Inspiration from Mr Buddy Rich

And it’s back to my drummer obsession. The year may change but some things stay the same!

On Boxing Day, I got sucked into a YouTube wormhole and ended up looking at videos of Buddy Rich for hours. I think it can be a great source of inspiration to watch someone who is at the top of their game, somone who is a master at what they do. It gets me fired up and champing at the bit to challenge myself as a writer.

Buddy Rich had it all; technique, speed, groove, power and originality. It’s rare to find all of those qualities in one musician and he was rightfully billed in his lifetime as “The World’s Greatest Drummer”.  His career started in vaudeville at the tender age of eighteen months old, when most children are learning to walk, and he became a child star, performing as a band leader by age 11. He went on to play drums with Artie Shaw and Tommy Dorsey before forming his own band with Frank Sinatra’s finanical backing. Buddy also worked as a session player with big names such as Ella Fitzgerald, Oscar Peterson and Louis Armstrong.

Listen to Buddy for a while and every other drummer sounds sloppy by comparison. His timing was impeccable, his solos were inventive and he always had great swing and groove. There are few people in the world who find what they are truly born to do and who become the best at it; Buddy was one of those lucky people.

I don’t know if I’ll ever be as good a writer as Buddy was a drummer, but it’s worth aiming for.

 

Firstly:

 

 

Secondly:

 

 

 

And finally: