Steve Gadd Clinic in Los Angeles

[DCussen]

He says more with one floor tom note than every note I've ever played.

[Karllesko]

I don't have the words..........

[yomega69]

i love how he doesn't build and crescendo to the first beat like everybody tends to.... just creates whatever phrasing he likes and its money every time!

[proyhas]

this men is really one the best percussion musician..music and music and groover feeling!!

[grooveaap]

I was there in the room watching! It's really weird to see this performance again after it has been stuck in my memory for such a long time. I did PIT that time and the whole room was filled with a lot of big time drummers, all coming to watch Mr Gadd play. I believe it was sort of a comeback of him after some time away from the business and everyone just seemed to wanna be there. It was amazing...to say the least.

[agzzled]

2:43 fucking amazing reverse... el mejor steve gadd groove from the soul

[ig00g1e]

It is difficult to articulate what is going on hear. Other than pure entrainment at it's height.

[71rubies]

He was at his best, in my opinion, when he was in Return To Forever. Check for You Tube clips of Return To Forever with Steve Gadd.

[DCussen]

Man...I play my brains out trying to be good, and he just reigns supreme with the simpelist grooves.

[64bbfan]

The Subconscious oozing out a drum solo through the limbs of its master!!

[milkminotaur]

Sub-fucking-lime.

[coloRADodanimal]

i think this is my favorite drum video i've ever seen. beautiful.

[cuica08869]

Still the best!

[miniatureface]

steve gadd has the power to make anything that he plays sound magically perfect

[bevocjohnson]

I dig Gadd, but it's like he does the same solo over and over and over.... and over

[kashmir33]

This is pure gold,I just feel relaxed listening Gadd,such a genius with a lot of groove and feeling,he plays from the heart,he's not like Thomas Lang...I hate that kind of drumming..so robotic,so egocentric,kind of like he wants to be the fastest drummer,etc etc..bullshit,he and all the drummers who wants to be like that.

[mquartarone]

W O W

I quit playing the drums after I heard Aja - this guy is from another planet!!

[mquartarone]

W O W

I quit playing the drums after I heard Aja - this guy is from another planet!!

[Lifesucksdie123]

he's amazing.

[scottik187]

what groove and control

[bobbystockerdrums]

I have to say this could be my favorite drum solo ever!! Gadd is SO musical and creative!! I think this is what most drummers aspire too,but very rarely get too!! IN GADD WE TRUST!!

[Laight4work]

totally agree .  . this is the best . .

[phantasos12]

I believe the blues brothers were on a mission from this guy.

[djcuvcuv]

wearin' that denum

[odpr]

The David gilmour of the drummers :)

[videoklueka2]

I believe in gadd

[nemrac76]

Me two.

[Adudewithastick]

i think this clinic is one of the best steve gadd videos on youtube

[TravisCoakley91]

multitasker...

[Jevol]

I do believe this is in 1988. He plays like a god.

[groovemerchant1]

impecable timing, effortless chops, accuracy, musicality and taste. Gadd you are my hero.

[Helslinky]

He's awesome... although... his attire does look a little, well scary!

[miketalbot4]

It just doesn't get any better than that. Should be required listening for all drummers!

[ziqqyman101]

YEAHHHHHHH

[andrewtheman19]

Beautiful. This video captures his essence so well: a minimalist, perfect feel, signature HH licks/tom fills, and he tells a story.

Early on I think he hit the rim of the snare on accident, but he turned a mistake into improvisation by purposefully hitting the rim and getting some cool sounds out while mixing in the cowbell.

I learn something every time I pay attention to him.

[drumdude1000]

From 3:25 to 3:45  Unbelievable groove!!!

[mamounbanni]

@drumdude1000 Here's a video where i tried to play that groove : watch?v=sDVsNT0iprw

[borishog]

get on with it

[superjam18]

I like how he moves with the grove

[dynamokiev69]

he is so fucking good

[diddi1311]

Relaxed and funky like there's no tomorrow. Amen.

[osgoodmd]

Man he is so damn funky

[ljs8888]

inspiring!

[xpinkdog]

Gadd = God

[eskimoposh]

Gadd's a HACK!!!!

(it's Opposite Day at my office)

[shanghaiKISS02]

1:42 on wards Gaddism

[monseratejimmer]

the most juiciest groove i've ever heard..out of this world..long live..our gadd!!!

[hightech62]

ya' know, right when I think my drumming isn't too bad, I listen to Steve Gadd. I then realize, "I suck"

[Alinkttpast]

It also happens to me...Every time I think I play good, I just see god playing and I realize that I´m a fuking shit of player man...Gadd is God, that´s impossible to play better...

[gonzodrummer]

same here!!

[aliased]

Fantastic. A  religious experience.

There's something unsettling about witnessing absolute perfection.

