Bernard Purdie
Which musician did
Aretha Franklin definitely NOT want missing from
the line-up when she recorded her most inspired
albums at the beginning of the seventies Who
provided the back-beat for Steely Dan's "Aja",
and for whom have Isaac Hayes, Donny Hathaway,
B.B. King, "Sweet" Lou Donaldson, Joe Cocker,
James Brown, and Hank Crawford reserved that
stool behind the drum kit? The list is
incomplete, it must be, because no other drummer
in the last three decades has seen the interior
of a recording studio as often as Bernard
"Pretty" Purdie. The legendary native of Elkton,
Maryland has laid down the beat on over 4000
albums to date.
Colleagues describe the drummer's style as the
"funkiest soul beat" in the business, and Purdie
has decidedly never limited his talents to the
realm of jazz but rather has consistently sought
out new musical experiences beyond it's borders.
He has anchored sessions with the Rolling
Stones, James Brown and Tom Jones with equal
ease and proven that - with all his attention to
precision playing - terms such as "drive" and
"GROOVE" are definitely not missing from his
vocabulary. This is certainly why his rhythms
have appeared as samples on nearly every "Acid
Jazz" record released in the past few years -
the new genre that has so successfully hosted
the renaissance of Soul Jazz.
Bernard Purdie was born June 11, 1939 in Elkton,
Maryland as the eleventh of fifteen children.
Purdie began already as a six-year-old to bang
out rhythms on improvised equipment. At 14 years
of age he purchased his first real drum set and
became the most important provider for the
family - earning his pay with country and
carnival bands. This "schooling" enabled Purdie
to "feel my way into nearly every kind of music,
'cause I had to know all styles and was never
afraid to try something new."
Purdie moved to New York in 1960 after finishing
high school and played with (among others),
Lonnie Youngblood before landing his first hit
with King Curtis. This led to his engagement
with Aretha Franklin in 1970 - the beginning of
an unparalleled career. Since then, Purdie has
been a regular guest in the studios of the stars
of Jazz, Soul, and Rock, working together with
Paul Butterfield as well as Larry Coryell, Miles
Davis, Hall & Oates, Al Kooper, Herbie Mann,
Todd Rundgren and Cat Stevens, as well as
regularly producing his own solo albums under
his own name.
Downloads
Bernard Purdie Biography
(pdf)
Bernard
Purdie Discography (pdf)
New
York
Times article on Bernard Purdie (3/09)
Audio & Video
Bernard
Purdie with Steely Dan Video
Bernard
Purdie with The Godfathers of Groove
Bernard
Purdie with Franke Cicala
Bernard
Purdie does drum clinic in Japan
"Flipity
Flop" (mp3)
"The
Okiedoke" (mp3)
"Everyday
I
Have
The
Blues"
(mp3)
Pictures
Bernard
Purdie 2015 #1
Bernard
Purdie 2015 #2
Bernard
Purdie 2015 #3
Bernard
Purdie 2015 #4
Bernard
Purdie 2015 #5
Pic
#1
Pic
#2
Bernard
Purdie Autobiography Cover 2015
Bernard
Purdie by Frankie Cicala
Artist's Website
Bernard
Purdie's Website
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