best jazz rhythm section
 

who would you give your vote to? i guess at the moment i'd say the standards trio (keith jarrett, gary peac0ck jack dejohnette), but it's a tough one! miles' one in the mid 60s was a killer too, with herbie hanc0ck ron carter, tony williams.

Oh, hands down Tony, Ron, and Herbie. They were an unbeatable team and it's unfortunate Tony has passed, because the musicianship between the three of them never was or will be surpassed. I have learned so much about playing jazz by just listening to those three together. It doesn't matter who else they were playing with, whether it was Miles/Wayne, Wayne/Freddie, George Goleman/Freddie, just Freddie, Wynton Marsalis... well I could go on for about a page but you get the idea... they were always amazing and never ceased to use every ounce of musicianship within themselves at every moment of their playing. There have been (and are) other great rhythm sections, like the aforementioned Standards Trio, and of course Paul Chambers/Jimmy Cobb/Bill Evans of Kind of Blue (my personal favorite of that era is the rhythm section of Milestones, with Paul, Red Garland and Philly Joe Jones), but no three (or four or five or six) musicians have ever been as amazing both technically and musically as Tony, Ron, and Herbie. To me, they are THE rhythm section.

good answer :)

as a drummer, listening to the way tony plays at just 18 years of age is nothing short of breathtaking. the way those guys interact with each other is truly phenomenal. just listening to four & more, and the way they can communicate so damn well when playing insanely up-tempo stuff is inspiring. they've got such a unique bonding, where you'd think they were triplets, they just know so much about each other's playing and they're all so aware of going on.

have you seen the 'one night with blue note' 1985 reunion concert? the three great men play a great rendition of cantaloupe island. all still in great shape too!

Yup, I have it on DVD :) Great concert.

Tony at 18?! That's nothing. He was playing professionally with Jackie McLean at 16. Hell, he was composing his own music and leading all-star groups when he was 17. I'm a drummer as well and whenever I read about Tony's life I always feel like I'm way behind, haha.

I agree completely Bryan. Tony, Ron, Herbie together never fail to blow me away. Though, I also have to give credit to a lot of Elvin's playing, there is some stuff of his that just can't be touched in terms of sheer intensity, on his stuff with Garrison/Tyner(And mabye a differnt rhythym section, I have a few recordings that I really like but don't know the name or the players of)

Billy Hart, Lonnie Liston Smith, Richard Davis, Reggie Workman, and Nathaniel Bettis.

dembonez, can you recommend an album?

[I]Karma[/I] by Pharoah Sanders. The ambiance of sound those guys achieve is just surreal to me.

I've never really been big on bop/hard-bop rhythm sections, and because of that I can't really assess them. I will say that if you like the Jarrett/DeJohnette/Peacock trio you'd like Charles Lloyd's '60s quartet. It was Lloyd on Saxophone/Flute, Jarrett on piano, DeJohnette on drums, and McBee on bass.

[QUOTE=Caleb3221]I agree completely Bryan. Tony, Ron, Herbie together never fail to blow me away. Though, I also have to give credit to a lot of Elvin's playing, there is some stuff of his that just can't be touched in terms of sheer intensity, on his stuff with Garrison/Tyner(And mabye a differnt rhythym section, I have a few recordings that I really like but don't know the name or the players of)[/QUOTE]

Yeah, Elvin was a phenomenal player. His work with Coltrane is some of the best jazz drumming, period.

Tony was another incredible one. Speaking of which...have you guys seen those old videos of the classic quartet on drummerworld.com?

[url]http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Tony_Williams.html[/url]

Amazing stuff.

Another rhythm section that I've really been digging lately that I don't think is given its due is the Bill Evans trio. I bought "Explorations" the other day, and am loving it....Bill of course was an amazing musician, and Paul Motian and Scott Lafaro ain't exactly scabbs at their respective instruments, either. I definitely recommend you guys check it out. :)

my friend showed me mccoy tyner's rythem section for one of his cds- ray brown, elvin jones, and mccoy tyner. it dont get much better. check out "the real mccoy".

anything with jaco is absolutely badass. the rythem section on giant steps is pretty sweet, paul chambers is a machine.

Bill Evans Trio......ANY incarnation.

Tony Williams - Drums
Horace Silver - Keys
Joe Negri - Guitar
Mingus - Bass

Count Basie definately.

[QUOTE=Fatback]Bill Evans Trio......ANY incarnation.[/QUOTE]
I'd agree to that, in principle.

Also, the Williams-Carter-Hancock set is amazing, as was Metheny-Holland-Haynes. Dave Holland's various quartet and quintet recordings usually sound superb as well.

[QUOTE=DemBonez][I]Karma[/I] by Pharoah Sanders. The ambiance of sound those guys achieve is just surreal to me.

I've never really been big on bop/hard-bop rhythm sections, and because of that I can't really assess them. I will say that if you like the Jarrett/DeJohnette/Peacock trio you'd like Charles Lloyd's '60s quartet. It was Lloyd on Saxophone/Flute, Jarrett on piano, DeJohnette on drums, and McBee on bass.[/QUOTE]

yeah i really dig the charles lloyd stuff. i've only got one album - forest flower, but i really love it. really hip stuff, when i first heard about them i was really surprised that a jazz group could play with the likes of janis, hendrix, all the big 60s rock acts.

what about the Hancock-Clarke-Hakim section at montreaux?

Yes, Paul Motion is a player I have been getting into a lot lately, both his stuff with Bill Evans and his solo work I am in love with.

Chick Corea
Stanley Clarke
Airto Moreira

Most tatseful rhythm section.

I never really liked Chick Corea. His playing is just too, well it just annoys me.

i agree...he is kinda childish

[QUOTE=Passion,Grace and Fire]I never really liked Chick Corea. His playing is just too, well it just annoys me.[/QUOTE]
I find his playing to be sort of. . .meh. Bland, if you will. Not terrible, and it works, but compare it to someone like Tyner or Evans. . .

Now, I hate most of his compositions that I've heard of him.

[QUOTE=flyguy]Chick Corea
Stanley Clarke
Airto Moreira

Most tatseful rhythm section.[/QUOTE]

I would disagree and say that him and Stanley are better with Lenny White and Al DiMeola (Return to Forever). They're really powerful together.

[QUOTE=bassman796]I find his playing to be sort of. . .meh. Bland, if you will. Not terrible, and it works, but compare it to someone like Tyner or Evans. . . [/QUOTE]

Evans was like the whitest jazz pianist ever. Corea was more bland than Evans? Sure, if you were to say someone like Peterson or Tatum, then I would tend to agree, but Evans?

I don't understand why so many people rag on Corea out of the post-Tyner/Evans pianists. To me, he's been side-by-side with Jarrett for the best of the bunch.

[QUOTE=Bryan Blakey]I would disagree and say that him and Stanley are better with Lenny White and Al DiMeola (Return to Forever). They're really powerful together.[/QUOTE]

Airto, Corea, and Clarke [B]IS[/B] Return to Forever. Problem, to me, was that Stanley wasn't any good with his upright.

Not that this is an answer to the best rhythm section, but I was very very impressed when I saw Dave Holland play with Steve Nelson (vibes) and Nate Smith (drums). They were incredibly tight and innovative. Most of the time I found myself listening to them instead of the soloist (although if Chris Potter had been there it would have been different). I hope these guys keep playing together

[QUOTE=DemBonez]Airto, Corea, and Clarke [B]IS[/B] Return to Forever. Problem, to me, was that Stanley wasn't any good with his upright.[/QUOTE]

I saw Stanley with Bela Fleck and Jean Luc a couple weeks ago, and his upright performance was incredible. I dont know how you could say that.

