Buddy Rich
Background information
Birth name	Bernard Rich
Also known as	Traps the Drum Wonder
Born	September 30, 1917(1917-09-30)
Origin	Brooklyn, New York
Died	April 2, 1987 (aged 69)
Genre(s)	Jazz, Big band
Occupation(s)	Musician, songwriter, bandleader
Instrument(s)	Drums and percussion
Years active	1919–1987
Associated acts	Joe Marsala Bunny Berigan Artie Shaw Tommy Dorsey Benny Carter Harry James Les Brown Charlie Ventura Jazz at the Philharmonic Nat King Cole Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
Website	http://www.buddyrich.com/

Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 Brooklyn, New York – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States A big band is a type of Musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A drum kit (also drum set or trap set) is a collection of Drums Cymbals and sometimes other Percussion instruments such as cowbells Year 1919 ( MCMXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) Joe Marsala (born January 4, 1907 in Chicago; died March 4, 1978 om Santa Barbara California) was a Chicago Rowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan ( November 2 1908 - June 2, 1942) was an American Jazz Trumpeter Arthur Jacob Arshawsky ( May 23, 1910 &ndash December 30, 2004) better known as Artie Shaw, was an American Jazz Tommy Dorsey ( November 19 1905 &ndash November 26 1956) was an American Jazz Trombonist, Trumpeter Bennett Lester Carter (born August 8, 1907 in Harlem New York; died July 12, 2003 in Los Angeles California) was Harry James ( March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American Musician and Band leader, and a well-known Les Brown Sr ( March 14, 1912 – January 4, 2001) and the Band of Renown are a Big band that began in the big band era Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo on December 2, 1916 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania; died January 17, 1992 in Pleasantville Jazz at the Philharmonic or JATP (1944 - 1983 was the title of a series of Concerts and Recordings produced by Norman Granz (1918 - 2001 Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17 1919 &ndash February 15 1965 known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25 1917 &ndash June 15 1996 also known as " Lady Ella " and the "First Lady of Song" is considered one of the most influential Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Events 1399 - Henry IV is proclaimed King of England. 1744 - France and Spain defeat the Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Events 68 - Galba, Governor of Hispania, names himself legatus senatus populique Romani, breaking the line of Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Jazz drumming is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the Drum set) in Jazz. A bandleader is the leader of a band of Musicians The term is most commonly though not exclusively used with a group that plays Popular music as Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer"^[1] and was known for his virtuoso technique, power, and speed.

Contents 1 Early life 2 Big band success and later life 3 Drumming technique 4 The West Side Story Medley 5 Channel One Suite 6 Personality 7 Death and legacy 8 References 9 External links

Early life

Rich was born to vaudevillians Robert and Bess Rich. Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s ^[2] His talent for rhythm was first noted by his father, who saw that Buddy could keep a steady beat with spoons at the age of one. He began playing drums in vaudeville when he was 18 months old, billed as "Traps the Drum Wonder". Vaudeville was a Genre of variety entertainment prevalent on the stage in the United States and Canada, from the early 1880s At the peak of Rich's childhood career, he was reportedly the second-highest paid child entertainer in the world (after Jackie Coogan). John Leslie (Jackie Coogan ( October 26, 1914 – March 1, 1984) was an American Actor who began his movie career as a At 11 he was performing as a bandleader. He received no formal drum instruction, and went so far as to claim that instruction would only degrade his musical talent. He also never admitted to practicing, claiming to play the drums only during performances. He expressed great admiration for, and was influenced by, the playing of Chick Webb, Gene Krupa, Dave Tough, and Jo Jones, among others. William Henry Webb, usually known as Chick Webb ( February 10, 1905 – June 16, 1939) was a Jazz and Swing music Gene Krupa ( January 15, 1909 &ndash October 16, 1973) was an influential American Jazz and Big band Drummer Dave Tough ( 26 April, 1907 &ndash 9 December, 1948, sometimes known as Davie or Davey Tough) was an American Jo Jones ( October 7, 1911 – September 3, 1985) (later known as Papa Jo Jones) was an American drummer one of the most influential

