Jeff got to play on a Pink Floyd song (“Mother”). Nick Mason was having trouble with the odd time signatures, and the band was on a really tight recording schedule. Eventually, Nick decided to call Jeff and have him record the drums, which Jeff did in one take.
I grew up with Jeff and Mike in Sherman oaks California, played battle of the bands against him in 9th grade. We became friends in 1969 Millikan jr. High ,up until we lost touch when he got the gig with steely Dan. Still keep in touch with Steve Porcaro from time. To time Rip Jeff, Mike, Joe. We miss you all. Been playing 55 years 69 years young.😢my close friend Sam spent his birthday with Joe Porcaro back in 2019 at a jazz club in Thousand Oaks Calif. Joe was his teacher for years. Sam was devastated when he heard, the news like we all were Joe was very well loved by everyone who knew him.maybe some of you know or don’t TOTO played the the whole sound track of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and Eddie Van Halen .
Wow that's amazing! I wish I had or would have the opportunity to meet TOTO members, the Porcaros and Steve, Bobby Kimball and Joseph Williams, and David Paige. Amazing musicians!
I was there in Thousand Oaks back in 2019 at Bogies. I have footage of Joe playing with Amel Richard's and the rest of David Garfield's band that night. I talked to Joe that night and told him I was a huge fan. He was so nice to me. What a great memory.
@@paulboisvert3215 hey Paul have a picture of my friend Sam Urdank with his arm around Joe up on the stage of Boige’s wish there was a way I could send it to you. Don’t have Facebook. Just text and Email 😎
David Paich was quoted in a drum magazine saying that at 12 years old Jeff was astonishing, playing better than the adults he jammed with at his father's gigs, playing almost as well as he did at 21.
That's the problem that's so nice to have, you can't list a single "greatest ever" Steve Gadd, Bill Bruford, Ginger Baker, Max Roach.... it's impossible. Porcaro was great, but not even top 10 imo
Thank you for stating the FACT that he didn't do alot of ghost notes in the beginning of Rosanna! I got flamed 6 years ago when I uploaded my version and I had a lot of people trying to wear me out over that but I could hear the lack of them in the beginning so that's what I did. Keep up the great work brother!
@@myprivateyoutube1440 Right on, thanx!! Now that I just finished my Moving Pictures covers (Tom Sawyer today) I have been thinking about redoing Rosanna now that I've been fine tuning the process for 7+ years. Thanx for the support!
I attended a master class with Jeff Porcaro in 1990. He told us that his concept for Lowdown was Earth Wind and Fire, and he went to tape with quarter notes on the hi-hat. But Boz wanted 16th notes. What you hear is Jeff's original performance with a 16th-note hi-hat groove overdubbed.
Some years ago, a random video introduced me to Jeff Porcaro. Today, I've watched hours of interviews, live/studio playing and drum clinics. What did I learn? He was an outstanding, remarkable, one of a kind musician, colleague and human being. I'd love a movie about his life. PS: I don't even play drums (bassist,guitarrist)
@@Andrewthestagehand Hehe, maybe for some people complexity is important, however for me the groove is what counts. :) After all this is very subjective, people like different things.
@@AndrewthestagehandIf there are many that are better, then perhaps you should list all whom you think are better. I will decide for myself if you are full of shit, or not. If you don't list anyone, then you are just taking up space, or under the age of 45, and know nothing.
Boy music misses Jeff’s influence in the industry as well, as we fans miss him so. I patterned my style after Jeff’s attention to the details in timing and dynamics. He is my number one drummer of all time. I also loved how cleanly he played and that was that attention to detail that I alluded too. He contributed so much to so many artist careers and to TOTO’s fans.
Such a great cut. Look, if it wouldn't have bored the majority of the population, we could have done a masterclass on his ballad playing. It's insanely wonderful.
One of my favorites as well. Vinnie colaiuta flipped when he first heard that track saying it was next level at the time. So smooth and a great tune, great one of steve lukather at a good point in his playing and singing especially.
A brilliant song of Seventh one, another great example of Jeff and Mike's playing together, the bass on this track and Jeff's shuffle groove is sublime🕶️
Hey Steven. Thank you for the Rosanna version. I have often had heated discussions with students, other teachers about what and how the ghost notes are set here. It was an incredibly annoying topic, but you have now finally put the myth ad absurdum, as I have always seen it too. Thanks!
Great episode, and Jeff definitely deserves the credit. I think you missed one of his greatest ever recordings, "These Chains". Although it's kind of slow & steady, it demonstrates incredible control, and later in the song such moving power. His complex ride, snare & tom combinations are so satisfying to the ears.
Still one of my top 5 Toto tunes, and he is why. A Toto ballad is one of the best regardless.. but this one just nails it - Jeff nails it (of course, words of a listener, not the talent of a drummer :)
I've been playing for 2 weeks now...and just love it. After looking at a lot of beginning drum video/courses....your presentations are the easiest to follow and understand. Some guys just spend an inordinate amount of time talking. Your explanations are concise and clear....then you play it. Perfect. Thank you.
There's a Sergio Mendes record called Brasileiro and in it, in my opinion, there is one of Jeff's underated masterpiece groove. The track is Lua soberana. Check it. The man phisically died but, as far I can see, he's alive and still kicking in our memory. Unforgettable Jeff.
Between Jeff and Lukather, i think they were on every album cut in the 70's and 80's lol. I always feel like Jeff is underrated simply because a lot of people only know 5 Toto songs, but there is so much more to his musical story. This series will be great and glad Jeff was episode one. I hope Carl Pamler (ELP) finds his way into this series too.
