Customer Reviews

The Best Of Buddy Rich: The Pacific Jazz Years

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Buddy Rich, Drummer and Tallented Performer from the day he became 16 months old and performed with his parents to when he turned 19 and showed Gene Krupa up in the Tommy Dorsey Band Was, and Always will be, the Worlds greatest Drummer. This album is a great compilation of peices Written and Covered by the Buddy Rich Band and recorded on the "PAcific Jazz" label. Among all the tunes there is amazing controll all the way through the horns to the Rhythm Section (naturally). Songs like "Rotten Kid" are an amazing contribution to the jazz world. The performance of an old Cannonball Adrely/Joe Zabidou Tune "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" in a fresh new arangement performed live at Ceasars Palace prings a Bluey/Gospel feel this album. And The most amazing pecie, "Channel One Suite" is the only known recording of this peice that exists. Starting with a Latin/swing feel, going into oppen solos by Buddy, then into a balad in the middle with Don Menza on the Sax, only to end with a tennor cadenza and flow into an even stronger, high speed Latin/Swing section to end the chart with 2 amazing open solos by Buddy Rich. This album is easily, out of my own personal colection of 32 Buddy Rich Discs and 4 Records, one of the best ever released. I encourang eanyone weather a musician or just an average Jazz lover to invest in this album. You will NOT be dissapointed.

This CD is the absolute best when it comes to Buddy Rich, and even jazz. It starts off with a ten-minute version of West Side Story, with a drum solo at the end. After that comes my favourite song on the CD, Love For Sale. If you have to listen to one BR song, listen to this. It starts off with hi-hat work, 4 minutes of ensembles and solos, and a 10-second blisteringly fast snare drum solo, unbelievably using single strokes. The song finishes with a huge ensemble, and then into a 21/2 minute long drum solo with occasional bursts of other instruments, a song called Apples. A Masterpiece, should be in any BR fan's, any drummer's or any jazz fan's collection. Amazing

I've always been interested in good drumming. From metal drummers like Gene Hoglan and Dave Lombardo, to prog. drummers like Mike Portnoy and Neil Peart, I have always admired guys that did more than just keep time. However, it wasn't until I bought this album that I realized I had no idea what drumming really was. Buddy Rich was often referred to as "the world's greatest drummer", and that was certainly no exaggeration. I have never heard anyone, in any kind of music, play like this guy did (there are a few guys in death metal that can match him in speed alone, but that's it). Not only was he incredibly fast and intricate, but he could lay back and groove very well too. A lot of his music was merely a vehicle for showing off his incredible prowess, but he was a very dynamic drummer as well. He could do it all.

This collection is a great example of the diversity that could be found in his music throughout the course of his career. You've got straight-out swing tracks, like "Rotten Kid" and "Love for Sale", more laid-back Miles Davis-type songs like "Diabolus", and even some rock/fusion stuff, like "Chelsea Bridge" and "Mercy Mercy Mercy", which add piano and guitar to the traditional big-band lineup.

However, the stand-out tracks, for me, are definitely the two epics, "West Side Story" and "Channel One Suite". Both around 12 minutes, they feature multiple tempo changes, excellent work from the horn section (the latter has an incredible saxophone solo spot), and of course some unbelievable drum solos from Buddy.

Apparently, Buddy was more of a performer than a songwriter, as most of these songs were originally composed by someone else, but the way he makes them his own is quite amazing. The swing version of "Greensleeves" is a perfect example. The melody is played on horns, and Buddy works in another of his jaw-dropping solo spots, and it sounds as if he wrote it himself. Very cool indeed.

I highly recommend this album, not only to fans of jazz, but to everyone who appreciates excellent drumming. I'm generally not a huge fan of the swing-style jazz, I'm more into the modern fusion type stuff, but I still think this is a highly enjoyable album from start to finish.

because i am a buddy homer, i can't recommend this enough! love for sale and greensleeves are two of my more favorite charts on this c.d. channel one and west side story are wonderful. it's a great begginning c.d. for those who are just starting to like buddy.

I had listened in the Buddy Rich Big Band many years ago on record and I enjoyed it. Last week, I decided to add a Buddy Rich CD (the Pacific Jazz Years) to my current collection. WOW! This CD absolutely blew me away. With modern day technology, this remastered recording absolutely overpowers anything in today's jazz, or for that matter, in today's music. Buddy's drumming style may never be equaled and all young musicians should check it out. Buddy drove his big band with incredible energy and immaculate precision. Now I know why the hungriest
and most talented young musicans always wanted to play in the Buddy Rich bands.......because his drumming powered them to unattainable heights. From his signature "one-handed" drum rolls to his perfectly timed rim-shot accents, Buddy Rich "is" a musical force that will endure time. Try it. There's enough energy in Buddy's music for generations to come.

Buddy Rich was without a doubt the most skillfull jazz drummer ever to grace the scene. The selections within this album run the gamut from the swingish Love for Sale to the more mournful Chelsea Bridge, all of the tracks, however clearly demonstrate bud's prodigal mastery on the drum kit. This is a wonderful album.

These tracks capture the early fire and excitement of the Rich band. His sidemen were OUTSTANDING players, and blended like no other big band. Menza's circular-breathing cadenza in Channel 1 is THE zenith for every reed player; Boice and Trimble are unequaled for range, clarity, and technical expertise; the trumpet section is tight, sharp, and clean WAY UP there. Yet, it's Buddy's percussion (not mere drumming) which is the catalyst! West Side and Channel 1 MUST be consumed by every drummer...the one-handed press rolls alone are a clinic!
A must for anyone thinking themselves a jazz listener.

Unbelivable!!! buddy rich is the master when it comes to drumming!!! This CD is filled with many solos... not just from the master, but also from others in the band. he had by far the best horn section in the the world and it is definitely captured by this AWESOME cd. I find NO problems when it comes to sound or anything else. If you like jazz, druming, solos, or just buddy rich, you NEED to get this.

Buddy Rich is One of The Baddest Drummers ever.This Disc Showcases His Many Different styles very well.Chelsea Bridge,Love For Sale,& Groovin'Hard are the Main cuts here.

Listening to the first cut, I'm thinking, "Yeah, alright." By the 4th or 5th cut I'm thinking, "Let me outta here."

Buddy's drumming becomes so insistent, so look-at-me, so in-your-face ("Big Swing Face" indeed) that it fatigues the poor listener. So much of big-band drumming is when NOT to play, a lesson that Buddy evidently did not learn. "Art lies in the concealment of art," as someone wise once said. There's a reason why he is held in such low esteem among the players. It's all about Buddy.