In this episode of Shaping Your Journey, Bill Bruford discusses his long and historic career beginning with Yes, King Crimson, to Genesis, Earthworks and many other diverse projects along the way.
From the first moment that I heard Bill play on record, I knew his style was something completely different from anything that I had ever heard before. Bill and some of his other percussionist contemporaries are responsible for me giving up on the drums. That's not a bad thing, I just knew that I would never be able to attain their level of technical excellence. I have remained a big music fan all of my life. I remember standing at stage left watching "Bruford" playing at the Pretzel in Montreal. When Bill was introducing the band members, Jeff Berlin received a very large ovation; the look on Jeff's face was one of surprise and pure joy. Over the years, pure joy is what many of us feel when hearing Bill and his many band-mates perform.
Despite the acclaim that he has received somehow I still think that he is underrated...for me he is one of the best of all time...and a huge influence as well...
I emailed Bill a while ago through his website with pretty much the same thoughts, and he did me the great honour of responding with humble thanks! I'm never washing that email again, as they say.
Bill is the classic self-made drummer. He researched, practiced, experimented, etc. There are a load of drummers who are technically superior, but there is only one Bill, a real self-stylist.
My all-time favourite drummer/percussionist and I love him for his for his signature sound AND always profound and interesting reflections on music and the music biz!
Back in the early 70s, Yes and Bill came to me out of nowhere. A friend played me The Yes Album and i instantly became a fan. While all the rest of the rock bands and drummers seemed to be busily trying to make pop records based on R&B and country, Yes was exploring new sounds and beats. Bill's approach to playing was a refreshing addition to that.
I believe the band whose name you couldn't recall was Gentle Giant. Besides breaking out their classical instruments they were known for their vocal gymnatics within their music, At this point , I have to get back to this interview. I believe early Yes ,with Bill went to see King Crimson in concert, As the story went , they looked at each other and felt they better get back and get better.
One thing I took from this interview is that Bill Bruford thinks about music, life, and philosophy quite differently than most people. Just like his drumming.
You are absolutely correct and his overall view of drumming as just one part of his life parts is refreshing .The fact that he stopped playing drums at the top of his game and went onto getting a Phd in something else that he felt important to him with regret nor excuse is interacting and a thing to really respect
Doctor Bruford. Always an inspiring Master of the Art. One of the greatest achieving drummers ever, over there along with Giants like Colaiuta, Williams, Cobham et al.
Thank you for watching. I am also happy that we have the undeniable opportunity to have such great minds share their thoughts with us as well document the craft for future inspiration .
Fabulous dialog… Follower of you SIr Bruford since the 70’s…. “Yes”, “Genesis”, “King Crimson”… all amazing works. “One of A Kind” was your watershed piece for me… Holdsworth opened more doors than imagined. Earthworks after that, stretched me more… Thank you for using your God given talents to produce music with excellence!
Bruf's work with Crimso and his Bruford band are my favorites. The first UK was also great. Saw him live a few times at The Bottom Line in NYC back in the day. Love his style!
I agree with Bill… creative technical writing is very hard. Congratulations on your doctorate, I can tell you are very proud of this accomplishment, and the creative outlet that it enables.
Thanks for the interview Aldo. I've been a fan of Bill since I first heard his recordings in 1972. I was saddened to hear several years back of his retirement from performing new works, so it was good to hear him talk of that and his other insights.
Thank you for watching …and your kind comments ..Bill is such a creative drummer with clever insight.He reminds me in some ways of my friend Neil Peart who left us way too soon
@kosamusic the only time I got to see YES live was the tour after Bill had left the band. No offense to Mr. White but I sorely missed the snap, finesse and uniqueness of Bill's creativity. I did get to see him live in a small theater with King Crimson on his next adventure after YES. He was mesmerizing musically and visually. His setup was a drum kit and a couple of other percussion arrays. He was up and down and back and forth for a 3 hour show. Couldn't take my eyes off him. I'm pretty sure there were other people in the band that night.
The first time I heard Bill's drumming was such a rush. He really made Yes and they floundered (as far as I'm concerned) after he left. Great to hear that he is now Dr Bruford. Amazing. This interview is full of insight about music - and life.
What Bill bruford talks about drumming and how it fits into music there is the part of immersing yourself in the history and music culture of drumming from around the world plus technical skills of rudiments etc and once you have a understanding of that then it's about individual art without competition or pre conceived emotions of how to approach any type of music stay in the moment and you won't repeat yourself
Bill is great story teller ... love listening to his stories ... his biography is fun reading or listening ... not to mention his drumming, .... just was listening to King Crimson The great deceiver ... it s basically live and Bill s playing is so intense and rocky .. I just love it ...
I don't think you'll see this Mr. Bruford , but non the less I will take this time to say something that I've been wanting to say somewhere somehow for a long time. In my heart ( and I'm sure Countless others ) having discovered what you were doing with yes after having heard many really good Mainstream drummers , what you did with yes impacted us forever In ways like non before and more than you'll ever know . Your personal journey and body of work that went way beyond yes is really Fascinating . But in our hearts Yes is like it's own genre and for us , you are " yes " You'll always be
It's always a pleasure to discuss the art of drumming/music in such a creative exploring manner by people with vast experiences. The connection with the idea of human unity is a amazing reward and compensation for the less pleasant aspects of the music business. Great interview by both participants, part 2?
Thank you for your kind comments Bret. It is such a pleasure having conversations about the personal process and experience especially since it comes from folks who lived it ,shaped it and share it. It is interesting to explore this human experience as we stand “on the same side” and speak our thoughts for the sake of inspiration in the historical and sociological context….thank you for watching and join me further as the conversations continue with more brilliant minds …to be continued !
