The Best Jazz Drummers Of All Time Ranked

The origin of the word jazz has resulted in considerable research, and its history is well documented. It is believed to be related to jasm, a slang term dating back to 1860 meaning “pep, energy”. The earliest written record of the word is in a 1912 article in the Los Angeles Times in which a minor league baseball pitcher described a pitch which he called a “jazz ball” “because it wobbles and you simply can’t do anything with it”. The use of the word in a musical context was documented as early as 1915 in the Chicago Daily Tribune. Its first documented use in a musical context in New Orleans was in a November 14, 1916, Times-Picayune article about “jas bands”.^[11] In an interview with National Public Radio, musician Eubie Blake offered his recollections of the slang connotations of the term, saying: “When Broadway picked it up, they called it ‘J-A-Z-Z’. It wasn’t called that. It was spelled ‘J-A-S-S’. That was dirty, and if you knew what it was, you wouldn’t say it in front of ladies.” The American Dialect Society named it the Word of the 20th Century. Here are all of the best Jazz Drummers of all time ranked.

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20. Jimmy Cobb

“This Washington, DC, drummer’s long and impressive CV reads like a Who’s Who of jazz. Alongside stints playing with John Coltrane, Cannonball Adderley, Wes Montgomery, and Joe Henderson, Cobb also famously drummed for Miles Davis, appearing on the trumpeter’s iconic 1959 LP, Kind Of Blue. Able to blend power with sensitivity, Cobb also knew how to swing with aplomb.”

19. Vinnie Colaiuta

“Vinnie is the drummer’s drummer and the most versatile drummer of today. Vinnie Colaiuta can’t be classified as a jazz drummer because he is a category for himself. Over the years, he recorded more than 600 albums, singles and movie scores. He played with two of the greatest jazz pianists of our time, Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea.”

18. Philly Joe Jones

“Philly Joe Jones is best known for his work in the Miles Davis’ first great quintet . He performed and recorded prolifically with this project during the late 50s alongside Red Garland on piano, John Coltrane on saxophone and Paul Chambers on bass . He went on to record more than a dozen albums as bandleader which featured, amongst others, Jimmy Garrison , Pepper Adams , Ron Carter , Nat Adderley and Dexter Gordon.”

17. Sid Catlett

“Indiana-born Catlett first made his name in the 30s, working with Benny Carter and Fletcher Henderson before landing in Louis Armstrong’s group in 1938. Despite his association with swing jazz, Catlett proved to be a versatile musician and successfully made the transition to bebop by playing with Dizzy Gillespie’s groundbreaking band in 1945.”

16. Paul Motian

“Philly-born Motian came on the radar of jazz aficionados due to his presence in the Bill Evans Trio in the 60s, and later played with another influential pianist, Keith Jarrett. An accomplished master of subtlety, restraint, and delicate colorization, Motian could etch vivid pictures with his rhythm tracks.”

15. Dennis Chambers

“The one of the technically most advanced drummers ever lived. Many drummers such as Dennis Chambers still mention Tony Williams as one of the biggest influences. Still, up to this day, his approach to playing ride cymbals it’s been studied. Tony Williams played with Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Sonny Rollins. He recorded more than 400 studio albums and singles.”

14. Chick Webb

“Nowadays remembered as the bandleader who launched Ella Fitzgerald’s singing career, Webb was also an innovative and influential drummer before his untimely death, at the age of 34, in 1939. He was a major proponent of the swing style that became hugely popular and dominated jazz in the 30s and early 40s.”

13. Steve Gadd

“A versatile drummer who can play anything from straight-ahead jazz to fusion, rock, R&B, and pop, Rochester-born Gadd is perceived as the drummer’s drummer. Combining technical brilliance with an innate groove awareness and an intuitive feel for what a song requires in rhythmic terms, Gadd prefers to play the role of consummate team player rather than spotlighted soloist.”

12. Dave Weckl

“Dave Weckl recorded over 160 albums, singles and movie scores. Similar to Vinnie, Dave is more than a versatile drummer, but most of his work, at least in the last 15 years, is in jazz. He played in one of the best fusion jazz bands of our time, Chick Corea Elektric Band. Dave has a lot of free material on his Youtube channel so go check it out.”

