As a JazzTimes writer, I can talk about the powers of a dynamic drummer until I’m blue in the face: the weight of each tom-tom’s thwomp, the clanking of the rim, the stroking of the snare. What I can’t express is the feeling of physical interplay, the empathetic energy, and the knotty-pine roots of psychology shared between those same drummers and the bassists who love them. Or hate them but crave to work with them. Or just got thrown into a van with them and have been told to battle it out.
Tighter than most marriages—and often more sensual, spiritual, and frenetic too—a great rhythm section rattles and hums with the vibes spoke to three bassists from diverse musical backgrounds about what they look for in a drummer, and which ones they’ve dug hanging with the most.
