I had completely forgotten that Steve Gadd was drafted into the Army during the Vietnam Conflict era, but he recently posted this video on Facebook. He had already been working as a musician having graduated from the Eastman School of Music. So, when he got drafted, the Army took advantage of his skills and put him the Field Jazz Band. What's amazing is the mix of talent in that band - in the video it's clear the bassist and some of the horn players know their stuff, but the guitarist and the others don't. So, they were filmed playing simpler jazz like in this video, and I'll bet every song they played at concerts had a drum solo.
For those who don't know Steve Gadd, he was the genius who made Paul Simon groove like a mother in the 1970s and gave Steely Dan their funk (he's the drummer on Aja and many other of their albums). He played with a young Tony Levin in a touring jazz trio, Chick Corea's Return to Forever, Chuck Mangione, Al Di Meola, and other legends. He is well known as an arrogant prick, there were rumors of forcing labels (through management) to promise him drum solos on the session jobs he got (aka, the solo in Aja) regardless of what the artists wanted him to do. He knew how good he was and insisted everyone acknowledge it. And he was that good... check him out playing in uniform:
For those who don't know Steve Gadd, he was the genius who made Paul Simon groove like a mother in the 1970s and gave Steely Dan their funk (he's the drummer on Aja and many other of their albums). He played with a young Tony Levin in a touring jazz trio, Chick Corea's Return to Forever, Chuck Mangione, Al Di Meola, and other legends. He is well known as an arrogant prick, there were rumors of forcing labels (through management) to promise him drum solos on the session jobs he got (aka, the solo in Aja) regardless of what the artists wanted him to do. He knew how good he was and insisted everyone acknowledge it. And he was that good... check him out playing in uniform:
