Steve Gadd Transcriptions

Steve Gadd was born in Rochester, New York, on 9th April 1945. When he was a kid, his uncle, who was a drummer, gave him a pair of his old drumsticks and showed him how to hold them. Steve used to play with records all day on the old round piece of wood that he had. He studied privately with Bill and Stanley Street then with John Beck. He attended the Manhattan School of Music for two years, then transferred to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. After college, he played in Rochester with such musicians as Chick Corea and Chuck Mangione. In the late 1960s, he joined the Army for three years. He started to play at The U.S. Army Field Band's Studio Band in late 1968. Since he arrived in New York in 1971, Steve Gadd has become one of the most valuable and employable session musicians in the United States. In 1976 he became a member of the group Stuff with Gordon Edwards, Richard Tee, Eric Gale, Cornell Dupree, and Chris Parker. As a studio musician, he has worked with such consummate artists as George Benson, James Brown, Ashford and Simpson, Ray Charles, Joe Cocker, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Phoebe Snow, Mike Mainieri, Judy Collins, Bob James, Al Jarreau, Quincy Jones, Herbie Mann, The Manhattan Transfer, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, Barbra Streisand, Nancy Wilson, Paul Simon, David Sanborn, Peter Gabriel, James Taylor as well as many others. In the 1990s Steve became Eric Clapton's first call drummer. Steve Gadd is one of the most recorded drummers of all time setting standards for the art of drumming. His legendary drum tracks on songs like Paul Simon's "Fifty Ways To Leave Your Lover" and Steely Dan's "Aja" are the best examples of his extraordinary achievements. His feel, imagination, and abilities are the signatures of his trademark sound.