I know exactly what you mean about the power of sitting very close to Buddy when playing. In early 1978 I saw him live at a small club in Evanston IL called AmazingGrace. I had the closest seat to Buddy, about 10 feet away to his immediate right. I could see both hands and both feet clearly. I was so overwhelmed and overcome but what I witnessed that night I could barely speak on the 45 minute drive home. My girlfriend at the time was worried there was something wrong with me! Occasionally I would mumble something like "I just can't believe it" or "How is that possible?" or "How does he do that with his left hand?"

LOL! Great story!! I saw him at Buddy's place in NYC but i was in the back of the room!

One of my biggest regrets was never being able to see Buddy do what he did live, decades later and no one can come even close to what he could do.

Amen to that!!

He truly was O.O.A.K. - One of a Kind - as Mel Torme would often say.

Wonderful! Your grandfather was a member of one of the greatest bands ever. And it's obvious from his comments that Buddy had the highest respect for them.

Middle (lead) trombone is Gil Falco, to his left is Nick DiMaio and Ernie Tack on bass trombone/

Man you guys take life way too seriously

This is the only time i have seen Buddy Rich say something good about the band in public my fav. Video period.

sapper made what?

😊

💯

+Jon England YES!....but those days are GONE....Let's be thankful that we got to witness them......

+Shaun Blackstock Very thankful!! (Although sadly I missed this particular show.)

There was a time that people would pay to go watch & listen to them; that's been replaced by stage lighting & simple music. The dumbing down of music is complete.

+alain charnier Your crazy !!!!

I used to hate it when The Tonight Show went on commercial break, because the band would be skidding to a stop coming back from the break. They only occasionally featured the band.

He is also wearing a huge black dead cat right on the top of his head, just to make things even harder :)

And a toupee !!!!!!

Buddy had some bad toupees but this is one of the worst.

+William Taylor almost as bad as Donnie Trump toupee.

+mellilore Ed!!!

Agreed!

Shaughnessy was a great drummer in his own right!

Fact.

Except it was the Tonight Show band, so it was kinda awkward.

Buddy was also the Utah Jazz of big band. If there were white players with next-level talent, he'd find them and draft 'em.

for real?

@@joaquim9305 he was crazy, look up the audio of him screaming at his band.

A great piece of musical history it is! Glad you appreciate it.

AMMEN ..... wow

HE. WENT. OFF. That was absolutely fire.

Lew Tabackin

INDEED....

+erzug That's our guy!

That's Conte Condoli on that fine trumpet solo

+highhat2 That most likely would have been Doc's solo if he hadn't been filling in for Ed.

+highhat2 Conte loved Buddy's playing and it was nice to see Buddy acknowledge the solo.

Me too!

That makes three of us!

Four!

FIVE! And counting!

Great find, subbed your Channel

He definitely did!

It’s NOT his band.

​@@BabemuffinRight! It was probably the "house band" of that show?! 👀👽💥🎉

😊

Now that is true !

+L.J. McCormick Thanks so much for identifying them!

+L.J. McCormick yeah,thanks mate,much appreciated.

Lew is amazing !!!!

No, Buddy isn't !!!!!

The amazing thing is Snooky Young is also one of the trumpet players. The NBC Orchestra was a who's who of jazz players.

+erzug That's a really good observation on why Buddy seems more relaxed.

Thanks. Just an observation over the years of his facial expression and overall demeanor depending on the band with which he's playing. Have you ever noticed that when he's soloing with HIS band, he's looking almost exclusively to his left at one or more members? Was it an implied "look at me busting my butt and giving it my all" and "I expect nothing less from you guys"?

I have noticed that - it would seem to be almost uncomfortable for the band having to stay fixed on him, as his eyes stayed fixed on them!

One thing to note here is that the band was playing a chart that was brand new and one which they practically sight-read during that performance. Buddy even pointed out at the end that that was a new chart.

Another thing to note is that the NBC orchestra was filled with Buddy’ Contemporaries, guys for whom he had a lot of respect.