[0Vecna0]

Is he using a double pedal in this? I know that he uses the Yamaha dfp 900 series double pedal now, but I can't tell if those doubles at 4:50ish are single footed or not....

[Laight4work]

no way . . not a double pedal . . he's playing them as doubles with one pedal . . like a double stroke roll.

[FrijolesYall8]

That's just ridiculous

[AugenZuUndDurch]

best gadd clip

[codgerfiasco]

one of my all time favourite gadd clips. can i buy this anywere. if not it would be a great thing if someone out there could apply some noise reduction technology to it.

[tomgadd]

i do have only a rip from vhs tape. to my knowledge this was never released. i will post the full video next days.

[sebastiamer]

Please do, because I have learned so much from the Gadd videos you have posted. Are you really from the Gadd family? or is it because you love Steve Gadd?

[sweetfly66]

I agree this is one of the best Gadd clips I have ever seen . He is totally on in this video .

[quackbeef]

@codgerfiasco lol dolby nr back in the day is nothing compared to what we have today...

[Babdinho]

In Gadd we trust.

[brickslam]

GREAT!!!

[HammondB200]

perfect snare

[sebastiamer]

The way he grooves is so poetic...

[Laight4work]

i think those are vinnie's drums ..

[nemrac76]

.. with Gadd's snare, a 5x14 Ludwig Supraphonic.

[sweetfly66]

It did look like an Acrolite .. one of those student models that came in a plastic case with a music stand and warped sticks .... but we all know the truth , it doesnt matter if Gadd were on a 20 year old beat up set of CB 700`s ... he would still sound great .

[hihats]

amazingly in my original post I was given 7 negatives for attempting to clarify what the snare drum is...I've since deleted it.

[borishog]

whats so good about him

[Jason310M]

Gadd the Great

[PrimevalRudy]

Fantastic!!

The first time I saw Gadd on Saturday Night Live performing "50 Ways" with Paul Simon in the '70s, I knew there was something special about this drummer. At the time, I didn't give drummers or drumming much thought, but something about that lick moved me. Some 30+ years later and still, nobody grooves it better than the great one.

[djembeing]

I've been posting around about how bad I want just a CD of Gadd Grooving. I bet we can get him to do it.

I just want to drive around and listen to him play.

[KiloHoplite]

this guys the greatest. and I mean that. greatest.

[martinvfphoto]

that is pure poetry . . that is virtuosity . . .

man . .. how many hot shot drummers come and go . . . ? this guy is still around because he doesn't try to show us how great he is . . he shows us how great MUSIC is. how beuatiful it can be , . . what it is capable of expressing.

[SpagsJippy]

Very well said, Martin.

[martinvfphoto]

thanks man . . Gadd is an American treasure . . people (non drummers) should know more about him . .

[SpagsJippy]

I agree. He's always been my idol. He's the reason I started playing the drums, really. All drummers can take a page from his book.

[1245102]

i like jippy agree with you martin to everything you said, about how great the music itself can be. he is not trying to impress us with his chops, everybody who knows about Steve already knows the hrooves and chops he does and how great he is. But the most important thing about Steve is his emotion and soul comes out of him with every strike of the stick hitting the drum. he means every shot he hits. anyways, cheers to you man.

[RAYJAGAN]

Very well said Martin. This is something we all can learn from. Thanks.

[violinbloke]

He's only the best drummer ever, that's all.

[nicknb3]

this is so awesome. does anyone know if this from a dvd or if there is there a higher quality version?

[musicNdrums]

man! no one has his sound... forget chops although he has many chops..... its his FEEL and SOUND thats amde him legendary... i met him like 3 times and he signed me drum head... i consider myself lucky

[2dchris]

I'm betting your not a groover :) Still, I could be wrong but the chances are very slim.

[Edella]

To each their own and all that shit. But do you honestly not see why so many of us LOVE Steve Gadd? Maybe I idolize the man too much, but humor me... what do you dislike about his playing?

[nicknb3]

this is the reason i get out of bed every morning

[yohanator]

so damn good

[nebaioth]

This is just #@!$%&*$#@! beautiful! So...oh...ORGANIC!!! Yeah, that's it. You can see in the beginning, the way he starts off so simple, yet, he is building every step of the way...brilliant! Thanks for sharing this..."Gadd's creation"

[dunskie]

The mere SOUND of his drums is incredible.

[allumirati]

I wonder if Gadd has EVER been out of time...

[iamareplicant]

One more thought...I think I remember looking at the chart and thinking that it depicted the entire song at once...that is, Mr. Gadd was looking at all of the parts written on one chart...so that he could get a complete picture of what everyone was doing at the same time. And he had small notes written across the top.

