STEVE GADD

Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945 in Rochester, New York) is an American session and studio drummer, notable for his work with Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Steely Dan, Al Jarreau, Joe Cocker, Stuff, Bob James, Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, James Taylor, Jim Croce, Eddie Gomez, The Manhattan Transfer, Michal Urbaniak, Steps Ahead, Al Di Meola, Manhattan Jazz Quintet, Richard Tee and many others.

Biography

Gadd is a native of Irondequoit, a suburb of Rochester, NY. When he was seven years old, his uncle, who was a drummer in the US army, encouraged him to take drum lessons. Gadd became so talented at the drums that by the age of eleven he had sat in with Dizzy Gillespie.

After graduating from Irondequoit's Eastridge High School, he attended the Manhattan School of Music for two years, then transferred to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, playing in wind ensemble and concert bands. At night, he would often play club gigs with other young musicians including Chick Corea, Joe Romano, and Frank Pullara. After Gadd finished college in the late 1960s, he played regularly with Chuck Mangione and his brother Gap Mangione, his first recording being Gap Mangione's first solo album, Diana in the Autumn Wind (1968).

Steve was drafted into the U.S. Army and spent three years as a drummer in the Army Music Program, most of which was spent with the prestigious Jazz Ambassadors of the U.S. Army Field Band in Ft. Meade, MD. Following his military service, Gadd played and worked with a well-known band in Rochester. In 1972, Gadd formed a trio with Tony Levin and Mike Holmes, traveling to New York with them. The trio eventually broke up, but Gadd began to work mainly as a studio musician. Gadd also played with Corea's Return to Forever but left the group since he wanted to work as a studio musician instead of touring.

In the 1970s and 1980s, he toured internationally, and recorded with Paul Simon and also with Al Di Meola's Electric Rendezvous Band. Many people assume that he played with the British rock band Charlie, but Gadd, while on his We're on a Mission from Gadd tour in 2005, told fans that was another drummer by the same name - not him. In fact, Gadd said, "I've never met the other Steve Gadd. We happened to stay in the same hotel once, though. I kept getting his messages and apparently he was getting mine."

In 1976, Gadd and other notable session musicians in New York City, including Richard Tee, Eric Gale and Cornell Dupree, formed the group Stuff. Their work included appearances on NBC's Saturday Night Live, both performing on their own and backing Joe Cocker.

By the end of the 1970s, Steve Gadd was one of the most in-demand and influential drummers in the world, with transcriptions of his drum solos on sale in Japan. Chick Corea once commented, "Every drummer wants to play like Gadd because he plays perfect . . . He has brought orchestral and compositional thinking to the drum kit while at the same time having a great imagination and a great ability to swing."

Gadd showed some of these strengths in his work on the title track to Steely Dan's classic Aja album -- highlighted by Gadd's powerful drum punctuation in the coda of the title cut. Corea's straight-ahead jazz albums Friends and Three Quartets, as well as Jim Hall's 1975 album Concierto are good examples of Gadd's jazz playing.

In 2009, Gadd is set to return to Eric Clapton's band to play 11 nights at the Royal Albert Hall. He will become part of Eric's touring band throughout May 2009. Steve previously played and toured with Eric in 1994/1995 and again from 1998 to 2004.

Some of Gadd's favorite drummers are Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette, Billy Cobham, Buddy Rich, Michael S. Smith, and Louie Bellson.

Gear

Steve Gadd was one of the first endorsers of Yamaha drums, which he has played since 1976. He is known for using the "Yamaha Recording Custom" drums, but has recently changed his gear to a setup consisting of "Birch Custom Absolute" toms and a maple bass drum. He has several signature snare drum models, but is most famous for using a chrome over brass Ludwig Supraphonic snare drum. It can be heard on "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover", a Paul Simon classic. Gadd first came to the idea of mounting two large tom-toms on a low stand and using them as floor toms. He has been asked to contribute his ideas to develop his own signature series Zildjian K Custom Session cymbals, although he is well-known for having a preference for older K's as well.