Porcaro does the drums on most of the tracks on the Dire Straits' album 'On Every Steet'. The drums on 'When it comes to you' are just amazing! Jeff was a boss.
@2:20 - Georgy Porgy is a dance floor classic. Played it many times as a DJ for receptive crowds. Cheryl Lyn really helped it along and I love that horn / stab percussion break down back into the groove
Thanks for that. Jeff is the greatest influence on my drumming. "I'll be over you" is one of my favourite Toto songs and "Farenheit" is my favourite album. Thanks for the sheet music! And thanks for all the other content you so generously provide.
Im not 100% sure, but they were may not have been named Toto back then, but they were friends in high school and were already a band way before they even started doing session work. If i remember an article I read, David Paiche got him a session/touring gig with Sonny and Cher, and from there his groove became n0torious and his session work demand skyrocketed. But I may be wrong.
Maybe already mentioned, but I'm pretty sure the cowbell on "St. George" is being played by Lenny Castro, who played percussion on most of their albums. Jeff is playing the high hat, and you can clearly hear some cool sixteenth-note flourishes in there. This is a great video, and awesome to see you pay respects to such giant talent. Just seemed worth mentioning.
Jeff grew up with his dad, Joe Porcaro's influence on him. He learned the rudiments, he learned to apply his chops not to showing off or soloing but to how it would be effective and incorporated into "the song" -whichever song it was. Jeff was highly technical yet he was also very consistent and of course, as mentioned by other commentors, his time was superb and his FEEL, how he related to each song whether it was a hired gun session or Toto. Jeff never let his technical abilities get in the way of the song, he was able to incorporate them INTO the song to make the song better (case in point: Rosanna). His playing on whatever track is so "hard" because it was Jeff blending in like a chameleon to fit the feel and vibe of the song. He also brought with him a HUGE toolbox of chops, technique, feel and musical understanding. I used to own his instruction video he did around '86 or '87 on VHS. I watched it over and over (you can find it on TH-cam, I believe). Jeff is telling us where he's placing each beat, how he's accenting and then shows or tells us how he can change it up. Jeff may not have been a soloist but he was not one to mess with musically. Even the legendary Vinnie Colaiuta, who Jeff was friends with spoke of him with giant respect, as did Jeff's eventual "replacement" in Toto, the never underestimated SImon Phillips. Jeff had DEEP musical understanding, and that in part is due to him soaking up what he saw and learned from his dad. Carlos Vega was a huge Jeff fan and played in some respects very similarly to him, yet had his own style. Jeff was one of a kind. Bernard Purdie is in that same class of player. He makes it look easy but it's anything but. It's time, feel/touch, technique and musical understanding blending into one conscious or unconscious methodology.
Jeff was taught by generations of "Side-Men" which is what terrific drummers were called because they added their talent to make the dish, or the songs nearly perfect, and required in all elements of jazz, and blues. The world's best drummers take great care to never get in the way of a wonderful piece of music, but to apply the finishing touches.
St. George and the Dragon is from Hydra (not the first album), their most underrated album. Prog rock- jazz - pop hybrid. A fantastic album and my personal favorite along with The Seventh One, which is also overlooked.
I think something that goes understated about Jeff's playing is his dynamics. When he played the hi hat it was simply musical. That's the best place to start in my opinion. The grooves themselves are timeless but not necessarily the most important aspect to focus on when studying Jeff. I think listening to his playing gets you into the "why?" of drumming. The level beyond playing notes where it becomes about laser precision placement of sounds that enhances the music.
Yes, exactly, I remember watching his Star licks video and thinking: all those ghost notes he is playing in the Rosanna demo on the video are cool but don't remember hearing them all on the actual recording
Thanks for honoring Jeff! There are so many songs featuring Jeff's incredible playing...One of my faves is Gaucho by Steely Dan from the album of the same name. To me, Jeff's drumming is as sublime as the song itself. 🙏 ✌ ❤ 🎶 🌎 👏 Jeff
It’s hard to figure out exactly where his playing is on the Gaucho LP because SD was developing the Wendel drum machine and used it all over the album in the mix with JP. At any rate, “Gaucho” is probably my favorite track of all time - crazy good!
A good friend of mine was invited for a session by Steve and Jeff Porcaro in 1990. They did a song for Chaka Khan. He recently sent me 3 pictures from that session, they have never been published before.
Jeff Porcaro is the main reason I listened to every single song on every single Toto album with him behind the kit. I also created a massive playlist on my Spotify from not only his Toto songs but many of the other artists he drummed for as a session drummer. An incredible body of work. Thank you Stephen.
Very good explanation of Jeff's style. Outside Toto, I think my favourite session of Jeff's is George Benson's 'Lady Love Me'. Of course, he played a fabulous cut on everything he worked on. Hopping from session to session with two kits. One being played, the other being set up ready for him in another studio. So the Lady Love me track is a testament to his brilliance. It's a great song for sure, but Jeff just totally makes the song into the hit that it became. He carries the groove all the way through from classic Jeff intro to the classic Jeff fills at the very end. I have many records and CDs featuring Jeff with many different artists. But for me, and in my personal opinion, that track nails his ability as a world class musician. Truly magical and sorely missed. May he rest in peace.
They used over dubbing on the recording so there is a hihat pattern during the chorus during the ride part. A lot of the song has two hihat parts at once which isn’t possible to perform live
@@jacobherring6445Yep. Dig the hard panning. Same can be said of some of Copeland’s stuff. Stewart has straight up said there’s no way he coulda done that stuff in real time!
