Just finished reading Jack Bruce's autobiography.

[jmlee]

Great jazz drummers have a deeply-imbedded sense of time coupled with great independence of action in the hands and feet. Think Art Blakey or Tony Williams. But the really famous, memorable drummers had an on-stage style and showmanship that made them unforgettable. Think Gene Krupa, Chick Webb, and Buddy Rich. Keith Moon had the latter in spades, and Ginger Baker the former--maybe both. My personal favourite who truly embodies both, even today, at a very high level is Carl Palmer.

 

[Spectrum]

Bonham had some sort of swing thing going on that other rock drummers didn't. Not swing like jazz, but a sort of lazy swing that is hard to point out. Listen to the Lemon Song and then listen to other drummers trying to cover it, and Bonham has "it". Maybe it was the combo of him and JPJ, but Zeppelin had something special there. He was no jazz drummer, though.

On the other hand, there are a lot of jazz drummers who I cannot imagine rocking. Joe Morello of the Dave Brubeck Quartet was a fantastic drummer, but he had a soft touch and sometimes played with brushes. No way could I imagine him hitting hard in straight fours the way your average rock drummer has to be able to.