Music will never be powerful again! Good GOD!

NOBODY swing better than Bud. Check out his body posture during this smoker. He had THE best hands I've ever seen. He was and is the inspiration for countless musicians, myself included.

LET THE lion speak-your Right -On & Bar None. What amazes me to no end is , his precise memory of all these tunes and the on top , inbetween over and under and command of with the horns , AS a drummer this is the most unique talent to me , HE POSSESSED, not JUST THE SOLOING .I THANK THE STARS I, WAS ABLE TO SEE HIM LIVE ,....

I saw Buddy with his big band twice in Memphis. Those are some of my favorite memories.

It doesn't get tighter, faster, and better than this.

There are so few people that have the ability to drive a big band like that!!

Time Check... das hat nach so vielen Jahren immer noch Fast-Drive. Thanks from Nürnberg/Germany.

noone will ever play a drum set better than him. noone.

Buddy "the best"Rich. What else?.

Buddy loved is sax line, that's for sure ....

Hey alright, Rochester! Hometown pride!

This is my all time fave Buddy Rich song. The whole band plays as one person. The four man saxaphone solo has to be seen to be believed. How can FOUR guys play so fast ( and so complicted a solo ) and still make it sound perfect. Wonderful!

One my favorite Buddy Rich pieces. 1989 Bushwackers opener, Drum Corps Associates

I've said it elsewhere, I'll say it again- Buddy Rich was the Saturn Five of all Drummers!

Tight. Excellent sax solo.

Buddy's band was on point! ...precision, drive, technique & syncopated rhythm, he did it all, naturally. & the fellas in the band. excellent!!!

Totally in a league of his own.

---The marvellous Pat LaBarbera on tenor saxophone.......

is there anything better than a tight sax sectional! OMG

BR Altoist RAY RICKER sent me this email after I asked him if he missed any notes (haha) in that marvelous ’73 “At The Top” sax chorus at 2:12 of TIME CHECK (that night was only his 3rd or 4th Gig with the BR band). His reply: “Buddy came to Rochester and the 2nd alto player hurt his hand somehow. I knew the LaBarbera brothers and John & Pat recommended me for the gig. I filled in for the Rochester gig, which was a week and then played a couple of other area gigs. Buddy offered me the job, but I already was teaching at Eastman, was married with a daughter and had a good start on a teaching/playing career. As luck would have it, the local Public TV station was doing a show on Buddy. I think it was recorded on the 3rd or 4th night I was on the band. It was picked up by stations around the U.S. Lots of people saw it, and now it is on KZfaq & DVD. I really enjoyed my week+ with Buddy. He was very cordial and nice to me. Brian Grivna & I have kept track of each other over the years and I probably see Pat once every other year or so when he is in Rochester. I probably did miss a note here and there in TIME CHECK, but the unwritten rule in playing something like that is to keep going and at least play the contour of the line. ;-) Good luck to you in your musical endeavors. And thanks for taking the time to write. -Ray”

Dude. Best Sax soli ever.

That is what I mean when saying that no one is the best... Because everybody has his/her own way... There is no best way. It's simply the best for somebody, but still not the best for all the rest... And the best way is, when you feel good. Anybody can find it... :) And everybody should live for it.

Oh man, the hairstyles, the clothes...oh yeah, and the playing...

lets not let jazz music die

I just wish all people would take your advice. One thought: if anyone or anything is jugded to be "the best" - the only way further is DOWN! So lets look, bop and listen - and all enjoy together!

His left hand had more skills than a lot of professional drummers these days, RIP Buddy!

if you asked the greatest drummersin the world who their fav was... the name most often heard was BUDDY. And he did on a simple set of drums. Not many sounds, but his talent made them sing.

No one ever took drums as seriously as Buddy. He was the master, and has never been topped.