I like this series idea a lot! Well done! I’m glad you had Waiting For Your Love on the list, killer groove! And I love that lone, sort of out of time china/crash at the top of the keyboard solo in that song. Dead nuts correct on the Rosanna intro. Congratulations on the new studio!
so true when I first try to learn rosanna i don't here tons of ghost notes 'then while the song progresses the ghost comes more and more, i did argue that with some drummers but you know they already watch the VHS tape of Jeff teaching so i just didn't contest it .now i watch youre video thank god someon proved it thank you very much such a relief to me ,and i've been playing drums since 92' thank you man.
The thing i did not heard or feel before on this subject is the real clear difference between Jeff and Simon who took over. The groove with Jeffs heavy right foot is sooo good. I did not really notice until Shannon played later and was so much closer to Jeff then Simon. I think the Africa version played live by Shannon is the best sounding live drums of Toto so far :)
One thing to consider is the possibility of a noise gate on the snare in Rosanna. I’ve done an experiment because of what he plays in the lesson video vs the original recording and isolated drums, and it’s very possible that it was just heavily gated to help get that tone. In my experiment I used similar tuning, mic placement and just tried to get the sound as close as possible. The gate heavily dictates the ghost notes and the slightest dB variation in the volume does effect the gates behaviour, and it really does give the same vibe as the original intro. No other drum mic picks up the ghost notes enough to cut through the gate either, oddly enough. So it is possible he did play more ghost notes then what we hear! I recommend trying it with a gate. And make sure you record WITH the gate! Not just adding it after tracking. Get the sounds right at the microphones and at the console.
So glad you included "Can You Hear What I'm Saying". Your Mushanga core groove is how I play it, though my toms are positioned more like Jeff's, and I hear rim clicks that vary, less pronounced in the beginning, and occurring more as the song builds, much like the Rosanna ghost notes, which you are correct on. A lot of the controversy on Mushanga is that the drums are so deep in the mix that you can't state with certainty what is being heard. Another difficulty on figuring out Toto is that percussion from Lenny Castro, Joe Porcaro and Jeff is all smooshed together in their sound. I would have picked "These Chains" over "I'll Be Over You", "Jake to the Bone" instead of "St. George", and "Till the End" instead of "Waiting for your Love". But I love all of those, too. And though it was more rock than groove, I always loved playing "Carmen", too. Great job!!!!!
Okay I'm at 80s baby and I love this song so I literally had to look up the drummer and I'm glad because that man got some soul that's amazing, love hold the line because of that double bass beat,and I'm in love with drums. High-hat the best sound ever!!
Thank you, thank you thank you! You finally got it right I have been having this debate and struggle and fight with people all these years about Rosanna as a matter of fact now it’s readily available that you can listen to on TH-cam listen to the isolated drum track. he starts out exactly like you said, and he slowly builds up more and more, shuffling to the point where the guitar solo portion has him switching to the bell of the ride symbol, and you literally hear him hitting twos and fours and all the rest of snare drum shuffle amazing also the way he snaps into the kicks from those rolls that start out and build up intensity right on the second beat of the never in my life. When the song came out, I threw my drumsticks out the window that nearly made me insane. Trying to figure out how we did it. Thank you for settling the argument for me.
So, I think one of his best grooves, if not a few weren't in the band, but session work. I LOVE "I Keep Forgettin'". I think it's better than most of the grooves here. The kick beat and 16th note with a change to 8th note with closed going to open hi-hat is not only amazing in sound but it's really hard.
Awesom episode! To me (and maybe others), Jeff is on the Mount Rushmore of all time drummers. Him, Bonham, Peart and (for me) Danny Carey (Tool). Jeff’s unbelievable reach in his session career is amazing. Has played on so many well known songs over his career and his work in Toto is obviously stellar. Shame he left us so soon. Love his instructional vids and thanks for acknowledging him in this episode.
The example Jeff played of Rosanna in his instructional video is what he did on the second verse. I personally love how they were sparse in the beginning, but blossomed later in the song. It propels that second verse in a way that's unexplainable for me.
Jeff was the man! He’s used those different variants of Mushanga on some of session track like If You Before You Die by Benny Hester and others. The beginning of Jake to The Bone is a favorite Jeff groove of mine. Always loved it!
Yes I was going to mention jake to the bone. Absolutely love that song. Its like a prog/heavy rock song, all instrumental. His drumming and drum sound on that song is by far one of the best drum tracks ever. Add Steve Lukather's ripping guitar and its insane. Like a genesis song and a van halen song mixed together.
A lesser known gem is "These Chains" on Toto The Seventh One. His fab shuffle, try and pay attention to his fills up to the c-piece, the c-piece itself, and how he brings it down again to the chorus with a ritardando...(and then there's Luke's solo in the end. I whish they never faded that out)
Jeff's playing mystifies me! Sure, I get hear all the notes and what he's playing, but it's that thing in-between that you can't put your finger on which makes him sound like Jeff and no one else.
We do ourselves a disservice by notating music in eighth notes and 16th notes. We don’t have a way of communicating the millisecond timing that conveys feel. It really comes down to that level of precision.
If you haven't, seriously take 30 mins of your day out to watch this video of him at MIT in the late 80s. It's less about the playing, it's about the man. When he does get playing later on when someone asks him about reggae beats, he nails out the fattest groove. th-cam.com/video/dQ6tzbKsKKk/w-d-xo.html
The Rosanna intro ghost notes are more like Fool in the Rain, not being consistent through the whole groove but then it changes into Purdie's shuffle variation with ghosts through every triplet. Even harder (for me as a crappyish drummer!) is the bass drum variation which I've never seen videos for during the 'Meet you all the way' part of the song whilst keeping the full shuffle going with the hands.
The Rosanna groove is one of the most difficult grooves to play properly. I’ve struggled with it for longer than I care to admit. I love it though. It’s probably my all time favourite drum groove.