[Laight4work]

that's cool . . would love to see that thing . . such a legendary performance by Gadd. Part of the legend is that he did it on one take. I saw Gary Katz interviewed about it, and he confirmed that it was one take. "what would we change?" was the way he answered it.

[iamareplicant]

sea of black refers to many black notes written on a white page, plus ,many hand written notes (also in black)

[Laight4work]

that's interesting . . you mean like stuff gadd wrote on there himself . . like cues and phrases and etc.? . . . cause the piece itself (without the drums) isn't that busy . . .

[iamareplicant]

The chart he was using was something like (and this is 30 years ago)a combination of the guitar and/or bass and/or vocals and notes all on one chart. If I recall correctly, there were no drum parts at all. It was everything but.

[iamareplicant]

That is a solo that I wish would go on for hours. No drummer that has been playing for at least a year would not agree that Mr. Gadd is a master drummer and so tasty that it hurts to listen to. I has the chance in'77 or so to see the charts that he used to record Aja. It was a sea of black. I was too young and dumb to comprehend exactly how unreal that one track was. But, like everyone else, to this day, I can listen to Aja for the 1000th time and still have the same smile as 30 yrs ago.

[Laight4work]

what do you mean by "sea of black"?

[blackl1steddrums]

"In GADD we trust"

[italstal07]

Buddy rich had said this sometime ago, even though I am fast alot of times "less is more"

[nemrac76]

Too good.

THE ALMIGHTY GADD!!!

[jasonwhitedrum]

Before all you guys start having orgasms together while discussing "the three essential rudiments",may I remind you of a fourth rudiment of equal importance that Gadd consistently utilizes-the FLAM!

[CriLLzors72]

i love steve gadd and hes grooves are awesome. i've watched some films here on youtube and he doesn't play so many "hard" things. Then why did he get so much work fast it because of his outstanding feel and timekeeping?

[jonescrusher1]

Exactly, drummers who get the work are the ones with those two attributes. Being able to play hard stuff will get you very few gigs, paid ones at least.

[jzct68]

Ditto, almost anyway can play the choppiest stuff given enough time in the shed. But, play MUSICALLY as a drummer, and you're golden. Too many drummers think they're a seperate entity from the band and the music and they're only waiting to play the last fill they worked on in the shed...it's not what it's about. Gadd gets it, and that why he gets the gigs. There is a lot more to drums than the physicality behind them.

[rancid9387]

gadd is gadd. enough said

[DrummerGrrrl]

God, Gadd is Good! Haha. Seriously, though, this guy is unreal.

[kapdrums]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!!!!!!!!!

[RorSul]

god damn he's got some groove.

[Champane97]

My 1st drummer teacher said to me "Master the 3 most important rudiments; Single, Double & Paradiddle and the world is yours" Watching Steve Gadd on this clip is proof!!

[1245102]

champane97, you are so right. this clip of mr. gadd is absolute proof. the three essential rudiments to this day will always be the single, paradiddle and double. just when we sometimes think we totally have em down, sometimes it is amazing how sometimes we always seem to want to fine tune those rudiments and apply then carefully to any groove from basic to complex. all this to say, you can not be closer to the truth. cheers.

[Champane97]

No problems "1245102"!! Mastering these 3 rudiments is a life long education/experience!! You are so right about thinking we 'might have them em down', until a master like Mr. Gadd reminds us all there's still much to learn and experience!! I just love the DRUMS!!!

[NiXPredator]

You both are so right at this point !

A human live is not long enough to learn everything on drums. But with these 3 rudiments we can work for a lifetime.

[ksotiroff]

The man has a bottomless pocket full of grooves, which he seemlessly ties together -- one after another. What a talent!

[Champane97]

Next to Jeff Pocaro, Gadd is the master groove machine!! His phrasing is awesome!!

[phatphace]

Back when i was younger, i never quite knew why this guy created so much hype. I certainly do now. He's just so incredibly musical with all his solos

[kz1000ps]

I discovered Gadd in March '02 and there's simply been no looking back since. Like granthunt said - what a musician.

[urparanoid]

that left hand on the hight hat is a trip . . not easy that's for sure . . but it opens up so much shit

[granthunt]

gadd was my first idol when i started playing at 12 yrs old! Im now 22 and have idolised and can recognise every major drummers style out there. after developing my chops and timing I have come to realise that Gadd has, without doubt, everything you need in a drummer. what a musician.

[1245102]

2dchris, i could not agree with you more, definitely by far the grooviest. dead on true. i also love the fact that steve starts off the groove basic and soft and the dynamic increases gradualy and as he does he plays his thoughts over the figure. and his meter is so dead on the whole time. and with every emotion, like he means every hit he strikes. Steve, by far the most brilliant. I too thank you for the posting. Cheers.

[2dchris]

I've watched hundreds of gadd clips, this is prob one of the grooviest ever!

Thanks so much for posting :)