Bill Bruford
Bill Bruford began at the top, playing drums on million-selling albums and the world's biggest stages with Yes, King Crimson and Genesis during the 1970s. His own band, Bruford, produced 3 amazing albums between 1978-1980. He then moved into jazz, where he enjoyed success with his second group, Earthworks (1986-2009), integrating African influences, electronics, and acoustic jazz elements in fresh and fascinating ways.
Dennis Chambers
Dennis Chambers is an American drummer who has recorded and performed with John Scofield, George Duke, The Brecker Brothers, Santana, Parliament/Funkadelic, John McLaughlin, Niacin, Mike Stern, CAB, Greg Howe, and many others. Dennis has become well known among drummers for his ability to play "in the pocket" and exhibits a powerful style that is highly musical. He can play in a wide variety of musical genres.
Jack DeJohnette
An important figure of the fusion era of jazz, Jack DeJohnette is one of the most influential jazz drummers of the 20th century, given his extensive work as leader and sideman for musicians including Charles Lloyd, Freddie Hubbard, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, John Abercrombie, Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock and John Scofield. He is one of the greatest drummers in history who John got to play with in Sept. 1996.
Asaf Sirkis
“Since arriving in London from Israel at the end of the '90s, Asaf Sirkis has earned a reputation as one of the world's premier drummers” - Ian Patterson, All About Jazz. “Sirkis' drumming is very subtle and razor sharp throughout, even when the energy rises” - Budd Kopman All About Jazz. “Asaf Sirkis sounding creatively freer and more dramatically inventive than ever on drums” - John Fordham, The Guardian“
Antonio Sánchez
Antonio Sánchez is a Mexican-American drummer and composer who played with Pat Metheny for many years. In 2014, he composed an original film score for the Academy Award-winning film, Birdman. His 2019 album, Lines in the Sand, is absolutely amazing as is his 2022 ablum, Shift!
Buddy Rich
And what of his drumming? “Buddy was a savant,” Jim Keltner said in a December 2012 Modern Drummer cover story on Rich. “Everything about him was above everyone else.” “His swing was ridiculous,” added jazz great Antonio Sanchez, “and his feel and use of dynamics were remarkable.”
John Bonham
Led Zeppelin’s eight proper studio albums show a highly dynamic, very diverse drummer, defining for the ages streamlined backbeats in “Black Dog” and “Kashmir”; fire-breathing, kick-throbbing rocking in “Achilles Last Stand”; and supercharged slow blues in “Since I’ve Been Loving You”.
Steve Gadd
Informed by a background in tap dance and drum corps, Steve Gadd’s drumming style is characterized by a deep groove and an inventive application of the rudiments, including snare/ tom/kick ratamacues, hi-hat/snare paradiddle combinations, and split-flam Latin patterns.
Ringo Starr
As the Beatles left the stage for the studio and pushed their songwriting into new and unexplored areas, Ringo Starr unfailingly found fresh sounds, clever orchestrations, tasty beats, and imaginative, wonderfully off-kilter fills. Ringo made the greatest impression on John in 1969's phenomenal "Yellow Submarine" movie when he was a very young, highly impressionable, eight-year-old drummer. Coincidentally, the soundtrack was released on John's eighth birthday in 1969!
The Yellow Submarine continues to be one of John's favorite movies of all time!