Gig Review: Three of The World's Greatest Drummers With New Zealand's Best Big Band - Oh. What A Night!

I had a time away from reviewing gigs. I regret that time. I'm trying to bring the gig review back. The gig review is special. A special thing. A chronicle. Famous people come to town. Let's remember!

The Big Drum Off 2023

Globe Theatre, Palmerston North

Tuesday, March 8

The Big Drum Off features three of the greatest drummers still alive and working, here in New Zealand to collaborate with Rodger Fox and his Big Band as part of the anniversary celebrations of 50 years of The Rodger Fox Big Band.

We were beyond lucky to see and hear the heavy metal bebop attack of session great Gregg Bissonette (Ringo Starr, David Lee Roth, Joe Satriani, Maynard Ferguson), the classic jazz dynamism of Peter Erskine (Weather Report, Stan Kenton, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan), and the flat-out funk power of Dennis Chambers (P-Funk All Stars, Santana, John McLaughlin, The Brecker Brothers).

I wrote in preview of the shows last week.

And then found myself double-booked for the Wellington show, so there was only one thing for it: In the car and off to Palmerston North in time for the big gig.

Each drummer had a 30 minute set leading the band through a range of tunes that showcased their own style and tastes, but gave plenty of space for the Big Band to feature its excellent soloists too. All three drummers are so very musical; they are or have been composers and bandleaders too. So it wasn’t just a chops-fest, it wasn’t only about funk and groove and solos. But drum-fans were delighted to have plenty of that as well of course!

Gregg Bissonette was up first, it’s his third time in New Zealand working with Rodger and the band. And Gregg is not only a phenomenal musician, but a wonderful talker, so energetic and enthused; his passion for the music – for all music – is felt at every step.

He took us back through his career, by starting with a tune he first recorded as part of his earliest of big gigs – working with Maynard Ferguson. Maynard, like Fox, was a tireless educator, bandleader and lover of the big band format. From there Bissonette was always a delight to watch, whether playing straight on an old standard, Just In Time, or throwing everything his creativity could offer at the kit, as on a funky band re-arrangement of Billy Cobham’s Stratus.

Peter Erskine was next. His approach, on a smaller kit, was to shine a light on the educational side of Rodger’s work, digging deep to find tunes that spoke to the legacy of big band work in general (Oliver Nelson, Neal Hefti) and showcasing some tasty brushwork as well as driving the band hard via ride cymbal.

Erskine, too, was a thoughtful, articulate speaker, who showed humility and gratitude.

Dennis Chambers was the final drummer for the night, and he used the microphone only once, to tell the audience how lucky it was to have Rodger Fox, something I believe we in New Zealand mostly take for granted, or just aren’t as aware as we should be. He also mentioned how thrilled he was to be here, to have this chance to collaborate.

Chambers is an absolute powerhouse. He kicked off his bracket with the Meters’ funky classic, Cissy Strut. And then rolled straight into the Santana set-closer extraordinaire, Soul Sacrifice. Tumbling around the drums, Chambers set up a psychedelic classic, which gave room for the horns and guitar to wail but allowed space for his own incredible prowess.

It wasn’t just about these three drummers either, as each brought with them the legacy of all they had learned, the masters they’d studied. So we had Bissonette tipping his hat to Billy Cobham, and offering some “Flam-tastic” Max Roach-isms in his closing solo, we had Erskine’s valuable history as teacher and player, touching on some small combo styles within the big band setting, and Chambers bringing the work of Michael Shrieve (Santana)  and Zigaboo Modeliste (The Meters) to mind just through referencing their classic cuts.

And in the final sequence, a stunning encore saw all three drummers juggling solos, passing the groove back and forth at the front of the stage. All performed seamlessly of course.

Rodger was there every step of the way, adding a couple of his trademark trombone solos, his shimmying shoulder and jittering leg-tap telling the band to keep pace. And what a band he has. Still. Over 50 years, some of the country’s greatest players have served time in this group, and the current line-up sounds as good as it ever has in the quarter century that I’ve been attending their shows.

What a night!

There are remaining shows tonight in Wellington and then to Christchurch, Auckland and Hamilton.

Don’t miss out!

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