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Are all rock drummers boring hacks compared to jazz drummers?

Anyway, I don't have the background in drums to really appreciate the distinctions and subtleties esp. among rock drummers.
 
You mean this Anton Fig?
antonfig2.jpg


And this Mike Portnoy?
mikeportnoy1.jpg



The size of the kit is usually appropriate for the music being played.
 
And how old are those pics? :laughing: OK sure, I defer to your knowledge in this area, I've just never seen Fig play on a larger kit like that... But that could just be my limited context to seeing him.

joebonamassa-1.jpg
 
PaulyT said:
And how old are those pics? :laughing: OK sure, I defer to your knowledge in this area, I've just never seen Fig play on a larger kit like that... But that could just be my limited context to seeing him.

joebonamassa-1.jpg
Click to expand...


Anton Fig was the drummer for the CBS Orchestra on David Letterman's show.
Anton was an established session player in NYC before that gig, but he played a larger than typical kit every night of the week for two decades. He is also formally trained having studied at the New England Conservatory of Music.
 
And this is Portnoy just a few years ago with his own band, The Winery Dogs:
 
Thanks. Yeah I knew he played for Letterman, but I never watched that show so I didn't see the size of that kit.
 
PaulyT said:
Thanks. Yeah I knew he played for Letterman, but I never watched that show so I didn't see the size of that kit.
Click to expand...

Yeah... the band played every sort of music, and even often accompanied guest artists. The gear was also setup on the stage pretty much year round, so he needed to have everything he imagined to be necessary for the situation.

But, talking about the size of a kit is a little silly, but certainly a hoot. I could just as easily say that pianists who play a 66 key piano are more talented than those who have to rely on an 88-key piano. (or, more accurately, an 88 key Steinway versus a 97 key Bosendorfer).

More drums is not a crutch for a good drummer. For a shitty drummer it can be, like the horrible dude from Kiss with his stupidly huge kit and boring as fuck playing.
 
Ha! Well I guess my comment on Portnoy was really wondering how much of a huge kit like that is just for show, vs. really necessary and used. Portnoy does seem to use most of it from what I can tell, I'll give him that.
 
PaulyT said:
Ha! Well I guess my comment on Portnoy was really wondering how much of a huge kit like that is just for show, vs. really necessary and used. Portnoy does seem to use most of it from what I can tell, I'll give him that.
Click to expand...

He does, and it cost money to tour a huge kit. Imagine how much more wealth he would have at the end of a tour if he took a Backbeats Kit by Questlove! With a big kit you have more cost in trucking and hauling; more cost in heads, maintenance, and spares; more time spent setting up, tearing down, tuning, and fine adjusting for each show, etc. It doesn't make good business sense to tour a huge kit unless the music is better because of it. I mean, Neal Pert used to get frustrated with his kit before they were rich enough to hire more drum techs to tour with them.
 
And here's the legendary Steve Smith doing a jazz solo on a small kit:

Yet, when he recently reunited with Journey on a tour, his solo was on a relatively huge kit:

The kit fits the music and the audience - as does the soloing.

Steve is formally educated.
 
And here is one of the most famous Jazz drummers in LA, the late Ed Shaughnessy, playing a solo. He was formally educated, studied in India (hence the vocalizing in the solo) and was well known for his large drum kit. He spent decades playing in the Tonight Show band for Johnny Carson. He was also my teacher for 6 months in 1983.

 
Ok motivated by this thread I'm now starting to watch this:

qsq7zy1cs75pwibgxeb3.jpg


I got this quite some time ago and I admit that I haven't till now gotten around to watching it. Not totally sure what to expect, but I think it will be educational. Clearly focused more on Smith's jazz side though...
 
Then there's the unforgettable Dennis Chambers who's worked with some of the biggest names in Jazz and Fusion and now does whatever he damn well pleases:


He didn't always play the larger set he's played for the past 25 years, or so. But, he certainly isn't leaning on the number of drums and cymbals as a crutch.
 
And, of course, one of the best Jazz/Fusion drummers out there right now is the amazing Simon Phillips who shot to fame as the drummer for The Who after they dropped Kenny Jones. He plays a giant-ass drumset, but it seems to fit what he is doing.

 
Then, at the other end of the spectrum is the unbelievable Max Weinberg who never needed more than a simple four piece kit with just a couple of cymbals to rock the world behind Bruce Springsteen for 50 years:

 
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