Thnks for the great video. I guess you might say I'm a lucky guy, I went to High School with Jeff and his brothers, Lukather and even Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot fame. Jim Gordon also went to Grant, a few years earlier. Saw Jeff play with Steely Dan a few times. He and Mike left quite a legacy, my old school.
I think in the case of a lot of Toto's songs, Jeff's drumming is really hard to replicate to the sound of the recording because of the tremendous amount of production. All of the cats were studio pros so they used all the studio finesse they could to make those songs as good as possible. It is impossible to get your live drums and cymbals to sound like Jeff did on the recordings.
Thats not what we are talking about here, production has nothing to do with pocket and time or Jeff's magic ability to play the perfect parts to compliment the song .. jeff is hard to cop because he has his own unique time, you may learn the part but you won't sound like him .. his signature was silky hihats and late back beats he liked giving his 4/4 a loping feel if the track was enhanced by it
@@Diesel0807 "Thats not what we are talking about here..." . You weren't talking here. I was. Your own channel is remarkably devoid of anything....there is no you.
Very cool. That Mushanga and of course Rosanna are staples that drummers of all backgrounds recognize and love. Thank you Stephen for bringing light to these great grooves. A top ten of James Brown would also be as juicy as this episode. Greetings from Westchester NY
The kalimba sounds was made using one of Yamaha's first FM synth's, the GS-1, that came before the DX7. It was a preset machine, but Yamaha had a computer you could hook up to it and program your own sounds for it. And that's what they used.
Jeff got to play on a Pink Floyd song (“Mother”). Nick Mason was having trouble with the odd time signatures, and the band was on a really tight recording schedule. Eventually, Nick decided to call Jeff and have him record the drums, which Jeff did in one take.
Yep, and it's a bad ass drum part. Makes the song when the drums come in.
That’s really incredible. I had no idea!
No shot... really??? Thats AWESOME
You’re Right
and Money??? 7/4
Jeff's groove, feel and pocket were nothing short of impeccable. One of the best of all time
My late husband was an amazing drummer and always loved the Purdie shuffle. He was trained at the Hart school of music.
Check out his playing on the first two Les Dudek albums!
I grew up with Jeff and Mike in Sherman oaks California, played battle of the bands against him in 9th grade. We became friends in 1969 Millikan jr. High ,up until we lost touch when he got the gig with steely Dan. Still keep in touch with Steve Porcaro from time. To time Rip Jeff, Mike, Joe. We miss you all. Been playing 55 years 69 years young.😢my close friend Sam spent his birthday with Joe Porcaro back in 2019 at a jazz club in Thousand Oaks Calif. Joe was his teacher for years. Sam was devastated when he heard, the news like we all were Joe was very well loved by everyone who knew him.maybe some of you know or don’t TOTO played the the whole sound track of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and Eddie Van Halen .
Wow that's amazing! I wish I had or would have the opportunity to meet TOTO members, the Porcaros and Steve, Bobby Kimball and Joseph Williams, and David Paige. Amazing musicians!
I was there in Thousand Oaks back in 2019 at Bogies. I have footage of Joe playing with Amel Richard's and the rest of David Garfield's band that night. I talked to Joe that night and told him I was a huge fan. He was so nice to me. What a great memory.
@@paulboisvert3215 hey Paul have a picture of my friend Sam Urdank with his arm around Joe up on the stage of Boige’s wish there was a way I could send it to you. Don’t have Facebook. Just text and Email 😎
Thank you for sharing. Jeff is my hero.
David Paich was quoted in a drum magazine saying that at 12 years old Jeff was astonishing, playing better than the adults he jammed with at his father's gigs, playing almost as well as he did at 21.
Music comes from the soul. Jeff Porcaro had a beautiful soul, so the music he made was beautiful
Can't think of a drummer more deserving for Ep. 1
He's the man!
That's the problem that's so nice to have, you can't list a single "greatest ever" Steve Gadd, Bill Bruford, Ginger Baker, Max Roach.... it's impossible. Porcaro was great, but not even top 10 imo
♥️
I think Neil Peart was Episode 1.
Porcaro is my favorite.
My absolute favorite drummer of all time. Such an incredible feel…he played with such an edge that it transcended the music.
Thank you for stating the FACT that he didn't do alot of ghost notes in the beginning of Rosanna! I got flamed 6 years ago when I uploaded my version and I had a lot of people trying to wear me out over that but I could hear the lack of them in the beginning so that's what I did. Keep up the great work brother!
Dude. I saw your version years ago. I don't care what anyone else says, you nailed the shuffle. Technically AND the all important feel of it.
@@myprivateyoutube1440 Right on, thanx!! Now that I just finished my Moving Pictures covers (Tom Sawyer today) I have been thinking about redoing Rosanna now that I've been fine tuning the process for 7+ years. Thanx for the support!
Was it Jeff who uttered "amazing" on left channel on track?
In my opinion 'Georgy Porgy' has the best 4/4 basic uncomplicated groove I've ever heard and I've heard thousands.
Have a listen to Lowdown by boz scaggs, that trumps it imo
@hp2823 I know it. That's Jeff too
I could listen to Jeff play drums all day. His groove was impeccable and unmistakable
I attended a master class with Jeff Porcaro in 1990. He told us that his concept for Lowdown was Earth Wind and Fire, and he went to tape with quarter notes on the hi-hat. But Boz wanted 16th notes. What you hear is Jeff's original performance with a 16th-note hi-hat groove overdubbed.
Some years ago, a random video introduced me to Jeff Porcaro. Today, I've watched hours of interviews, live/studio playing and drum clinics. What did I learn? He was an outstanding, remarkable, one of a kind musician, colleague and human being. I'd love a movie about his life.
