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The Buddy Rich Big Band: Wham!
by Jack Bowers
When a friend whose opinion I respect said Wham! contains the finest live performances by the Buddy Rich Big Band he’s ever heard, I had no choice but to acquire a copy and listen for myself. The good news — my friend was not mistaken; in spite of its unavoidable sonic shortcomings this is beyond a doubt one of the most uproariously impressive big–band albums I’ve heard since Buddy’s series of live recordings for Pacific Jazz / World Pacific in ...
read moreBuddy Rich: Keep The Customer Satisfied
by John Sharpe
In the late sixties drum virtuoso Buddy Rich recorded a series of albums for Liberty/Pacific Jazz that most critics agree were the best of his career. Keep The Customer Satisfied captures Rich, an admitted showoff, performing live before an enthusiastic audience at the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas. Of the original seven tracks, only one (the epic, eleven-minute Midnight Cowboy Medley ) was recorded in a Los Angeles studio. At the time of this recording, Toronto resident Pat LaBarbara was ...
read moreBuddy Rich: Stick It
by John Sharpe
One of a kind drum virtuoso Buddy Rich recorded a number of albums for RCA during the 70s. Their quality ranged from the very good (Rich In London), to average (A Different Drummer and Plays And Plays And Plays), to the truly dreadful (Speak No Evil). I would add Stick It, recorded in 1972, to the second group of ratings -- it's a good, but not great Rich offering. Certainly, it does contain a number of Rich's trademark, high energy, ...
read moreBuddy Rich: Stick It
by Jack Bowers
There have been many outstanding big bands in the relatively brief history of Jazz as we know it — but only one Buddy Rich. He wasn’t called “Mr. Drums” for nothing. You take any band, I don’t care whose, and place Buddy in the drum chair, and it’ll sound better. Not slightly better, mind you; I’m talking significantly better. Listen to any of his electrifying big–band recordings from the late ’60s or early ’70s and you’ll hear what it means ...
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