He first played jazz in 1937 with Joe Marsala's group, then played with Bunny Berigan (1938) and Artie Shaw (1939). Joe Marsala (born January 4, 1907 in Chicago; died March 4, 1978 om Santa Barbara California) was a Chicago Rowland Bernard "Bunny" Berigan ( November 2 1908 - June 2, 1942) was an American Jazz Trumpeter Arthur Jacob Arshawsky ( May 23, 1910 &ndash December 30, 2004) better known as Artie Shaw, was an American Jazz In 1939, Rich taught drums to the young Mel Brooks, and persuaded Artie Shaw to allow a 13-year-old Brooks to attend Shaw's recording sessions in Manhattan. Mel Brooks (born Melvin Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American director, Writer, Composer, Lyricist

Big band success and later life

In addition to Tommy Dorsey (1939–1942, 1945, 1954–1955), where Rich met and performed with Frank Sinatra, Rich also played with Benny Carter (1942), Harry James (1953-1956–1962, 1964, 1965), Les Brown, Charlie Ventura, and Jazz at the Philharmonic, as well as leading his own band and performing with all-star groups. Tommy Dorsey ( November 19 1905 &ndash November 26 1956) was an American Jazz Trombonist, Trumpeter Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra (December 12 1915 &ndash May 14 1998 was an American singer and actor Bennett Lester Carter (born August 8, 1907 in Harlem New York; died July 12, 2003 in Los Angeles California) was Harry James ( March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American Musician and Band leader, and a well-known Les Brown Sr ( March 14, 1912 – January 4, 2001) and the Band of Renown are a Big band that began in the big band era Charlie Ventura (born Charles Venturo on December 2, 1916 in Philadelphia Pennsylvania; died January 17, 1992 in Pleasantville Jazz at the Philharmonic or JATP (1944 - 1983 was the title of a series of Concerts and Recordings produced by Norman Granz (1918 - 2001 In October 1944, at the Paramount Theater Rich mentioned to Sinatra that he was interested in starting his own band. Sinatra wrote him a check for $40,000 and said "Good Luck. This'll get you started. "

For most of the period from 1966 until his death, he led a successful big band in an era when the popularity of big bands had waned from their 1930s and 40s peak. A big band is a type of Musical ensemble associated with playing jazz music and which became popular during the Swing Era from the early 1930s until the late The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949 Events and trends The 1940s was a period between the radical 1930s and the conservative 1950s which also leads the period to be Rich also served as the session drummer for many recordings, where his playing was often much more understated than in his own big-band performances. Especially notable were Rich's sessions for the late-career comeback recordings of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, on which he worked with pianist Oscar Peterson and his famous trio featuring bassist Ray Brown and guitarist Herb Ellis. Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25 1917 &ndash June 15 1996 also known as " Lady Ella " and the "First Lady of Song" is considered one of the most influential Louis Armstrong (August 4 1901 &ndash July 6 1971 nicknamed Satchmo or Sachimo and Pops, was an American Jazz Trumpeter Oscar Emmanuel Peterson, CC, CQ, OOnt ( 15 August 1925 – 23 December 2007) was a Canadian Raymond Matthews Brown ( October 13 1926 &ndash July 2 2002) was an American Jazz Double bassist. Mitchell Herbert (Herb Ellis (born August 4, 1921) is an American Jazz Guitarist. Beginning in 1962, Rich was also a frequent guest on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. John William “Johnny” Carson ( October 23, 1925 &ndash January 23, 2005) was an American Television host and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as appropriate --> The Tonight Show is a long-running

Rich continued to play clubs including a high power appearance at the Cellar Door in Georgetown in Washington,D. C. in 1972, in which patrons were treated to Rich's power and dynamics in a small club environment. One of his most seen television performances was in a 1978 episode [1] of The Muppet Show, where he engaged Muppet drummer "Animal" (played by Ronnie Verrell) in a drum battle. The Muppet Show is an American Television program featuring a cast of Muppets which was produced by Jim Henson and his team from Dr Teeth and The Electric Mayhem was the name of the Muppet rock band and house band of the The Muppet Show Ronald 'Ronnie' Thomas Verrell ( 21 February 1926 &ndash 22 February 2002) was an English jazz drummer Rich won handily, infuriating Animal so much that he broke a drum over Rich's head.

Drumming technique

Rich's technique has been one of the most standardized and coveted in drumming. His dexterity, speed and smooth execution have been considered Holy Grails. While Rich typically held his sticks using traditional grip, he was also a skilled "match grip" player, and was one of few drummers to master the one-handed roll on both hands. Traditional grip (also known as Orthodox grip) is a technique used to hold Drum sticks while playing Percussion instruments Unlike Matched grip Matched grip is a method of holding Drum sticks and mallets to play Percussion instruments. Some of his more spectacular moves are crossover riffs, where he would criss-cross his arms from one drum to another, sometimes over the arm, and even under the arm at great speed.