PS: I don't even play drums (bassist,guitarrist)
Just learned he did Dire Straits 'Calling Elvis'... Love the drums on that.
On a Brady kit no less
I’ve been trying to learn Mama by Toto but the groove that Jeff has is insane
Another fantastic Hydra track!
Now THAT'S a CLASSIC Jeff Porcaro drum groove!
Better than Rosanna in my ears, and Rosanna is really something else !!!
But really those grooves mean nothing without Jeff, his performance and his groove is impossible to repeat. Incredible drummer, to me the best.
Jeff was a fantastic drummer, but there are MANY much better than him. His beats aren't that complicated😂
@@Andrewthestagehand Hehe, maybe for some people complexity is important, however for me the groove is what counts. :) After all this is very subjective, people like different things.
@@AndrewthestagehandIf there are many that are better, then perhaps you should list all whom you think are better. I will decide for myself if you are full of shit, or not.
If you don't list anyone, then you are just taking up space, or under the age of 45, and know nothing.
FYI: “St. George and the Dragon” is from Toto’s 2nd album “Hydra.” Love this video, thanks for showing how great Porcaro’s drumming truly is.
nice job man. Bass player here, and I've loved Jeff's playing as well as other Toto members like Simon Philips for years and years. Well done!
Best drum teacher on TH-cam by far. Always entertaining and humble.
Cheers Steven.
Thanks Joe
I think... Jeff is a King of hi hats... nobody does better than Jeff in hi hats.. That groove ❤️❤️👍👍
I'd put Stewart Copeland up there at least at the same level.
I'm not even a drummer but I love Jeff
Jeff was simply brilliant...God bless..
Boy music misses Jeff’s influence in the industry as well, as we fans miss him so. I patterned my style after Jeff’s attention to the details in timing and dynamics. He is my number one drummer of all time. I also loved how cleanly he played and that was that attention to detail that I alluded too. He contributed so much to so many artist careers and to TOTO’s fans.
The musicianship of all these dudes is simply off the charts
Should have included these chains from the seventh one. Greatest groove all over the tune. And its a ballad. Long live the legacy of Jeff Porcaro.
Such a great cut.
Look, if it wouldn't have bored the majority of the population, we could have done a masterclass on his ballad playing. It's insanely wonderful.
@@StephenTaylorDrums true!
One of my favorites as well. Vinnie colaiuta flipped when he first heard that track saying it was next level at the time. So smooth and a great tune, great one of steve lukather at a good point in his playing and singing especially.
A brilliant song of Seventh one, another great example of Jeff and Mike's playing together, the bass on this track and Jeff's shuffle groove is sublime🕶️
100%
I feel like you're the Rick Beato of drumming and this is meant as an enormous compliment to you both.
Thank you 🙏🏻
Jeff Porcaro was a one of a kind drummer and person. No one plays like him. Thanks for this!
Hey Steven.
Thank you for the Rosanna version. I have often had heated discussions with students, other teachers about what and how the ghost notes are set here.
It was an incredibly annoying topic, but you have now finally put the myth ad absurdum, as I have always seen it too.
Thanks!
There’s a vid on TH-cam of Porcaro playing and teaching it.
And the bass drum pattern Jeff plays in Rosanna is a variation of the Bo Diddley beat 🤷🏻♂️ the real Bo Diddley beat is the same as the 3:2 son clave
Great episode, and Jeff definitely deserves the credit. I think you missed one of his greatest ever recordings, "These Chains". Although it's kind of slow & steady, it demonstrates incredible control, and later in the song such moving power. His complex ride, snare & tom combinations are so satisfying to the ears.
Still one of my top 5 Toto tunes, and he is why. A Toto ballad is one of the best regardless.. but this one just nails it - Jeff nails it (of course, words of a listener, not the talent of a drummer :)
One of my favorite drummers. Incredibly talented. Thanks.
I've been playing for 2 weeks now...and just love it. After looking at a lot of beginning drum video/courses....your presentations are the easiest to follow and understand. Some guys just spend an inordinate amount of time talking. Your explanations are concise and clear....then you play it. Perfect. Thank you.
So glad you like my style my friend!
There's a Sergio Mendes record called Brasileiro and in it, in my opinion, there is one of Jeff's underated masterpiece groove. The track is Lua soberana. Check it. The man phisically died but, as far I can see, he's alive and still kicking in our memory. Unforgettable Jeff.
Between Jeff and Lukather, i think they were on every album cut in the 70's and 80's lol. I always feel like Jeff is underrated simply because a lot of people only know 5 Toto songs, but there is so much more to his musical story. This series will be great and glad Jeff was episode one. I hope Carl Pamler (ELP) finds his way into this series too.
Underrated?
I agree that a lot of people don't realize his resume would still be legend status even without Toto
Porcaro does the drums on most of the tracks on the Dire Straits' album 'On Every Steet'. The drums on 'When it comes to you' are just amazing! Jeff was a boss.
I don't believe he was/is underrated by any means. From Steely Dan, Bozz Scaggs, Al Jerreau and countless others. You name it, he's played on it.
Toto has 5 songs?
@2:20 - Georgy Porgy is a dance floor classic. Played it many times as a DJ for receptive crowds. Cheryl Lyn really helped it along and I love that horn / stab percussion break down back into the groove
My favorite Jeff groove: Boz Scaggs’s “Gimme The Goods,” especially the blistering outro.
Great video. And you're 100% correct about Rosanna. There are no ghost notes on the drum intro on the original recording.
Thanks for that. Jeff is the greatest influence on my drumming. "I'll be over you" is one of my favourite Toto songs and "Farenheit" is my favourite album. Thanks for the sheet music! And thanks for all the other content you so generously provide.