He was indeed an unstoppable force of nature.

On this night I imagine ES was his drum tech😂.

Georgie Thumbs Haa! I though the same damn thing..... And not a very good Beatle wig at that!

Watch it, there's a hair stalker wishing to rip your hair comments apart

Beatle wig? i thought it was a dead cat.

I always thought Buddy should have been in the Beatles.

@@wheezvonklaw284 what led to that thinking, a head injury? A jazz great like Buddy would be offended by that comment.

I know what you mean. That video from 1982 of him playing West Side Story is PAINFUL JUST TO WATCH! (I assume you mean the video Concert for the Americas with Frank Sinatra)

Yup. And knowing now what he was going through just to finish strong. Wow.

Definitely!

Coke, speed, it'll definitely do damage to the heart. If so, surprised he didn't just vapor lock on stage.

And several pounds of Dynel hair.

Thank you! Buddy should have credited him in my view. Professional courtesy.

Still unmatched: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/gbF3da-bz9-RmIU.html

Ooops Wasn't me was it? Soz!!

F'in clams!!!!

I love "Time Check"...

Pop music is real music, too. It's just not what you may prefer.

@@ok-ms3ke Lol. You're funny kid.

onesong2001 He’s right whether you agree or not.

+nealbfinn That is wonderful to hear, thanks.

I thought that was him, but wasn‘t sure.

Sounds fantastic!

Bless you and your Fierce Dedication

You are very fortunate to have that kind of experience

You can blame the director Bobby Quinn

Not camera operator that’s the TD or director to ask for live cuts

And the lead bone thought the pianist was finished with his solo a dozen or two bars before he actually was. But who cares, this was lights-out fantastic. One of the most incredible performances I have ever seen.

I wish he'd have spun around and played that silver-top Fender Rhodes, too!

LOL

Conti

Pete Candoli

It was definitely Conte Candoli

I agree...that guy had real tone....

soduno so many L’s!!!!!

Steve Martin isn't only a great banjo player.

Great memory. And how wonderful that he was friends with Louie. So true that Louie was beautiful person.

He truly was one of a kind.

Right, the greatest !!!!

I remember as a kid staying up late to see these appearances on Carson.

HAHA👍👍

What Kevin said!

😊

Ed loved Buddy, a great Irishman, and a great Jew, true friends.

I have always really liked this chart too.

Yes.

😊

My pleasure.

Conan's band is really good, and more of a traditional "big" band than anything else. All real pros in that band, but fewer of them than this.

Years ago, I ran into Freddie Hubbard at Bob Reeves' (custom mouthpiece) shop. He told me declined a gig with Branford Marsalis' Tonight Show Band (early Jay Leno) because they wanted him to stand throughout the entire show. I asked him what he thought of the new Jay Tonight Show Band. Freddie said and I quote, "Dem boys need some arrangements!"

they were dragging as hell. i bet buddy was lying, buddy was ferocious when it came to time and phrasing. open your goddamned ears you all

@@jazzbob57 - I agree with you about Colbert's band, but Carson's/Severinson's band was beyond reproach.

I disagree just a different era . Only exception as I mentioned above was Kevin Eubanks on Leno's Tonight Show. He knew music and his instrument but how to utiliize it was another thing.

!!!!

Fastest Ever!

Cocaine helped a lot.

Yes he was! Buddy could come down hard on musicians he believed were not putting forth the effort to do their best, but when the opposite happened like here, Buddy would compliment with the greatest sincerity and enthusiasm.

That is a very high compliment indeed, that even though you don't care for this type of music, you were blown away by the expertise of the musicians. Thanks.

