Wikipedia

Steve Gadd

For other people named Steve Gadd, seeSteve Gadd (disambiguation).

Stephen Kendall Gadd(born April 9, 1945[1]) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into theModern DrummerHall of Fame in 1984.[2]Gadd's performances onPaul Simon's "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover"(1976) and "Late in the Evening",Herbie Mann's "Hi-jack"(1975)[3]andSteely Dan's "Aja"(1977) are examples of his style. He has worked with other popular musicians from many genres includingSimon & Garfunkel,James Taylor,Chick Corea,Chuck Mangione,Eric ClaptonandMichel Petrucciani.

Steve Gadd
Gadd at Bodø Jazz Open, 2014
Gadd at Bodø Jazz Open, 2014
Background information
Birth nameStephen Kendall Gadd
Born(1945-04-09)April 9, 1945(age 79)
Irondequoit, New York,U.S.
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Drums,percussion
Years active1968–present
Websitedrstevegadd.com
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Service/ branchUnited States Army
Years of service1968–1971
UnitU.S. Army Field Band

Early life

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Gadd grew up inIrondequoit, New York.He started playing the drums at a very early age. At age 11, he entered the Mickey Mouse National Talent Round Up contest and was one of the winners; he won a trip to California, where he metWalt Disneyand appeared onThe Mickey Mouse Club,where he played the drums and did a tap dancing routine.[4]Gadd graduated fromEastridge High School,then attended theEastman School of Music,graduating in 1968.[5]He was then drafted into theUnited States Army,where he served the next three years playing drums in theUnited States Army Field Bandstationed atFt. Meade, MD.[6]

Career

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Gadd behind his drum kit in 2010
Steve Gadd plays with the brushes while watching Chick Corea during their show at the Blue Note in New York City on Friday, September 29, 2017.

In 1968, Gadd made his first studio recording onGap Mangione's albumDiana in the Autumn Wind.[7]

In 1973, Gadd formed the short-livedjazz fusionband L'Image withMike Mainieri,Warren Bernhardt,David SpinozzaandTony Levin.Also in 1973, he started playing on numerous albums for the jazz labelCTI Records,backing artists likeMilt Jackson,Chet Baker,Art Farmer,Jim Hall,andHubert Laws.Gadd played drums onthe title trackofSteely Dan's 1977 jazz-rock albumAja;the drum solo he played at the end of the song has become "the stuff of legend", according to a 2019Jazzizarticle, with its "explosive tom-tom runs and crisp cymbal grooves".[8]Other notable recordings from the 1970s areVan McCoy's hit "The Hustle"(1975),Paul Simon's "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover"(1975),Rickie Lee Jones' "Chuck E.'s in Love"(1979) and theChick Coreaalbums "The Leprechaun"(1976),"My Spanish Heart"(1976),"The Mad Hatter"(1978), and"Friends"(1978).

In 1981, he played drums and percussion forSimon and Garfunkel's Concert in Central Park.

Gadd was a member of theManhattan Jazz Quintetfrom its founding in 1983 until he left in 1987, replaced byDave Weckl,although he has reunited with the group several times since then. The group has only officially released its albums inJapan,and is best known there.

Gadd toured the entire year of 1991 with Paul Simon. He recorded and toured withEric Claptonin 1994/1996 and again from 1997 to 2004. 1997 also saw him on a world tour in a trio with the French jazz greatMichel Petruccianiand his long-time band colleague, bassistAnthony Jackson(captured on theTrio in Tokyolive album). Gadd played on the blues albumRiding with the Kingalong with B. B. King, Eric Clapton,Jimmie Vaughanand a few others. In 2009, Gadd returned to Clapton's band to play 11 nights at theRoyal Albert Halland was part of Clapton's touring band throughout May 2009. Also in 2009, Gadd reunited with L'Image, and the group performed at theIridium Jazz Clubin New York City, toured Japan and Europe, and released the albumL'Image 2.0.

Gadd has toured for many years withJames Taylor.[9]Since 2014, Gadd has played in a soul-jazz trio Blicher Hemmer Gadd with four-time Danish Grammy winner Michael Blicher (saxophone) and Dan Hemmer (Hammond organ). Blicher Hemmer Gadd has released four albums.[10]

Gadd has written a book about the rudiments of drumming entitledGaddiments,[11]which was released onHudson Musicin 2021.