Im not 100% sure, but they were may not have been named Toto back then, but they were friends in high school and were already a band way before they even started doing session work. If i remember an article I read, David Paiche got him a session/touring gig with Sonny and Cher, and from there his groove became n0torious and his session work demand skyrocketed. But I may be wrong.
Maybe already mentioned, but I'm pretty sure the cowbell on "St. George" is being played by Lenny Castro, who played percussion on most of their albums. Jeff is playing the high hat, and you can clearly hear some cool sixteenth-note flourishes in there. This is a great video, and awesome to see you pay respects to such giant talent. Just seemed worth mentioning.
I'm not a drummer..but I've been in awe of jeff since 82...still am. He was not a big guy and how he had the stamina is magical
Mushanga is an awesome groove. Gotta learn that one.
It's one of my favorites!
Jeff grew up with his dad, Joe Porcaro's influence on him. He learned the rudiments, he learned to apply his chops not to showing off or soloing but to how it would be effective and incorporated into "the song" -whichever song it was. Jeff was highly technical yet he was also very consistent and of course, as mentioned by other commentors, his time was superb and his FEEL, how he related to each song whether it was a hired gun session or Toto. Jeff never let his technical abilities get in the way of the song, he was able to incorporate them INTO the song to make the song better (case in point: Rosanna). His playing on whatever track is so "hard" because it was Jeff blending in like a chameleon to fit the feel and vibe of the song. He also brought with him a HUGE toolbox of chops, technique, feel and musical understanding. I used to own his instruction video he did around '86 or '87 on VHS. I watched it over and over (you can find it on TH-cam, I believe). Jeff is telling us where he's placing each beat, how he's accenting and then shows or tells us how he can change it up. Jeff may not have been a soloist but he was not one to mess with musically. Even the legendary Vinnie Colaiuta, who Jeff was friends with spoke of him with giant respect, as did Jeff's eventual "replacement" in Toto, the never underestimated SImon Phillips. Jeff had DEEP musical understanding, and that in part is due to him soaking up what he saw and learned from his dad. Carlos Vega was a huge Jeff fan and played in some respects very similarly to him, yet had his own style. Jeff was one of a kind. Bernard Purdie is in that same class of player. He makes it look easy but it's anything but. It's time, feel/touch, technique and musical understanding blending into one conscious or unconscious methodology.
Jeff was taught by generations of "Side-Men" which is what terrific drummers were called because they added their talent to make the dish, or the songs nearly perfect, and required in all elements of jazz, and blues.
The world's best drummers take great care to never get in the way of a wonderful piece of music, but to apply the finishing touches.
St. George and the Dragon is from Hydra (not the first album), their most underrated album. Prog rock- jazz - pop hybrid. A fantastic album and my personal favorite along with The Seventh One, which is also overlooked.
Hydra is the best Toto LP !
My youngest son is a drummer and he mastered Jeff pocaros' Rosanna last year, he found it difficult but it was so good to hear live!
I think something that goes understated about Jeff's playing is his dynamics. When he played the hi hat it was simply musical. That's the best place to start in my opinion. The grooves themselves are timeless but not necessarily the most important aspect to focus on when studying Jeff. I think listening to his playing gets you into the "why?" of drumming. The level beyond playing notes where it becomes about laser precision placement of sounds that enhances the music.
Yes, exactly, I remember watching his Star licks video and thinking: all those ghost notes he is playing in the Rosanna demo on the video are cool but don't remember hearing them all on the actual recording
You should have added These Chains...one of Jeff's juicyest grooves. He plays a similar one on Nik Kershaw's 'Walkabout' song
I was hoping someone would mention _Walkabout_ in here, obrigado! :)
Also _Breakin' Away_ by Al Jarreau features Jeff on drums and has that same feel.
@@evanjazzista I love Breakin' Away. I also love his work on Mornin', Lady Love Me (One More Time) and Cherish. And ofcourse many more songs!
Totally agree!
Also the same kind of groove in Larry Carltons song "NY LA". Check it out.
Absolutely
How about his one handed sixteenth notes on "I Keep Forgettin'"? AMAZING! Ran it down once then nailed it on TAKE 2!
Similar on Ruby Baby by Donald Fagen. Man my wrist is absolutely dead 3/4 of the way through that track! I don't get how he had so much stamina!!
Great examples of Jeff's parts. Always informative content. Love your channel, Stephen!
Thank you Kirk!
Jeff always the King a superb musician who will always be remembered 😎
Thanks for honoring Jeff! There are so many songs featuring Jeff's incredible playing...One of my faves is Gaucho by Steely Dan from the album of the same name. To me, Jeff's drumming is as sublime as the song itself.
🙏 ✌ ❤ 🎶 🌎 👏 Jeff
Gaucho drumming is for sure legendary. I just recently became addicted to that song - largely due to Jeff's groove.
It’s hard to figure out exactly where his playing is on the Gaucho LP because SD was developing the Wendel drum machine and used it all over the album in the mix with JP. At any rate, “Gaucho” is probably my favorite track of all time - crazy good!
@@SlightReturn666 😃 👍 👊
Thank you so much for honoring Jeff in this video
A good friend of mine was invited for a session by Steve and Jeff Porcaro in 1990. They did a song for Chaka Khan. He recently sent me 3 pictures from that session, they have never been published before.
Jeff Porcaro is the main reason I listened to every single song on every single Toto album with him behind the kit. I also created a massive playlist on my Spotify from not only his Toto songs but many of the other artists he drummed for as a session drummer. An incredible body of work. Thank you Stephen.
Can you please do Simon Phillips as well??
