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It's 1970 and I'm with a group of eight or ten drum student friends at Buddy's
gig at the Royal York Hotel Ballroom in Toronto. I can't remember exactly how
we swung it, but we ended up being seated to his right, about 15 feet away from
the Slingerlands. It's like we were waiting to see God - I mean, the tension
is unbearable - I had never seen him live, and if I recall, neither had they,
but there I am, riveted to that gorgeous White Marine Pearl, memorizing the set-up
and remembering the tunes I'd spent hours listening to.
The band hits the stage and Buddy's announced. He picks up the sticks during
the applause, counts the band in over a hi-hat riff and launches into Love for
Sale. Nothing I had imagined came close to what I saw and heard him do that night.
I remember Ernie, one of my friends. He was a cool dude whose "seen-it-all" attitude
crashed and burned that night. Somewhere towards the middle of the gig, Ernie's
leaning on the table on his elbows and tugging almost painfully at his beard,
almost as if Buddy was torturing him. Buddy's looking over our way, and it's
like he sensed the "drummer" in us from the way he seemed to play off
our reactions to that incredible technique.
I saw him many times after that. Once, I brought with me a non-musician friend
who was only lukewarm to the idea of big-band jazz. Somewhere in the middle of
Buddy's solo, this guy's totally knocked out and says, "Jesus Christ! This
guys a f$#%ing athlete! I don't believe this!"
Sometimes I didn't, either. I miss him a lot.
~ John Ansara
A tyrant,a man with a great heart, an unbelievable genius, a perfectionist,
a wild sense of humor, a kind and giving father (I was there with Foy Blanton
who played bass on Harry James band with Buddy, when Buddy donated the band
for Cathy's high school graduation gift). A great guy to have for a friend
, not a good guy to have as an enemy.An inspiration to thousands of drummers
and a man who will never be forgotten.
~ Pete Peterson
I grew up listening to Buddy from the age of about six or seven years old.
I had no choice as my Dad had all of his albums and played them just about
every
night while working at his desk at home. I enjoyed it but never could really
appreciate or comprehend just how great was the man and his music I was
hearing, until watching him perform West Side with the Boston Pops on TV
when I was 12. I signed up for drum lessons 3 days later. I feel so lucky
and fortunate to have seen Buddy live four times before he passed. The first
time was at Carnegie Hall when he opened for Sinatra. I'll never forget
his amazing drum solo at the end of West Side Story, a single blue light
on the front of his riser shining on him and his kit. Man, it was the "bees
knees" and I was just in complete awe. I met him three times on his
bus over the years with my Dad, and he was just such a down to earth man,
incredibly
gracious and of course Ultra Cool. The last time I saw him play was one
of his last shows, my birthday on December 8th, 1986 - Blue Note in NYC.
That night was just magical and probably my best birthday ever. For those
of you that didn't have the fortune to see him live, let me tell you(and
people like Cathy and others closest to him would attest) he was better
than ever towards the end of his life. His speed,dexterity, and complete
command of the drum set were all in full display that night. When we got
on his bus and talked with him, I told him that he just kept getting better
and better, to that he replied "I'm trying kid, I'm trying."
Man, so humble and so cool - that was Buddy. The thing is he didn't have
to try, it just flowed so naturally from his soul. What it is on the front
of his bus summed it all up, he was truly one of a kind. The end of my Senior
year of High School I wanted to go out with a Big Bang, so I campaigned
hard to my Band Director to get the sheet music for "Good News" to
perform in our Jazz Concert. We played it at the end of the show and I took
my Drum Solo, afterwards receiving a standing ovation - What A Feeling!
I felt that Buddy was somewhere up there watching over me, and hopefully
proud of my performance. I truly loved and idolized the man. He will always
be sorely missed.
~ Jean Koegler
As an early teen, I started attending whatever of Buddy's concerts I could in
my native NYC. In all, I attended approximately 10 live performances. My first,
at my age 13, was at the Village Gate, skin from my snare drum and pen in hand...and
yes, Buddy autographed it during a break! Later, Buddy also appeared at the Central
Park Schaefer performances during the summer. During the first year, I took a
series of photos of him while he was playing (I was photographer for high school
yearbook/newspaper). The following year, I had made a series of enlargements
and brought them to that concert. After the show, I approached the side of the
stage and encountered a man who looked almost exactly like Buddy, but with curly
hair - turned out to be his brother. I showed him the photos and he escorted
me to Buddy's trailer behind the stage.
When I entered, there was a family already inside and Buddy was talking to the young son, perhaps about 8 - 10 years old. The boy was an aspiring drummer and Buddy was asking him what he played and how he practiced. The family clearly had limited means and the boy did not have a drum set at home. As the story unfolded, Buddy turned to (who I assumed to be) one of his staff and simply directed them to get the boy's address and send him a new drum set!! I can only imagine the effect that may have had on that young man, who would now be in his 40s.
Then, it was my opportunity. I explained that the photos were from last year
and handed them over for his review. As he looked through them, he commented
to the same staff that if these were the shots they used for his album covers,
they'd sell more records - a very charitable comment! He handed them back, but
I told him they were for him - a gift - no strings. He took one of the several
I provided, signed it to me, returned that one and cheerfully kept the rest.
All these years later, I'm still looking for it in old boxes and files.
~
Ron Zarowitz
It was July or August 1986. I was 15 years old. My dad took me to see Buddy in
Canton, Ohio. The house was barely half full and scattered. We sat right in the
front row center. The band was amazing and Buddy was fabulous and hilarious.
He kept calling the bass player "Flash" because he never had his music out in time to start (he was digging through a very large stack of charts mind you!). Buddy had been talking to the audience without a mic and when one person in the audience said "Speak up we can't hear you!" Buddy replied "Shut up! I can hear YOU!" The whole crowd broke out in laughter. He also asked what was going on in Canton, Ohio. The audience replied "Pro Football Hall of Fame Game!" Buddy remarked, "Like I said, WHAT'S NEW??" Hilarious! What a thrill it was to see Buddy up close & personal like that. It was like having him and the band all! to myself.
After the show, I went to the bus to meet him. I got on the bus and it was just ME and Buddy Rich. No one else was around. His shirt read "Cause I'm The Boss, That's Why!!" Buddy asked me how I was doing and I replied that I was fine and I would take his advice not to go see the movie 'Aliens' (which he had been complaining about during the show). He said, "Did you see it?" Wishing I had been at the local theater the night before sitting next to him, I said "No." Buddy replied, "It sucked! terrible plot, terrible plot." He signed the back of my "Both Sides" Cassette inlay and said "There you go son." I shook his hand and got off the bus. What a gentleman he was to me. I know he was a tough guy with his bands but we all know that is why they were as great as they were. I will always cherish that moment and his autograph and picture will always hang on my wall forever.
~ Chad Paetznick |
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