Influences

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Gadd's influences includedBuddy Rich,Elvin Jones,Tony Williams,and the "less is more" style ofRick Marotta.[12]

Equipment

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Gadd endorses and usesYamaha drums,pedals and hardware,[13][14]Zildjiancymbals,[14][15]Remodrumheads,[14][16]Latin Percussion,[14][17]Earthworksmicrophones,[14][18]Vic Firthsticks and brushes[14][19]and Beato bags.[20]

Gadd uses the Steve Gadd Commemorative kit, which Yamaha made for the 30th anniversary of his collaboration with the company. The kit consists of a 22 "×14" maple bass drum and 10 "x7.5", 12 "x8", 14 "x12" and 16 "x14" birch tom toms. He uses his 14 "x5.5" Yamaha Steve Gadd signature steel snare drum with wood hoops, which also comes in birch and maple versions, and he has started to endorse the newer Yamaha Recording Custom series.[21]

Gadd has also used a Yamaha Club Custom drum kit in a blue swirl finish.[22]

Gadd also hasVic Firthsticks with his signature on them. The drumsticks are very light and thin, black in color, and have normal "wood color" on the tips. There is also an identical model with nylon tips. The stick is slightly shorter than the American Classic 5A, and features a barrel tip for improved recording sound. It is15+3⁄4in (40.0 cm) long and the diameter is.550 in (1.40 cm). In addition to having his own signature stick, he has his own signature brushes. These brushes are intended to solve the problem of wire brushes snagging on new coated drumheads by slightly angling the wires in the top3⁄4inch (1.9 cm) of the playing end. The wires glide across the head, allowing a smoother sweep and a velvet swish sound.

Gadd uses a variety ofRemoheads: a Coated Powerstroke 3 on the batter side of the snare with a Hazy Diplomat on the resonant side of the snare, Clear Pinstripes or Coated Ambassadors on the batter sides of toms, and Clear Ambassadors for the resonant sides. He is using a Coated Powerstroke 3 both on his snare and kick drum.[20][23][24]

He also has an LP Steve Gadd signature cowbell, modelled on the LP Mambo cowbell that he has used since the 1970s.[25]

According toAllmusic,Gadd has been credited with playingsurdo,kalimba,timpani,tambourine,congas,bass drum,bongos,timbales,snare drum,cymbalsand palmas in addition to a drum kit.[26]

Awards and honors

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  • Honorary Doctor of Music degree,Berklee College of Music,2005[27]
  • Grammy Award nomination, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album,Way Back Home,2017[28]
  • Grammy Award, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album,Steve Gadd Band,2018[29][30]
  • Blicher Hemmer Gadd: Danish Grammy Award nomination, Best Instrumental Jazz Album,Omara,2017

Discography

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Main article:Steve Gadd discography

As leader

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  • Gaddabout(Electric Bird, 1984)
  • The Boys from RochesterwithChuck Mangione(Feels So Good, 1989)
  • Together Foreverwith Chuck Mangione (Gates Music, 1994)
  • Trio in TokyowithMichel Petrucciani(Dreyfus, 1999)
  • Steps/Smokin' in the Pit(NYC, 1999)
  • Super TriowithChick Corea,Christian McBride(Mad Hatter, 2006)
  • Live at Voce(BFM, 2010)
  • Gadditude(BFM, 2013)
  • Blicher Hemmer Gadd(C-Nut, 2014)
  • 70 Strong(BFM, 2015)
  • Way Back Home(BFM, 2016)
  • Chinese Butterflywith Chick Corea (Stretch, 2017)
  • Steve Gadd Band(BFM, 2018)

With Manhattan Jazz Quintet

  • Autumn Leaves(Paddle Wheel, 1985)
  • Live at Pit Inn(Paddle Wheel, 1986)
  • The Sidewinder(Paddle Wheel, 1986)
  • My Funny Valentine(Paddle Wheel, 1986)
  • Live at Pit Inn Vol. 2(Paddle Wheel, 1986)
  • My Favorite Things: Live in Tokyo(Paddle Wheel, 1987)
  • Manhattan Blues(Sweet Basil, 1990)
  • Concierto De Aranjuez(Sweet Basil, 1994)
  • V.S.O.P.(Birds, 2008)

WithAnders Wihk

  • Same Tree Different Fruit(Capitol Music Group AB, 2012)

With Blicher Hemmer Gadd

  • Blicher Hemmer Gadd(c-nut records, 2014)
  • Omara(c-nut records, 2018)
  • Get That Motor Runnin´(c-nut records, 2019)
  • It will be alright(c-nut records, 2023)

References

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  1. ^Braman, Chuck; Kernfeld, Barry (2002). "Gadd, Steve". In Barry Kernfeld (ed.).The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, Vol. 2(2nd ed.). New York: Grove's Dictionaries Inc. p. 2.ISBN1561592846.
  2. ^"Modern Drummer's Readers Poll Archive, 1979–2014".Modern Drummer.RetrievedAugust 10,2015.
  3. ^Scott Yanow."Herbie Mann | Biography".AllMusic.RetrievedFebruary 15,2024.
  4. ^"Steve Gadd On The Mickey Mouse Club (1957)".Drum! Magazine.May 6, 2018.
  5. ^"Honorary Doctorates to be Awarded to Chick Corea and Steve Gadd by the Eastman School of Music".Eastman School of Music. October 12, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 20,2020.
  6. ^"Steve Gadd - Yamaha - United States".Usa.yamaha.com.RetrievedMay 10,2021.
  7. ^"Gap Mangione Biography".Gapmangione.com.RetrievedJanuary 20,2020.
  8. ^Zimmerman, Brian (April 9, 2019)."Song of the Day: Steely Dan (with Steve Gadd) –" Aja "".Jazziz Magazine.
  9. ^"Steve Gadd, Drums".James Taylor.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  10. ^"Steve Gadd, Drums".James Taylor.RetrievedFebruary 21,2019.
  11. ^"Gaddiments".Hudson Music.com.RetrievedMay 11,2021.
  12. ^Rick Mattingly, Hall of Fame - Steve Gadd "ArchivedJune 20, 2010, at theWayback Machine,Percussive Arts Society.
  13. ^"Steve Gadd".yamaha.com.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  14. ^abcdef"The Official Steve Gadd Website".drstevegadd.com.Archived fromthe originalon August 19, 2011.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  15. ^"Artists who use Zildjian Cymbals".zildjian.com.RetrievedOctober 3,2016.
  16. ^"Remo - Artist: Steve Gadd".Remo.Archived fromthe originalon October 9, 2015.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  17. ^"Welcome to Latin Percussion".lpmusic.com.Archived fromthe originalon April 11, 2016.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  18. ^"Steve Gadd".earthworksaudio.com.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  19. ^"Vic Firth Signature Artist: Steve Gadd".vicfirth.com.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  20. ^abSi Truss, Tom Porter and Rhythm Magazine."Drum kits of the pros: stars' live and studio drum setups in pictures".MusicRadar.RetrievedOctober 18,2015.
  21. ^"Steve Gadd on the return of the Recording Custom".August 5, 2016.RetrievedDecember 6,2017.
  22. ^Lone Star Percussion (November 7, 2012)."Yamaha Club Custom Played and Signed by Steve Gadd at PASIC 2012 during Pedrito Martinez Clinic".Archivedfrom the original on December 13, 2021.RetrievedDecember 6,2017– via YouTube.
  23. ^"The Official Steve Gadd Website".DrSteveGadd.com.RetrievedMarch 3,2019.
  24. ^"Yard Gavrilovic: Steve Gadd's Drum Tech".Performing-Musician.com.January 2009.RetrievedMarch 3,2019.
  25. ^"LP® Steve Gadd Signature Mambo Cowbell".Latin Percussion®.January 12, 2017.RetrievedDecember 6,2017.
  26. ^"Steve Gadd - Credits - AllMusic".AllMusic.RetrievedDecember 6,2017.
  27. ^""Honorary Degree Recipients"".Berklee College of Music.
  28. ^"59th Annual Grammy Award Nominees".grammy.com.RetrievedFebruary 9,2017.
  29. ^"Grammys 2019: See All the Winners".Time.RetrievedMarch 3,2019.
  30. ^WHAM (February 10, 2018)."Rochester native wins Grammy for Best Contemporary Instrumental album".13wham.com.RetrievedMarch 3,2018.
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