Gadd also has signature Vic Firth sticks with his signature on them. The drumsticks are a very light, thin kind, black in color, and normal "wood color" on the tips. There is also an identical model with nylon tips. The stick is also slightly shorter than the American Classic 5A, and features a barrel tip for improved recording sound. It is 15 3/4" (40 cm) long and the diameter is .550" (1.4 cm). Along with having his own signature stick, he also 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 top 3/4” (1.9 cm) of the playing end. The wires glide across the head, allowing a smoother sweep and a velvet swish sound.
Drumheads

Remo Coated Powerstroke 3 on snare, Pinstripes or coated ambassadors on toms, clear ambassador on bottoms, powerstroke on kick.

As a young boy in the 1950s, Gadd played the drums as a guest star on the Mickey Mouse Show.
Gadd is credited by Paul Simon for creating the unique rhythm of "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover".
Gadd is the drummer on Van McCoy's "The Hustle" and is said to have created the "disco beat."
Gadd is of Sicilian American descent.
Gadd was a featured performer and actor in the 1980 motion picture One Trick Pony starring Paul Simon. Simon's hit "Late in the Evening" was the movie's main title in which Gadd implemented the "Mozambique", a Cuban dance rhythm, into the song.
The song "Green Rosetta" by Frank Zappa mentions bringing in Steve Gadd's clone to play the out chorus on the song. Contrary to Steve's normal playing, the drums sound almost completely at odds with the song itself. Vinnie Colaiuta is playing the drums on "Green Rosetta" and the phrase is an ironic twist to make fun of the fact that Vinnie is completely off the "click track" (which Zappa at one point has appear in the recording).

Selected discography

As Steve Gadd/ with the Gadd Gang:

Gadd About (1984)
The Gadd Gang (1986)
Here & Now (1988)
Live at Bottom Line (1988)
Gadd Gang (1991)

With Stuff:

Stuff (1976)
Stuff It (1978)
Live Stuff 1978)
Live In New York (1980)
East (1981)
Best Stuff (1981)

With B.B. King:

Riding With The King

With Chick Corea:

My Spanish Heart
Friends
Three Quartets
The Leprechaun
The Mad Hatter
Rendezvous In New York
The Ultimate Adventure
(the unreleased version of Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy)

With Steely Dan:

Aja on (title track)
Gaucho on ("Glamour Profession", "My Rival", "Third World Man" and 'percussion' on "Hey Nineteen")

With Simon and Garfunkel:

The Concert in Central Park

With The Manhattan Transfer:

Mecca for Moderns
Pastiche

With Paul Simon:

One-Trick Pony
Still Crazy After All These Years
Hearts and Bones
You're the One
Paul Simon's Concert in the Park, August 15, 1991
Surprise
Late in the Evening
Still Crazy After All These Years (50 Ways To Leave Your Lover)

With Steps Ahead:

Smokin' In The Pit

With George Benson:

Bad Benson
Pacific Fire
GB
In Your Eyes
Livin' Inside Your Love
Good King Bad
In Concert-Carnegie Hall

With Eric Clapton:

Live At Hyde Park (DVD)
Pilgrim
Reptile
Riding With The King
One More Car, One More Rider
Me And Mr. Johnson
Sessions for Robert J.
Back Home
Clapton Chronicles

With Dr. John:

City Lights
Tango Palace

With James Brown:

Black Caesar

With Al Jarreau:

Tenderness
Breakin' Away
Jarreau
This Time

With Rickie Lee Jones:

Rickie Lee Jones
Pirates
Magazine

With Paul McCartney:

Tug Of War"
Pipes Of Peace"

With Chuck Mangione:

Disguise
Tarantella
Main Squeeze
Land Of Make Believe
Alive
Together
Friends And Love

With Michel Petrucciani:

Trio In Tokyo
Both Worlds

With Al Di Meola:

Casino
Elegant Gypsy
Orange And Blue
Tour De Force Live
Electric Rendezvous
Splendido Hotel
Land Of The Midnight Sun
Consequence Of Chaos

With Lee Ritenour:

Feel the Night
Captains Journey
Friendship

With Bob James

Touchdown (1978)

With Michel Jonasz:

Michel Jonasz au Zénith (1993)

With Sunlightsquare:

Urban Sessions (2006)

With Weather Report

"Mr Gone" (1978) (Tracks "Young And Fine" and "And Then")

With Funk Factory

"Funk Factory" (1975) (Tracks "Watusi Dance", "Rien Ne Va Plus", "Funk It" and "Lilliput")

With James Taylor

New Moon Shine, 1993
October Road, 2002
James Taylor: A Christmas Album, 2006

With Art Garfunkel

Some Enchanted Evening, 2007
Songs From A Parent To A Child, 1997

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BOSTON , September 12, 2005 – Abraham Laboriel, Patrice Rushen, and Steve Gadd received honorary doctor of music degrees for their outstanding contributions to contemporary music, and treated the crowd to a surprise performance at Berklee College of Music’s 2005 Entering Student Convocation, Friday, September 9, 2005, at the Berklee Performance Center. The three honorees, Berklee President Roger Brown, and Vice President for Student Affairs Lawrence E. Bethune, welcomed approximately 815 students from more than 75 countries, at the ceremony. 

Steve Gadd, one of the most in-demand drummers in the world, and who has worked with such artists as Joe Cocker, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and Aretha Franklin, among many others, said after accepting his degree that the honor was extra-special because he was sharing the moment with Rushen, and Laboriel, two of his closest musical peers. “This is probably my only chance to get a honorary degree because I’m not the greatest student in the world,” said Gadd. “But I love music. I found one thing that I loved and I just kept on doing it … and if I can do it, I believe you all can do it. Welcome aboard.”

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Steve Gadd is one of the most sought-after studio musicians, in the world. Regarded as the most influential drummer in contemporary music, Gadd can play anything, easily bridging different musical styles. His feel, technique, and musicality on such tunes as Paul Simon's "Fifty Ways", Steely Dan's "Aja", and Chick Corea's "Nite Sprite" were so awe-inspiring and his concepts so innovative that they instantly assured his special position in the history of the percussive arts.

Gadd attended the Manhattan School of Music for two years, then finished at Eastman School of Music. Before that, he studied privately with Bill and Stanley Street and John Beck. He established himself with Chuck Mangione, then spent three years in the Army prior to coming to New York and doing studio work in 1971.

He rapidly rose to prominence on the studio scene and has since played with a wide variety of artists, including Carly Simon, Phoebe Snow, Aretha Franklin, Al DiMeola, Stanley Clarke, Rickie Lee Jones, Tom Scott, Frank Sinatra, and Stuff.

After a period of touring and recording with his own band, the Gadd Gang, he provided the spark that ignited Paul Simon's South African inspired, Grammy Award-winning recordings and dynamic live touring band.

Today, Gadd is as busy as ever, balancing frequent recording dates with a hectic touring schedule. Some artists include Eric Clapton, David Sanborn, Marcus Miller, Joe Sample, and jazz piano virtuoso Michel Petrucciani.

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One of the most influential drummers of all time, Steve Gadd set a new standard in contemporary drumming techniques and performance, and in doing so launched a thousand imitators. Steve has recorded countless legendary drum tracks like; " Aja," "Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover" and "Late in the Evening" and with artists such as James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Paul Simon, Chick Corea, Joe Cocker, Dave Matthews, Paul McCartney, Steely Dan, among many many others.

There is no drummer alive today who in some way has not been effected by Steve Gadd's influential grooves and "in the pocket" playing style. Steve was an honored recipient of the American Drummers Achievement Awards in 2003 and was recently inducted into the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame.