Jazz Articles about Steve Smith and Buddy's Buddies

Steve Smith and Buddy's Buddies: Steve Smith and Buddy's Buddies

by David Adler
November 1, 1999

Drummer Steve Smith, of Journey and Steps Ahead fame, leads a quintet featuring Buddy Rich alumni through a set of jazz charts. Coming from 80s rock and fusion, Smith tends toward flash and heavy-handedness (like Rich himself, some would say). Add Anthony Jackson on electric bass and you have a rhythm section that sounds like what it is: fusion cats trying to swing. Tenor man Steve Marcus, altoist Andy Fusco, and pianist Lee Musiker, respectable soloists all, sound a little ...