Anyone can drum like barker, it takes endless talent and time to become buddy richs level

Everytime I watch/hear buddy play, I'm left dumbfounded. Undoubtedly my undisputed champ. But of course there is no one best drummer of all time; different eras have their big names and legends to boast of. I just wish that one day, I can play just half of what Rich does. Half is enough for me. =) Travis Barker? I don't mean to be mean, but everytime i see Barker's name in the same sentence as Rich's, I feel like puking. Do these people even know what they're talking about!? Rich is a LEGEND.

Incredible! Man I wanna be on that pocket

chills

the man had staying power at least when it came to playing drums and never letting his fans down and that is something young people should imitate.

Rochester NY was very well know for Jazz long time ago..

If you guys dig "Time Check", get the Buddy Rich Montreal Jazz Fest tape. He does this as an encore and it's at a faster tempo. His solo at the end is also incredible. Buddy bought many charts from Menza -- he wrote some fanstatic charts with incredible sax soli's.

truley amazing..

We ALL with we could play like that. :)

Buddy Rich was a youngster...Good video! tku

I have always known for myself that one should learn anything from anybody else/whoever if he/she feels that this or that stuff is cool and he/she'll feel great when learning and after that playing it in his/her own way. It doesn't matter from whom you learn. What matters is to enjoy it in your own way. Everybody has his/her own way... Just has to find it...:)

The king of swing, the best drummer of all time. There is not a close second.

SECRETARIAT of drums!

Absolutely phenominal. Everyone alongside Buddy are Grade "A" musicians.

These guys ARE today's musicians... they're still around, playing their asses off!

Buddy had an absolutely symbiotic relationship with his instruments. And, this band was so tight. What a perfect marriage!

hard to believe that Buddy is 52 in this video. what a talent he had. i only wish i had gotten to see him while he wsa still alive. R.I.P. Traps.

i have his signature sticks. :D weh weh weh.... But its true, he IS and always will be the man. (rip buddy)

WOW, i love how buddy and the bass player are just locked in so tight in that groove. . the whole group is just perfection.

That sax part was amazing!!!!

Buddy Rich was a phenomenal drummer. Even today we have kids going around to every Buddy Rich video talking about how their favorite drummer is better than him. It kinda lets you know who really sets the standard. Buddy is SO good that that particular question naturally pops up.

My saxophone teacher for 18 years passed away recently. He played with Buddy's band for about a year in his youth. That must have been quite an experience. So I'm only two degrees from Buddy.... I doubt if he would have hired me though! At the time this video was made, I was still in high school playing trombone. Even though the toughest lines go to the saxes, I doubt if I would have ever been able to cut this tune even in my best days on bone. I have some playalong sax tunes that go almost this fast, never been able to make much of a dent in them.

The more I watch and listen to Buddy, I am becoming more and more of a believer.

Man do I miss the incredible Buddy Rich.R.I.P CHAMP

Buddy started his career on Slingerlands, but he had various contracts with other makers as well. i have seen him play Rogers, Slingerlands, Ludwigs and probably a few others. he started and ended his career on the Swingin Slingerlands.

He's my favourite drummer.

Buddy always had tight bands...and this one was one of the tightest!

From 2:45 on the way Buddy plays I just can't believe what I'm seeing OR hearing. I don't know whether he thought out how to interpret a tune or if it's just instinct but I, even after watching and listening to him closely for years, still can't say I've ever seen anything like it.

Agreed!

We all like different stuff, but any drummer who knows his stuff has Buddy Rich in his top ten.

goddammit these guys were on a completely different level of talent than today's rock/metal drummers simply amazing

I feel privileged to have seen Buddy play live! I don't believe that anyone has been better before or after! In typical fashion for Buddy, you will note that he uses his second floor tom for a coat rack! A practice for which he is well known. Most drummers surround themselves with loads of drums so they always have a target, but Buddy worked pure magic with just a four piece kit. Absolutely amazing!

Great Grandmaster Rich... Gone But Never Forgotten!!!

awesome, thanks

2:15 incredible section play.

