds.
Warren "Baby" Dodds: The First Instructional Movie Ever

Also see Baby Dodds

 

[BOP]

Zutty Singleton

Zutty Singleton played in the original Creole Orchestra (or Band, as it's sometimes called), whereas Baby Dodds played in the King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band, which, from what I can tell is the Creole Orchestra evolved. I'm always facsinated by the interweaving of characters throughout music history. It's like what we know as early American rock; who didn't play with whom? Pick a point...say, Jeff Beck, and follow which groups he played in, who was in those groups, and which groups they variously ended up with...for the time being. Anyway, just one for right now. Past bedtime for the old dude.

 

[RPMDAD]

Local Guy Paul Murphy, studied under Gene Krupa when hes was a kid. Avant garde style jazz drummer.