VINNIE - The thread about Colaiuta

[Juan Expósito]

The truth must be told: Vinnie Colaiuta is a very good drummer.

[Rodge]

Who ?

[Julián Fernández]

Glad u liked it, Rodge... Vinnie is killing it the whole tune. His trademark hihat extravaganza at 1.54 is just beautiful... Is he playing 5 stroke rolls in each dotted eighth note at that point?

[Christopher]

[cristaples]

Loving the live McLaughlin track. That's gonna get me practicing. Bring on the night too!

[amoergosum]

You can see Vinnie at 5:39 >>>

[Julián Fernández]

Antonio Sanchez on Vinnie Colaiuta
Note: MD Pro Panelist Antonio Sanchez sent us the following heartfelt tribute to this past January’s Modern Drummer cover artist, but we just couldn’t fit it in print. We share it with you here.

I remember the first time I got to see Vinnie live. I was a student at Berklee in the ’90s, and he was playing at the Regattabar with John Patitucci’s band. I was also a big fan of John, so I couldn’t wait for the concert.

I recall I went to the second set, and as I was approaching the lobby of the club, the band was playing the last tune before the break. I could hear the music kind of muffled but clear enough to identify one of the most ridiculous drum fills I had ever heard in my life. The place went wild because, as you can imagine, half the audience was drummers hungry for blood—and boy, they sure got blood that night.

The set was done after that, and a bunch of my friends were slowly coming out of the club, walking in a zombie-like fashion, filled with elation and disbelief, with a hint of depression in their eyes.

The second show started shortly after I took a seat a few feet away from Vinnie’s kit. The whole set was an amazing display of chops and musicality, and I remember how after everything was said and done, a few of us drummers were hovering around Vinnie (who was casually talking to some people), just staring at his feet and hands to see if there was a sign of how he could do what he does the way he does it. We couldn’t find any anomalies that would give it away, of course. Practice, practice, practice.

I’ve been fortunate to get to know Vinnie over the years and consider him my friend. He will always be an example for all of us drummers to follow. He has set the bar so high that, lucky for us, there’s plenty to work on.

[amoergosum]

[amoergosum]

[thewikiman]

Have we got this one? Apologies if it's a repost but I don't remember seeing it here:



Audio maddeningly out of sync with picture but Keep It Greasy is such a key tune, and Vinnie seems to be loving it...