He often used contrasting techniques to keep long drum solos from getting mundane. Aside from his energetic explosive displays, he would go into quieter passages. One passage he would use in most solos starts with a simple single-stroke roll on the snare picking up speed and power, then slowly moving his sticks closer to the rim as he gets quieter and then eventually playing on just the rim itself while still maintaining speed. Then he would reverse the effect and slowly move towards the center of the snare while increasing power.

Another technique that few drummers have been able to perfect is the stick-trick where he does a fast roll just by slapping his two sticks together in a circular motion.

In 1942, Rich and drum teacher, Henry Adler, co-authored the instructional book "Buddy Rich's Modern Interpretation of Snare Drum Rudiments," regarded as one of the more popular snare-drum rudiment books written, mainly because of the Buddy Rich imprimatur. Henry Adler ( June 28, 1915 &ndash September 30, 2008) was an American drummer percussionist music teacher author publisher

One of Adler's former students introduced Adler to Rich. "The kid told me Buddy played better than [Gene] Krupa. Buddy was only in his teens at the time and his friend was my first pupil. Buddy played and I watched his hands. Well, he knocked me right out. He did everything I wanted to do, and he did it with such ease. When I met his folks, I asked them who his teacher was. 'He never studied,' they told me. That made me feel very good. I realized that it was something physical, not only mental, that you had to have. "

In a 1985 interview, Adler clarified the extent of his teacher-student relationship to Rich and their collaboration on the instructional book:

"I had nothing to do with [the rumor that I taught Buddy how to play]. That was a result of Tommy Dorsey's introduction to the Buddy Rich book," Adler said. "I used to go around denying it, knowing that Buddy was a natural player. Sure, he studied with me, but he didn't come to me to learn how to hold the drumsticks. I set out to teach Buddy to read. He'd take six lessons, go on the road for six weeks and come back. He didn't have time to practice. "

"Tommy Dorsey wanted Buddy to write a book and he told him to get in touch with me. I did the book and Tommy wrote the foreword. Technically, I was Buddy's teacher, but I came along after he had already acquired his technique. "

The West Side Story Medley

Perhaps his most popular later performance was a big band arrangement of a medley derived from the Leonard Bernstein classic West Side Story, first released on the 1966 album Buddy Rich's Swingin' New Big Band

The West Side Story medley is considered by many as one of the most complex and difficult-to-perform big-band arrangements written. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes West Side Story is a musical by Arthur Laurents (book Leonard Bernstein (music and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics Penned by Bill Reddie, Rich received this arrangement of Leonard Bernstein's melodies from the famed musical in the mid-60s and found it to be very challenging even for him. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section --> WikipediaWikiProject Classical music#Biographical_infoboxes Musical theatre is a form of Theatre combining Music, Songs spoken Dialogue and Dance. It consists of many rapid-fire time changes and signatures and took almost a month of constant rehearsals to perfect. It has since become a staple in all his performances clocking in at various lengths from seven to fifteen minutes. Bernstein himself has had nothing but praise for it. In 2002, a DVD was released called "The Lost West Side Story Tapes" that captured a 1985 performance of this along with other numbers. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) ^[3] These tapes were thought to be lost in a fire.

Channel One Suite

After the West Side Story Medley, Rich's most famous performance was the Channel One Suite by Bill Reddie. Like the West Side Story Medley, the Channel One Suite generally was a quite long performance ranging from about 12 minutes to about 26 minutes and usually contained 2 or 3 drum solos. Although 26 minute performances of the Channel One Suite were not incredibly common, they were not unheard of. A recording of one of his live performances was released in 2006 which contained a 26 minute Channel One Suite. ^[4]

Personality

Although Rich was usually helpful and friendly, he had a short temper. In many instances, he took advantage of the respect he commanded. While he threatened many times to fire members of his band, he seldom did so, and for the most part he lauded his band members during television and print interviews. Rich's temper, mercurial attitude and imposing personality are attested to in secret recordings members of his band made of some of tantrums on tour buses and backstage.

