Scott Henderson Discussion

[countandduke]

Hey Scott,

When I saw you in Chicago with Mike Clark on drums, he seemed to be very aware of where "1" is/was but it seemed to me that for the most part he was more of a laid back type drummer. Not real busy but seemed to enjoy "toying" with the beat as opposed to a drummer like Dennis who seems to play very "on top" of the beat and almost "pulls" you through the music. I have tremendous respect for both musicians and I don't mean to over-generalize their playing. Hope I'm making sense too...

My question as I write this is actually answering itself because I've played with drummers that are similar to those listed above and I just adapted my playing to their style to rhythmically "fit in" but I think I enjoyed playing with a drummer that liked to toy with the beat as opposed to almost pulling you through the music so I wonder if you have/had a preference or is it more of a day to day thing. Sometimes you feel like it's a Christy Canyon day other days it's a Jenna J. day.

Hope that makes sense...

Respectfully,
Chris

[Scott Henderson]

I just finished a tour with Gary Novak, one of my favorite drummers. I also played a few gigs with Lenny White, who was also great. Their styles are different, but one thing they have in common is that even when they play really busy, you never have to guess where one is. These days I'd rather play with those kind of drummers.

There are a lot of drummers with monster chops and the ability to sub-divide beats, and I appreciate the work ethic it takes to become great at those skills. That being said, often in context of the music, that shit is clever, but not musical. The good drummers know when, and more importantly when not, to take liberties with the feel of the tune, and most good drummers play for the music, not to show how clever they are at math.

[countandduke]

Oh man, those are two of my favorite drummers!!! Lucky you man!!! I'm glad you understood what I was trying to say. It's often hard to verbalize musical feelings but I think you know what I meant. Song to the Pharoah Kings is one of my favorite RTF songs and when I saw them in Chicago wouldn't you know it, AL had amp problems for almost the entire song but the band carried on without him. Lenny is just a freakin badass on the drums!!! Any drummers you haven't played with that you would like to?

Any recordings of your gigs with Gary or Lenny?

Best,
Chris

[Scott Henderson]

There are a lot of drummers I'd like to work with, too many to name. There were some YouTube clips of a few gigs with Gary and Lenny, but as usual they sounded like shit so I removed them. When will people learn that an iPhone can't record bass?