Yeah, Don Menza's "Time Check" is as timeless a piece of music as you can get. No matter when you hear it, it seems as fresh as when he first wrote it. VERY powerful piece, especially played a little more up. Menza wrote a lot of stuff for Buddy and Louie. He is an amazing composer/arranger.

I saw this air on PBS when I was a kid. This concert is a must have for a Rich fan. It brings back the excitment of seeing him live. West Side Story was on this as well.

Composer/Arranger is Don Menza. He wrote several charts for Buddy and Louie as well. Check out " Groovin' Hard" for another great sax soli. He is a master at big band writting. He was with Buddy in late '67, '68, and was on the "Mercy Mercy" album. He did the long tenor solo on "Channel One Suite".

The sax soli is absolutely amazing.

"Swingerlands" are what they should have been called when he played them.

that swings

There were many great big band drummers, but Buddy was the only one that could drive a band like that. No one else. Different -- sure. But no one was ever his equal leading a big band.

So good so far !...

Simply AMAZING!!!. Great chart

Come on...can it get any better than this? Freakin' amazing!!! I wanna jump inside the music!

HEY..PlasmaFire3000..i TOTALLY agree with u!!Jazz ROCKS!!!

It was his solo. Soloists almost always stand up when it is their solo... It is called tradition. Respect, yo! :P

amazing, absolutely. perfect touch

Ray Rinker and Brian A. Grivna on altos. Cole left Buddy's band in 1971 ~

sick

thanks for posting this

...2:15-2:40 is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard,extraordinary sax section break...wanderful...I love Buddy and his orchestra...

Very good, great sound, all marvelous. The drum fits so well in the music!! Excellent!!

It's not about licks per se but about the creativity within their musical context. Coltrane needed a drummer like Elvin to go as far out as he did musically. It can't be broken down to mere licks. It's a spirit thing.

Thanks for posting this. It's an absolute gem. I saw and heard Buddy, and met him several times in Cardiff, Swansea and Bristol.

couldn't agree with you more!! truly amazing stuff!!!

you guys are right, there are no odd time meters or anything, but the title "Time Check" is referring to the meter but yet the tempo. The problem for many bands is keeping a steady tempo. some will speed up and others will slow down. That's how the piece got it's name.

Buddy Rich laid the foundation for 95% of the drummers today...and I'm being generous

My schools Jazz Ensemble is playing this right now, and its this same arrangement! 2nd alto representin. GOD ITS HARD. But fun, once you got the groove going

I only got to see him live once, and am I ever glad I at least got that one chance considering I lived out in the boonies lol I'll keep looking for more vids. This one was most excellent!

buddy wasnt just crazy solos, he knows how to play great jazz

tru dat!

A time when musicians played music!😊

the DVD/video is called "Buddy Rich at the top" and is available from Hudson Music

@cadillacdude1975 Buddy also played Vox and Fibes drumsets. This was around 1967'ish, and he didn't stay with either of them very long. There are a few videos on YT of him playing the Vox set, and one or two with him using a black Fibes set ~

Really good, really tight band.

the last set of Slingerlands Buddy used were a set of vintage 1956 Radio Kings (if i remember from the article i read a few years back) that were restored to original quality and presented to him as a gift. he continued to use those until his untimely death. there is a set of Slingerlands in the Smithsonian that Buddy played, but i am unsure on what era he used them.

Holy cow do his charts ever scream! Having that tight of a band at that speed! I could only dream.....:D

I was at this concert and it was thrilling!

That's not the right way to look at the universe... your universe... It's not about the best... It's about learning from the best and become even better... It's all about feeling well, never mind who is better or who is the best. No one is the best. No one is best...:)

Cooking chart by Don Menza. Great performance.

yeah i have seen those. i wasnt sure on what they were or who made them. fact is Buddy could have been playing on kitchen pots and pans and it would have sounded just as good. RIP Buddy.