[QUOTE=DemBonez]Evans was like the whitest jazz pianist ever. Corea was more bland than Evans? Sure, if you were to say someone like Peterson or Tatum, then I would tend to agree, but Evans?

I don't understand why so many people rag on Corea out of the post-Tyner/Evans pianists. To me, he's been side-by-side with Jarrett for the best of the bunch.
[/QUOTE]
Ehh, I wouldn't say he can touch Jarrett. I also wouldn't say he can touch Tatum or Peterson either.

I've always been into Evans, but I can see why some wouldn't be. Likewise, I can see why some would be into Corea, despite my not really enjoying his style. Just goes to show that sometimes trying to discuss music is a bit pointless, once you hit the core of taste.

I really enjoy some of Corea's older stuff. Now he sings, now he sobs is an album that I quite like in some bits. He has some great solos that I have heard, though his style isn't always amazing. I can also see why many would dislike him, and also why people could dislike Evans.

Most of Corea's fusiony stuff I am not a fan of. I am going to see him with Touchstone in a few weeks, I'll report on how it goes, but I honestly don't have terribly high expectations. While it will probably be quite advanced techincally, musicaly it will probably be pretty boring.

Look at me, I can't spell today.

[QUOTE=jazzfunkboy]my friend showed me mccoy tyner's rythem section for one of his cds- ray brown, elvin jones, and mccoy tyner. it dont get much better. check out "the real mccoy".[/QUOTE]

Yeah..... I sent that CD. Another rhythm section that I think is AMAZING is on Joe Henderson's "Inner Urge," which is my favorite jazz CD as of now. McCoy Tyner on piano, Bob Cranshaw on bass, Elvin Jones on drums. It's amazing.

[QUOTE=bassman796]Ehh, I wouldn't say he can touch Jarrett. I also wouldn't say he can touch Tatum or Peterson either.

I've always been into Evans, but I can see why some wouldn't be. Likewise, I can see why some would be into Corea, despite my not really enjoying his style. Just goes to show that sometimes trying to discuss music is a bit pointless, once you hit the core of taste.[/QUOTE]

It all depends on my mood. I find Jarrett's solo concerts amazing, but his old group recordings were decent at best. Both had their time that they came out with nothing, Corea was busy doing Elektric Band stuff and Jarrett had muscle fatigue. I really like both their work today.

As for Tatum and Peterson, no one has come close to what Tatum has done, and very few have the versatillity that Peterson has.

And I like Evans, it's just his whole approach is to be white in his playing. I think he has a couple moments of swing in his approach (I can't think of any off the top of my head), but for the most part he disregarded it in his music. Corea just has a lot more flare to his playing. Calling him bland compared to Evans is just wrong.

[QUOTE=DemBonez]It all depends on my mood. I find Jarrett's solo concerts amazing, but his old group recordings were decent at best. Both had their time that they came out with nothing, Corea was busy doing Elektric Band stuff and Jarrett had muscle fatigue. I really like both their work today.

As for Tatum and Peterson, no one has come close to what Tatum has done, and very few have the versatillity that Peterson has.

And I like Evans, it's just his whole approach is to be white in his playing. I think he has a couple moments of swing in his approach (I can't think of any off the top of my head), but for the most part he disregarded it in his music. Corea just has a lot more flare to his playing. Calling him bland compared to Evans is just wrong.[/QUOTE]

Bill Evans is simply one of the five or so most important jazz pianists who ever lived. There's Art Tatum, Bud Powell, Bill Evans, and only a few others. To compare Corea to Bill Evans is absurd. Corea doesn't rank anywhere near.

Corea tends to be too deliberate and plodding, but when he's on and playing real jazz, as he was when I saw him a few years ago and as he was when he recorded "Now He Sings, Now He Sobs" (as someone mentioned above--thanks), he can be quite enjoyable.

Bill Evans, on the other hand, was THE MAN--and stop with the racist slurs, please. Thank you.