Why? You're you, and they're them. You can do SOMETHING better than that guy. It's just different. A better feel can't be bought. Even a decent, pleasing feel, can't be... I think I obsessed over one-hand fast 8ths in "Stepping Out" by Joe Jackson. At least for 4:30, I might have passed my 50 years playing teacher, who doesn't play anything normal to records. lol. He actually told me I might have passed him on that with a small fraction his length of time playing. I can't do crossovers well. My feet aren't so hot. DID work on the *perfect* open hats because of Jeff Porcaro on "Lowdown," (Boz Skaggs) tho. Which has 18,956 really great ones. Another time, I killed myself with the feel of Marvin Gaye's "sofa video," where he's *lying down* singing (I sing lead WAY better than I play drums, where I'm still in my awkward teen years :) and it's a real oddball beat on a practice tape. Look for the guy wearing beads like Rick James. It's straight but the feel comes from leaving the 4th beat out on the snare. It almost killed me. Almost killed Steve, too :) It's all pocket and groove and no hot dogging flash in the pan. :) Those funk guys are REALLY excellent at making a simple beat sound amazing... as Bernard Purdie has said in a clinic where I was one of 2 female drummers of 60 people, "If the girls are dancing, you'll ALWAYS get asked back :)"

heard he once solo with Bellson, both double kits.got an ovation when he turned d bass drum around ..and it had no pedal. Another time he taped a 50 c pence to the snare n burned a hole in it.rollin.love da burbon st too

Same here saw him at University of Maryland on a whim. Best thing I ever did. I remember the whole gig. That was in 1977.

"sticks" with me... good one.

+junkyardphilosopher I am very glad that you enjoy and appreciate this as much as I do.

+cloudview747 Indeed. Thanks for posting

+junkyardphilosopher It is my pleasure!

The era of these guys earning big commercial money with lots of gigs to go around, TV band features, and Jazz as mainstream entertainment is unfortunately over - but the level of musicianship out there is still VERY high and there are kids just killing it, knowing all the tunes, the arrangements, the styles.....don't worry Jazz ain't dead!!!! It's living in cities all over the world in many small hip clubs.

Fuckin A

Yes

Wonderful memories indeed!

cloudview787 Thanks. I was fortunate to grow up near Disneyland. I think in Summer after 7pm it was $1 to get in. So we went often. An area called Carnation Plaza was there at the time. Many Big Bands played the venue. I’ve always been a guy who says good music is good music. I’ve maintained that thinking at 63. I listen to all kinds of genres and find little and sometimes obscure gems. Now as far as living drummers my guy is Steve Gadd.

what a treat! those were the days

Space Ghost ahaaaa

Definitely took my breath away many, many years ago when for the first time I listened to a couple of his albums. A musical life changing experience for me.

As Louie Bellson said, Ed doesn't take a back seat to anybody.

Gotta say, tho. The setup is bizarre. I'd think it would hurt.

Right, and the guy playing is very, very good. I wonder who it is?

@@johnvalentine3456 Ross Tompkins

Wonderful!

+hawkrider88 Thank you for your excellent, very pertinent comment!!

But Ed already knew the answer.....

I disagree. Pretend it's like golf. "Play it as it lays." Unless its urgent. Not 20 minutes fiddly-farting for a 5 minute song. Those guys are NEVER worth the wait. Then, the guy whose kit it is will have to kill you when he comes back. :) However good the 1st guy played, it's still a doofy setup. Which I'm sure Buddy had to rib him.about. I would...

I actually flinched when Buddy first played a cymbal. .so bright a sound. Ed S was a weird drummer. .

What polara01 said!!

No doubt!

+Deagledrumzz I miss him too, terribly. And I agree he was THE master.

That it is!

😊

Exactly how I feel about it.

I too LOVED the Roar of 74 album. I had seen Buddy on TV in the Rich at the Top special on PBS, and then also Live at Wolf Trap. I raced to get my copy of Roar of 74!

Loved the times when I walked through the city and the big names with their big bands were on posters announcing their appearances like Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Illinois Jacquet, Cab Calloway , Toshiko Akiyoshi and Lew Tabackin, Carla Bley, Louie Bellson , Dizzy Gillespie or Clark Terry. There are still some great around like the Basie Orchestra, the WDR Big Band or the Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra.