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Studying the drum giants who came before is one of the keys to developing an understanding of music and finding your own voice on the drums. This highly educational DVD set presents a musical analysis and discussion of some of the most important jazz drumming greats in history. You will find the complete one-hour performance by Steve Smith's group Jazz Legacy from the 2006 Modern Drummer Festival, including two previously unreleased songs.

PREVIEW: Steve Smith Drum Legacy - Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (Hudson Music)

The group's music is inspired by jazz drumming giants Art Blakey (“A Night in Tunisia”), Elvin Jones (“Three Card Molly”), Philly Joe Jones (“Two Bass Hit”), Buddy Rich (“Moments Notice”), Joe Dukes (“Soulful Drums”), and Tony Williams (“Sister Cheryl”). Each tune is dedicated to one of these drum legends. Also included are two brilliant drum solos by Steve in tribute to Max Roach (“Drums Unlimited” and “For Big Sid”), plus two new original solos.

John Riley – master jazz drummer, educator, and author – joins Steve for an insightful discussion of the work of these jazz greats that is unprecedented in its scope and detail. Steve and John present a wealth of information for drummers from a historical/artistic analysis of each jazz giant's conceptual approach, right down to the nuts and bolts of the licks they played.

Bonus features include: live performance footage of Steve in NYC and at a master class in Australia; a 40-page printed booklet; a complete eBook containing exercises and text from Steve, as well as complete bios from respected author Mark Griffith to round out your understanding of these drum legends. The eBook is in PDF format so it can be printed and used in the practice room with or without the DVD.

Includes the "Live on Tour" CD recorded at Catalina's Jazz Club in Los Angeles!

Also included in this package is the new Jazz Legacy CD Live on Tour (Volume 1), featuring Steve Smith (drums), Walt Weiskopf (tenor sax), Andy Fusco (alto sax), Mark Soskin (piano) and Baron Browne (bass). This is not an audio version of the DVD footage - it is a completely separate show recorded at Catalina's in Los Angeles!

Click here to open a PDF with more information about this CD!

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Includes a bonus CD with 17 play-along tracks featuring Vic Juris on guitar and Jay Anderson on bass.

This DVD uses a very unique concept that was conceived by Adam Nussbaum: have a number of drummers all play brushes to the same tempos and feels - comparing each drummer’s individual approach to the art of playing with brushes. Steve's job as a co-producer was to help bring this idea to life and participate in the demonstrations.

The end result is a truly remarkable DVD that features brush masters Charli Persip, Eddie Locke, Joe Morello, Billy Hart, Ben Riley and Adam Nussbaum.
Adam and Steve interviewed the drummers after their performances so they could explain in detail their concepts and techniques. The bonus features in the package are also fantastic: respected author Mark Griffith contributes volumes of writing including the history of brushes, brushes listening guide, and bios on all of the players in the DVD.

Also includes incredible archival footage of some of the greatest brush players of all time, plus recently filmed bonus lessons from Louie Bellson, Ed Thigpen and Adam Nussbaum. The 17 track play-along CD is an excellent practice tool. Says Steve, "I use it in my own practice and at clinics. This is a must have, essential DVD for all drummers."

For more info: http://vitalinformation.com/steve/brushdvdstory.html

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Carmine Appice is an superb host to this collection of drums solo clips that span five decades. Some outstanding performances include fantastic archival footage of Gene Krupa and Sal Mineo working on the movie The Gene Krupa Story, Lionel Hampton’s big band “rocking out,” Jimmy Vincent with Louis Prima, Shadow Wilson with Louis Jordan, Ginger Baker giving a drum lesson, Mike Shrieve with Santana at Woodstock, ELP’s Carl Palmer, Don Brewer, Carmine Appice, Danny Seraphine with Chicago, Keith Moon, Cozy Powell who plays a drum solo to “Mars, The Bringer of War” from “The Planets” by Gustav Holst, and Neil Peart, who plays the most compositional of all of the drum solos.

Steve's friend and music film collector, Bruce Klauber, organized these clips and found a previously unknown video of Steve playing a drum solo in the early 1980s from the Journey “Captured” era.

Classic Rock Drum Solos is an exceptional DVD!

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Steve Smith Drumset Technique/History of the U.S. Beat (Hudson Music)

With over four and a half hours of footage, this two-DVD set is a virtual encyclopedia of drumset techniques, styles and concepts! This is the definitive Steve Smith educational DVD. If you only buy one Steve Smith DVD, this is the one.

Drumset Technique (Disc One) - Steve explains hand and foot technique in unprecedented detail and gets to the core of what drummers need to know in order to improve their feel and technical skills. Segments include: hand technique, foot technique, the art of practice, exercises, licks and phrases, independence/interdependence, implied metric modulations, plus four extended solo drum pieces.

History of the U.S. Beat (Disc Two) - With the help of an all-star band, Steve explains the evolution of the drumset in U.S. Music - how the drumset was first used in all the major styles and how closely related all the styles are. Segments include: early New Orleans jazz, big band, bebop, rhythm and blues, country, blues, gospel, rock, funk, and jazz/rock.

In addition, Steve's group Vital Information plays seven complete tunes that feature applications of the techniques and complex rhythms explained in Disc One. Special Features: Extensive bonus footage including alternate-take drum solos, a brilliant hi-hat solo and hi-hat tutorial, alternate band performances, a camera-switching option, optional running commentary by Steve, a listening list, a reading list, and more!

Total Running Time (for both discs): 4 hours, 38 minutes.

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The Modern Drummer Festival 2006 weekend returned to the incredible New Jersey Performing Arts Center on September 16 and 17, 2006 for its most ambitious festival ever. Sixteen drummers and percussionists performed with more than twenty musicians making for one of the most exciting festival weekends in its eighteen-year history.

For fans of Steve Smith: Steve performs with his group Steve Smith’s Jazz Legacy featuring Walt Weiskopf (tenor sax), Andy Fusco (alto sax), Baron Browne (bass), and Mark Soskin (piano). They perform music honoring great drummers of jazz: “Insubordination” (Walt Weiskopf up-tempo original), “Sister Cheryl” (Tony Williams), “Three Card Molly” (Elvin Jones), “Soulful Drums” (honoring Joe Dukes), and “Two Bass Hit” (honoring Philly Joe Jones).

And, while these incredible performances were taking place, Hudson Music was taping interviews with each performer. Each artist was interviewed in front of a practice kit and each interview features playing and demonstration, as well as in-depth discussion on technique, warming up, and much more.

For the first time ever, drummers interviewed drummers! Steve Smith interviewed Thomas Lang, Thomas interviewed Steve, Aaron Spears interviewed Gerald Heyward, Gerald interviewed Marvin McQuitty, etc., making for some truly historic moments. The Thomas Lang interview of Steve Smith is very detailed and insightful, as is Steve’s interview of Thomas.

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Drummers Collective 25^th Anniversary Celebration & Bass Day 2002 (Hudson Music)

You've seen the clips on YouTube, now own the whole thing!

On Sunday, November 24, 2002, Drummers Collective, the world's premier drum school, celebrated its 25th anniversary with an incredible evening of music.

Steve plays a “brushes” snare drum solo and then an extended drumset solo on this Sonor Jungle Kit. This solo includes sections in 3/4 and 5/4 with some polyrhythmic demonstrations.

Steve then plays a definitive version of the hi-hat solo “Mr. Hi Hat.” His portion of the show ends with an extensive duet with bass master Victor Wooten (Victor also plays some incredible solo bass at the concert).

This extraordinary two-DVD set features fantastic footage of this historic night of music, with performances by some of the most creative and influential drummers and bass players in the world: Steve Gadd & the Gadd Gang, Dave Weckl & the Dave Weckl Band, Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez, John Patitucci, Victor Wooten, Felix Pastorius, Steve Smith, and the Collective Faculty Ensembles.

Special features include: alternate edits with the FootCam feature; rehearsal and sound check footage; artist interviews; 5.1 Surround Sound mixes - one performance per artist; a photo gallery; web links; and much more!

Total running time: 5 hours and 23 minutes!

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Modern Drummer Festival 2003 featured an almost unprecedented cross section of great drummers and percussionists - and it's all captured on this 2-DVD Set from Hudson Music.

Sunday: Includes performances by Nick D'Virgilio, Antonio Sanchez, Airto Moreira and Shawn Pelton & House of Diablo. Special DVD Features (on Disc Two) include: Mike Portnoy rehearsal footage, stick tricks with Steve Smith and the Drumbassadors, and a photo gallery.

For fans of Steve Smith: Steve starts his program with a snare drum technique demonstration, exploring the many sounds available on the snare drum. He also plays an extended drumset solo on his Sonor Designer kit.

Steve is then joined by Vital Information with Frank Gambale, Tom Coster, Baron Browne, and special guest Bill Evans, the outstanding saxophone player. The band is in top form as they play the Bill Evans burner “Rattletrap,” Frank Gambale’s up-tempo blues “A Little Something,” and a scorching rendition of “Over and Out!”

Total Running Time: Over 5 Hours!

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This award winning tutorial (American Video Conference - Best Instructional Music Video of 1987) features Steve describing and demonstrating his basic approach to rock and jazz, methods for developing time and meter, practice ideas, several outstanding solos, and full band performances with Vital Information featuring Dave Wilczewski (sax), Tim Landers (bass), Dean Brown (guitar), Tom Coster (keys), and Steve Smith (drums). Vital Information songs performed include “Johnny Cat,” “What Lies Beyond,” “Questionable Arrivals,” “Blues to Bappe 1” and “Island Holiday.”

Contains more than one hour of bonus footage taken from the 1980s: Journey Drum Solo (1980), an excerpt from Zildjian Day Chicago (1983), rare Vital Information live on tour footage from their 1st tour in 1983 featuring Tim Landers (bass), Dean Brown (guitar), Eef Albers (guitar) and Dave Wilczewski (sax), and Steve Smith (drums). It also includes footage from a 1989 Vital Information tour featuring Kai Eckhardt (bass), Mike Miller (guitar), Tom Coster (keys), Dave Wilczewski (sax), and Steve Smith (drums).

Plus: “Moments Notice” from the Burning for Buddy session, a photo gallery, and PDFs of the of the booklet from the original video.
 

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Get parts 1 and2
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Steve Smith Part Two (Alfred Music)

Part Two continues with double bass drumming concepts and practice ideas, developing creativity and creating a drum part (using "Don't Stop Believing" as an example). There are more outstanding drum solos, plus additional performances by Vital Information featuring Dave Wilczewski (sax), Tim Landers (bass), Dean Brown (guitar), Tom Coster (keys), and Steve Smith (drums).

Vital Information songs performed include “The Perfect Date,” “Blade,” and “Looks Bad, Feels Good.” Also included is rare in-concert footage of Steps Ahead playing “Oops,” featuring Mike Mainieri (vibes), Michael Brecker (sax), Darryl Jones (bass), and Mike Stern (guitar).

Contains more than one hour of bonus footage taken from the mid-late '80s, including Zildjian Day Boston 1983. Also includes more rare Vital Information live on tour footage from their 1st tour in 1983 (with different tunes than Steve Smith Part One) featuring Tim Landers (bass), Dean Brown (guitar), Eef Albers (guitar), and Dave Wilczewski (sax).

Very rare Vital Information trio performance with Tom Coster (keys), Jeff Andrews (bass), and Steve Smith (drums). Also includes various drum solos including “For Big Sid” from Hot Drummer Video Magazine and an MP3 and PDF of the Steve Smith/Gary Chaffee duet “Seventh Heaven,” plus PDFs of the of the booklet from the original video.