These recordings, long circulated in bootleg form, have done much to fuel the reputation of Rich's personality. A bootleg recording is an audio and/or Video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority The tapes were popular with comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, who used three quotes from them more or less verbatim on Seinfeld:^[5]

• "If I have to tell you again, we're gonna take it outside and I'm gonna show you what it's like!" ("The Opposite")
• "This guy - this is not my kind of guy. Jerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld (born on April 29 1954 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American comedian actor and writer Lawrence Eugene "Larry" David (born July 2 1947 is an American Emmy -winning Actor, Writer, Comedian, producer Seinfeld is an American Situation comedy, or sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5 1989 to May 14 1998 lasting nine seasons "The Opposite" is the eighty-sixth episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which was also the 22nd and final episode of Season 5 " ("The Understudy")
• "Then let's see how he does, up there, without all the assistance!" ("The Butter Shave")

On one recording, Rich attempts to fire Dave Panichi, a trombonist, for wearing a beard. "The Understudy" is the 110th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld. "The Butter Shave" is the 157th episode of the NBC Sitcom Seinfeld. Dave Panichi is an Australian jazz musician trombonist and composer who began his professional musical career in 1975 The trombone is a Musical instrument in the brass family Like all brass instruments it is a lip-reed Aerophone: sound is produced when the player’s ^[6]

Rich's temper was referred in the Beastie Boys song "Sabotage": "I'm Buddy Rich when I fly off the handle. " Sabotage " is a 1994 song by the American hip hop group Beastie Boys. "

In the early 1970s he commented how odious he found the emerging American boy band, The Osmonds, especially Donny Osmond. The Osmonds are an American family pop group who achieved success as teenage music idols in the 1970s Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born on December 9 1957 in Ogden Utah, USA) is an American Singer, Musician, Actor Later, he sometimes wore a Donny Osmond badge on his lapel while performing.

Buddy Rich held a black belt in karate, as mentioned in a CNN television interview with Larry King, c. Cable News Network, usually referred to by its Initialism CNN, is a major English language Television network founded in 1980 by Ted Turner Larry King (born November 19, 1933) is an American television/radio host 1985.

Death and legacy

Buddy Rich remained active until the end of his life, appearing with his Big Band on Michael Parkinson's British talk show Parkinson only a few weeks prior to his death. Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE (born March 28 1935) is an English broadcaster and Journalist. Parkinson is a surname and may refer to Cecil Parkinson (born 1931 Baron Parkinson of Carnforth British politician C In the episode, Parkinson kidded Rich about his Donny Osmond kick, by claiming that Rich was the president of Osmond's fan club. Reportedly, prior to heart surgery, when asked by a nurse if he was allergic to anything he replied, "Yes . . . country music!" Days before he died, he was visited by Mel Tormé, who claims that one of Buddy's last requests was "to hear the tapes" that featured his angry outbursts. Melvin Howard Tormé ( September 13, 1925 &ndash June 5, 1999) nicknamed The Velvet Fog, was an American musician known as It is reported that Tormé did play the tapes in the hospital room. At the time, Tormé was working on an authorized biography of Rich which was released after Rich's death, titled "Traps, The Drum Wonder: The Life of Buddy Rich". On April 2, 1987, Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumor. He is interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. The Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery is located at 1218 Glendon Avenue in the Westwood Village area of Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West

Since Rich's death, a number of memorial concerts have been held. In 1994, the Rich tribute album Burning for Buddy: A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich was released. Burning for Buddy Volume 1 is a 1994 Buddy Rich Tribute album produced by Rush Drummer / Lyricist Neil Peart Produced by Rush drummer/lyricist Neil Peart, the album features performances of Rich staples by a number of rock and jazz drummers such as Kenny Aronoff, Dave Weckl, and Steve Gadd, accompanied by the Buddy Rich Big Band. Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of Neil Peart (ˈpɪərt OC, (born Neil Ellwood Peart, September 12, 1952, Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian Musician Kenny Aronoff (born March 7, 1953) is an American Drummer. A former member (briefly of the hard rock band Cinderella, he has also Dave Weckl (born January 8, 1960) is a highly acclaimed Jazz Fusion Drummer. Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945 in Rochester New York) is an American session and studio drummer notable for A second volume was issued in 1997. Burning for Buddy A Tribute to the Music of Buddy Rich Vol 2 is a 1997 Buddy Rich Tribute album produced by Rush Drummer /

References

External links

Henry Adler, Buddy Rich teacher and co-author

• Buddy Rich at Allmusic (Discography and brief biography)

Henry Adler ( June 28, 1915 &ndash September 30, 2008) was an American drummer percussionist music teacher author publisher allmusic (previously All Music Guide) is a Metadata database about music owned by All Media Guide.

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