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. With legendary drum tracks like “Aja,” “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover,” and “Nite Sprite,” no drummer alive today hasn’t been affected by Steve Gadd in some way. His influence is still very much felt and can be heard in the playing of everyone from Vinnie Colaiuta to Carter Beauford. And still to this day…there is no one who can get “inside” a tune and find the “pocket” quite like the great Steve Gadd.
Stephen Kendall Gadd was born April 9, 1945, in Rochester, NY. His uncle, a drummer in the army, encouraged him to take drum lessons at the age of seven; by the time Steve was 11, he had sat in with Dizzy Gillespie. He studied music at The Eastman School of Music under the guidance of John Beck, playing in wind ensemble and concert band, and at nightclubs with Chick Corea, Chuck Mangione, Joe Romano and Frank Pullara. After college, he was drafted into the army and spent three years in a military band. After the army, Gadd gigged and worked with a big band in Rochester. In 1972, he formed a trio with Tony Levin and Mike Holmes and took it to New York. The trio fizzled out, but Gadd began to work extensively as a studio musician.
By the end of the 1970s, Gadd was the most in-demand and probably the most imitated drummer in the world. In Japan, transcriptions of his solos were on sale, and all the leading Japanese drummers were sounding like him. Chick Corea 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.”
In the 1970’s and 1980’s, Steve Cut five albums with Chick Corea, several albums with Al DiMeola, including Al’s Electric Rendezvous, and recorded and toured with Gato Barbieri, George Benson, Stanley Clarke, Steely Dan, Joe Cocker, Maynard Ferguson, Roberta Flack, Paul McCartney, Jim Hall, and of course, Paul Simon. In 1976, Steve became a member of the group Stuff with Gordon Edwards, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Cornell Dupree, and Chris Parker, while continuing his heavy schedule of studio work. Towards the end of the 70s, Steve had not only become one of the most in-demand drummers, but he had also become one of the most imitated and revered drummers in the world. The 90’s saw Steve become Eric Clapton’s first call drummer, solidifying Steve’s reputation as one of the most accomplished and skilled drummers of his generation.
Since the early 2000’s, Steve has remained just as busy as he ever was with one of the most intense recording and touring schedules in the business, spending time in the studio and on the road with James Taylor, Paul Simon, Blicher Hemmer Gadd, Simon Oslender, Will Lee, Kate Bush, David Gilmour, Corea Gadd, Tony Levin, and Peter Gabriel. He has also become a world-renowned producer for artists such as Mika Stoltzman, L’Image, The Gaddabouts (with Edie Brickell, Pino Palladino and Andy Fairweather Low) and The Steve Gadd Band, who won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards in February 2019 for their eponymous album, Steve Gadd Band.
Photo credit: Bill Zules