Not only because he played with TOTO. But he just a brilliant drummer.
Legend drummer covering another legend drummer... great work sir !
Thanks Matt
absolutely right ..the ghost notes start after the second verse of the song in Rosanna
Very good explanation of Jeff's style. Outside Toto, I think my favourite session of Jeff's is George Benson's 'Lady Love Me'. Of course, he played a fabulous cut on everything he worked on. Hopping from session to session with two kits. One being played, the other being set up ready for him in another studio. So the Lady Love me track is a testament to his brilliance. It's a great song for sure, but Jeff just totally makes the song into the hit that it became. He carries the groove all the way through from classic Jeff intro to the classic Jeff fills at the very end. I have many records and CDs featuring Jeff with many different artists. But for me, and in my personal opinion, that track nails his ability as a world class musician. Truly magical and sorely missed. May he rest in peace.
Rosanna is the only song I ever liked from Toto, still to this day. But I LOVE Jeff!!!! He's my favorite groove drummer.
I love Jeff’s drumming. Thank you for the bomber analysis!
You can learn so much about Jeff's style by watching him play. His grip and wrist movements are quite different to many other drummers
Ding. Ding. Ding. Your motion effects your sound. Another example of this was Charlie Watts.
How the heck do you not include and demonstrate the groove he played for, Lowdown? That's effing stunning dude.
They used over dubbing on the recording so there is a hihat pattern during the chorus during the ride part. A lot of the song has two hihat parts at once which isn’t possible to perform live
@@jacobherring6445 I can play the basic groove myself, but he doesn't even mention the song. Just dumb shit.
@@jacobherring6445Yep. Dig the hard panning. Same can be said of some of Copeland’s stuff. Stewart has straight up said there’s no way he coulda done that stuff in real time!
I like this series idea a lot! Well done! I’m glad you had Waiting For Your Love on the list, killer groove! And I love that lone, sort of out of time china/crash at the top of the keyboard solo in that song. Dead nuts correct on the Rosanna intro. Congratulations on the new studio!
so true when I first try to learn rosanna i don't here tons of ghost notes 'then while the song progresses the ghost comes more and more, i did argue that with some drummers but you know they already watch the VHS tape of Jeff teaching so i just didn't contest it .now i watch youre video thank god someon proved it thank you very much such a relief to me ,and i've been playing drums since 92' thank you man.
Love this in depth content on a great drummer. Thanks Stephen!
this series is amazing, thank you so much for it
One of my favorite performances is his drumming on Boz Scaggs, Lido Shuffle.
Jeff was an incredible drummer and an even more beautiful soul.
I believe 'S.t. George and the dragon' is from their second Album 'Hydra' and not from the first album 'Toto'. Besides that, great video!
You're absolutely right, and it's a great song.
you are right
Hell of an album. The half-time shuffle Jeff plays in "Mamma" is just perfect...
Thanks for the great history of Jeff.I love your videos.Keep it rolling.
The thing i did not heard or feel before on this subject is the real clear difference between Jeff and Simon who took over. The groove with Jeffs heavy right foot is sooo good. I did not really notice until Shannon played later and was so much closer to Jeff then Simon.
I think the Africa version played live by Shannon is the best sounding live drums of Toto so far :)
God rest Jeff, his drumming is pure magic. ✌️😙
One thing to consider is the possibility of a noise gate on the snare in Rosanna. I’ve done an experiment because of what he plays in the lesson video vs the original recording and isolated drums, and it’s very possible that it was just heavily gated to help get that tone. In my experiment I used similar tuning, mic placement and just tried to get the sound as close as possible. The gate heavily dictates the ghost notes and the slightest dB variation in the volume does effect the gates behaviour, and it really does give the same vibe as the original intro. No other drum mic picks up the ghost notes enough to cut through the gate either, oddly enough. So it is possible he did play more ghost notes then what we hear! I recommend trying it with a gate. And make sure you record WITH the gate! Not just adding it after tracking. Get the sounds right at the microphones and at the console.
So glad you included "Can You Hear What I'm Saying". Your Mushanga core groove is how I play it, though my toms are positioned more like Jeff's, and I hear rim clicks that vary, less pronounced in the beginning, and occurring more as the song builds, much like the Rosanna ghost notes, which you are correct on. A lot of the controversy on Mushanga is that the drums are so deep in the mix that you can't state with certainty what is being heard. Another difficulty on figuring out Toto is that percussion from Lenny Castro, Joe Porcaro and Jeff is all smooshed together in their sound. I would have picked "These Chains" over "I'll Be Over You", "Jake to the Bone" instead of "St. George", and "Till the End" instead of "Waiting for your Love". But I love all of those, too. And though it was more rock than groove, I always loved playing "Carmen", too. Great job!!!!!
Okay I'm at 80s baby and I love this song so I literally had to look up the drummer and I'm glad because that man got some soul that's amazing, love hold the line because of that double bass beat,and I'm in love with drums. High-hat the best sound ever!!
JEFF IS GOOOOOD DUDE!!
Adding in more ghost notes and opening and closing the hi-hat as the song develops is precisely what Bernard did on Babylon Sisters.
Thank you, thank you thank you! You finally got it right I have been having this debate and struggle and fight with people all these years about Rosanna as a matter of fact now it’s readily available that you can listen to on TH-cam listen to the isolated drum track. he starts out exactly like you said, and he slowly builds up more and more, shuffling to the point where the guitar solo portion has him switching to the bell of the ride symbol, and you literally hear him hitting twos and fours and all the rest of snare drum shuffle amazing also the way he snaps into the kicks from those rolls that start out and build up intensity right on the second beat of the never in my life. When the song came out, I threw my drumsticks out the window that nearly made me insane. Trying to figure out how we did it. Thank you for settling the argument for me.
So, I think one of his best grooves, if not a few weren't in the band, but session work. I LOVE "I Keep Forgettin'". I think it's better than most of the grooves here. The kick beat and 16th note with a change to 8th note with closed going to open hi-hat is not only amazing in sound but it's really hard.
He was just one of my favorite drummers just knew how to take a song and do the rhythm that's just so cool
The editing for this was excellent! Well done...zero wasted space
Thank you!
Thanks for clarifying the Rosanna ghost note discrepancies.
👊🏻
Awesom episode! To me (and maybe others), Jeff is on the Mount Rushmore of all time drummers. Him, Bonham, Peart and (for me) Danny Carey (Tool). Jeff’s unbelievable reach in his session career is amazing. Has played on so many well known songs over his career and his work in Toto is obviously stellar. Shame he left us so soon. Love his instructional vids and thanks for acknowledging him in this episode.
I always heard a lot of Purdie, another fantastic pocket player and master of those shuffle grooves .
Dennis Chambers and Steve Gadd also.
The example Jeff played of Rosanna in his instructional video is what he did on the second verse.
I personally love how they were sparse in the beginning, but blossomed later in the song.
It propels that second verse in a way that's unexplainable for me.
Jeff was the man! He’s used those different variants of Mushanga on some of session track like If You Before You Die by Benny Hester and others. The beginning of Jake to The Bone is a favorite Jeff groove of mine. Always loved it!
Yes I was going to mention jake to the bone. Absolutely love that song. Its like a prog/heavy rock song, all instrumental. His drumming and drum sound on that song is by far one of the best drum tracks ever. Add Steve Lukather's ripping guitar and its insane. Like a genesis song and a van halen song mixed together.
I got to study with his dad Joe and Jeff came in to a clinic. Both great people. I was so lucky to meet them.
You as well as Jeff are a fantastic drummer.
A lesser known gem is "These Chains" on Toto The Seventh One. His fab shuffle, try and pay attention to his fills up to the c-piece, the c-piece itself, and how he brings it down again to the chorus with a ritardando...(and then there's Luke's solo in the end. I whish they never faded that out)
Jeff's playing mystifies me! Sure, I get hear all the notes and what he's playing, but it's that thing in-between that you can't put your finger on which makes him sound like Jeff and no one else.
Ah yeah, the Jeff “ ghost notes”!! It’s the millisecond pause of feeling-the beat❤️😎
We do ourselves a disservice by notating music in eighth notes and 16th notes. We don’t have a way of communicating the millisecond timing that conveys feel. It really comes down to that level of precision.
If you haven't, seriously take 30 mins of your day out to watch this video of him at MIT in the late 80s. It's less about the playing, it's about the man. When he does get playing later on when someone asks him about reggae beats, he nails out the fattest groove.
th-cam.com/video/dQ6tzbKsKKk/w-d-xo.html
The shuffle rules! Thanks ST! You got the groove! JP would be proud…
Wow Awesome delivery of Jeff Pocarro💎👏💎👏💎🥁🔥🥁🔥🥁💯💯💯💯💎👏💎
Thanks for demonstrating that only Jeff Pocaro can play like Jeff Pocaro.
You bet!
The Rosanna intro ghost notes are more like Fool in the Rain, not being consistent through the whole groove but then it changes into Purdie's shuffle variation with ghosts through every triplet.
Even harder (for me as a crappyish drummer!) is the bass drum variation which I've never seen videos for during the 'Meet you all the way' part of the song whilst keeping the full shuffle going with the hands.
The Rosanna groove is one of the most difficult grooves to play properly. I’ve struggled with it for longer than I care to admit. I love it though. It’s probably my all time favourite drum groove.
Thnks for the great video. I guess you might say I'm a lucky guy, I went to High School with Jeff and his brothers, Lukather and even Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot fame. Jim Gordon also went to Grant, a few years earlier.
Saw Jeff play with Steely Dan a few times.
He and Mike left quite a legacy, my old school.
Thanks for doing this! Very helpful. Kenny
I think in the case of a lot of Toto's songs, Jeff's drumming is really hard to replicate to the sound of the recording because of the tremendous amount of production. All of the cats were studio pros so they used all the studio finesse they could to make those songs as good as possible. It is impossible to get your live drums and cymbals to sound like Jeff did on the recordings.
Thats not what we are talking about here, production has nothing to do with pocket and time or Jeff's magic ability to play the perfect parts to compliment the song .. jeff is hard to cop because he has his own unique time, you may learn the part but you won't sound like him .. his signature was silky hihats and late back beats he liked giving his 4/4 a loping feel if the track was enhanced by it
@@Diesel0807 "Thats not what we are talking about here..." . You weren't talking here. I was. Your own channel is remarkably devoid of anything....there is no you.
Very cool. That Mushanga and of course Rosanna are staples that drummers of all backgrounds recognize and love. Thank you Stephen for bringing light to these great grooves. A top ten of James Brown would also be as juicy as this episode. Greetings from Westchester NY
The James Brown drummers are just GOATS
@@StephenTaylorDrums amazing grooves quite tough to replicate without deeply studying them.
Just awesome. I'm glad you described how Rosanna is progressive with the ghost notes. Cheers!
The kalimba sounds was made using one of Yamaha's first FM synth's, the GS-1, that came before the DX7. It was a preset machine, but Yamaha had a computer you could hook up to it and program your own sounds for it. And that's what they used.
Georgy Porgy is definitely my favourite. So underrated!
St. George and the Dragon was on the second album Hydra. It’s the number two track on the album following Hydra.