Music artists in the AAA list, the upper echelons, the timeless elite, would include the Beatles, Elvis, the Stones, Led Zep, Hendrix, and so on. Bill Bruford is in the AAA elite of drummers.
Thank you for watching my podcast …more interesting ones coming ! And thank you so much for the compliment …this is so much fun … fyi i am now inviting some of my guests to actually play a solo on my podcast theme so we make each episode a little more personal :)
Magnífica charla con un caracter tremendamente filosófico 👍...hacen falta más entrevistas de este nivel de pensamiento. BRAVO. En cuanto a Bill, solo decir que es único, con una de las carreras más sólidas del mundo musical...
@@aldomazza6809 Te sigo desde hace tiempo...aparte de tu brillante trabajo como percusionista y baterista, como pedagogo y entrevistador eres fantástico. He visto a Mark Gulliana, Walfredo de los Reyes, y ahora a Bill... Enhorabuena.
Mille gracias Antonio. Este podcast es un gran placer hacer…y estoy organizar hacer una seria en Espagnol, Francais y Italiano… ya ho terminado mi podcast con Giraldo Piloto,Horacio Hernandez y Ruy Lopez Nussa en Cuba :)
Yes, it was Gentle Giant ..the name escapes me at the moment …thank you for watching ..and subscribing to the podcast …more interesting conversations coming up :)
After Yes, I first hear Bill's technique in a live track, "Under a Sheltering Sky", from Live in Frejus, in the early 80s. He plays a seemingly simple, metronomic rhythm on a portable drum set, and it's just a hypnotic, mesmerising experience that anchors the rest of the track. It's so conceptually simple that it needed a genius to make it work perfectly, without a microsecond of error or off-tone.
Iain , thank you for sharing , Bill often made what he played look and sound easy but his approach of “descriptive simplicity ‘ was the craft of a master ..watching also his drum duet playing with Phil Collins in Genesis is another example…he just released his 6 cd collection and a book that sums up his genius..thank you for watching :) more podcast episodes coming
@@kosamusic Yes I've watched the clip Los Endos with Bill and Phil numerous times and it's just magic. Unfortunately, Bill is not pictured all that often, but you can hear the 2000 bpm in the background, as Phil smashes the skins like a gorilla in a Cadbury ad! A masterclass of duo drumming.
I'm a bit fed up with the "underrated" comments at large pertaining to whomever. Underrated by whom? The critics? Not drafted in the hall of fame? We, the lovers of whosoever's music are the real critics. We love them or not. The fact that we're here, listening, enjoying is the vote of confidence, the ultimate rating and the one that really matters.
Interesting discussion on the difference between commercial music now and what it was in the 60's. Bottom line is all the major labels are now run by non musical bean-counters and they are only interested in one thing: guaranteed sales - they have recklessly gutted, or completely removed their A&R departments and now demand that new artists NOT be creative, but rather sound as close to known sales makers as possible, they have ZERO interest in expanding current musical boundaries. Result is the "dumbing down" copy-of-a-copy of music ...and that, at least in major labels: The artist has been replaced by the artisan
My Mom would always say to me "Don't give me a Song and Dance". Unecessary complaining or excuses. Long and drawn out in length, with seemingly no end in sight.
Of course yes did Simon and Garfunkel's version of America. Emerson Lake and Palmer were the ones that did Bernstein's version of America or should I say the nice did😮
At 42:50; "I didn't listen to progressive rock when I moved to jazz." Well Dr. Bruford I would argue that you NEVER really and truly "moved to jazz." Earthworks was BARELY EVER a true jazz group. Yes, Earthworks may have moved closer and closer to being true jazz, but it never really completely was. Also, your actual drumming was never truly jazz drumming, EVER. Stop referring to yourself as a jazz drummer/musician, you aren't and never were. Ironically, one of the final frontiers for you as a musician would have been to do a recording in a trio or quartet format with upright bass, and maybe piano, and tenor saxophone playing STANDARD JAZZ REPERTOIRE. Guess what Dr., you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time out on a record or gig. Ok? An area of uncharted musical territory for you, or what you refer to as "what comes next," would of and could have been playing straight up jazz gigs in a small band setting playing STANDARDS. Let's hear that from you, then you may have more credibility in referring to yourself as a "jazz" musician. And yes Dr., that's means playing BLUES. Until then, you aren't really a jazz musician because like it or not Dr. jazz WAS INVENTED in America by African Americans, and if one NEVER demonstrates a high level of understanding and assimilation of those fundamental jazz vernaculars developed at jazz's inception (BLUES, Bebop, Modal playing etc) YOU AIN"T A REAL FKIN JAZZ MUSICIAN. These core fundamental languages which DEFINED and initially codified Jazz improvisation (as opposed to European improvisational music for instance) are a crucible and rite of passage for ANY jazz musician, and you Dr. are not exempt from this.
@@spankduncan1114 Why don't you read my comment more closely...... Earthworks BECAME more of a jazz group right at the end of it's existence, and even then it wasn't great jazz. Got it? Bill Bruford really was NEVER a JAZZ drummer. He desperately wanted to be, but really never was.
I hate these fake backgrounds that make it look like the person is surrounded by ectoplasm! Just put the fracking person in front of a REAL bookcase or something - anything. This looks like crap and is the height of laziness! Not to mention distracting & cheesy. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ectoplasm_(paranormal)