11. Max Roach

“Roach emerged in the late 40s as one of bebop’s first significant drummers. One of his chief calling cards was using the ride cymbal to emphasize the rhythmic pulse, which was an innovation that brought fluidity and a more subtle type of swing to jazz. He grew to become an expressive sticksman – one of the best jazz drummers in history – who would use his drum set to create contrasting tonalities to underline different elements of a song during a performance.”

10. Art Blakey

“Art Blakey is also one of the drum icons from the 50’s He played with many jazz legends like Bud Powell, Sonny Rollins and Coleman Hawkins. He was most known for his work with The Jazz Messengers, which created a new sound in jazz music that would be crucial to developing hard bop styles and post-bop styles. Still, many jazz drummers mention Art Blakey as one of the biggest influences.”

9. Tony Williams

“Though small in stature, Tony Williams was undoubtedly one of the true giants of jazz drumming. At 17, he was playing with Miles Davis and quickly became regarded as a trailblazer with his intricate patterns and deft rhythmic displacements. He was supremely versatile too – as well as straight-ahead jazz he could play fusion and rock with consummate ease.”

8. Roy Haynes

“Roy Haynes – whose nickname, Snap Crackle, was purportedly an onomatopoeic approximation of his unique snare drum sound – began as a hard bop drummer in the early 50s before demonstrating that he could play any kind of jazz, even avant-garde, with panache. A master of musical magic.”

7. Jack DeJohnette

“Apprenticed first to Charles Lloyd, then Bill Evans and Miles Davis, Boston-born DeJohnette is an eclectic drummer who can adapt to, and seems comfortable with, any stylistic setting in jazz. His style, which seamlessly combines elements from free jazz, bop, world music, R&B, and rock, is singular and supremely eloquent”

6. Louie Bellson

“Louie is also one of the best jazz drummers from the ’50s. By just watching a few seconds of any of his videos, it is easy to notice he is a jazz giant and technically a very advanced drummer. Alongside Gene and Buddy, he was one of the most popular drummers of his time. Loui played with Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Harry James and others. Unfortunately, many of his materials burned in Universal fire back in 2008, but you can easily find his classic jazz albums such as The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson and the Jazz Ballet.“

5. Antonio Sánchez

“One of the most intelligent drummers I’ve ever heard. Such vocabulary, creativity, clarity, control, and musicality. Every time I hear/see him play, is revelation. His approach to drum soloing is smart and easy to understand.”

4. Billy Cobham

“Panama-born Cobham played with Horace Silver and Miles Davis before finding notoriety in the early 70s as the Herculean drummer in jazz-rock behemoth Mahavishnu Orchestra. With his mountainous drum kit – which featured double bass drums and a giant gong – Cobham’s thunderous, overtly physical style was fusion’s answer to Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham.”

3. Gene Krupa

“Gene Krupa is generally cited as the jazz drummer who brought the traps out front as a solo instrument. Without his innovations and leadership, there would be no other star drummers – no Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson, Max Roach, Frankie Dunlop, Chico Hamilton, Mel Lewis, Elvin Jones, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, etc., etc. (As a matter of fact, Buddy Rich, a close friend, called Gene the “beginning and end of all jazz drummers.”) Gene was either at the top or close to the top of the public’s favorite jazz drummers for several decades, especially during his first decade of stardom (1935-45) and was a beloved figure amongst other jazz drummers – in fact, other jazz musicians- for his entire professional life. He influenced all who came after him.”

2. Elvin Jones

“Jones rose to fame with John Coltrane’s groundbreaking quartet in the early 60s and immediately distinguished himself by the kinetic forcefulness of his drumming. As well as brute power, he possessed subtlety and knew how to construct a nuanced rhythm track that flowed and was acutely attuned to the needs of a song.”

1. Buddy Rich

“There is not enough words to express the greatness and superior drumming of buddy rich. Whether he was playing a small venue night club or huge arena or jazz festival he gave you more than a hundred percent. Many drummers claim to play like buddy rich. But there was only one buddy rich. Like Gene Krupa said many many times buddy rich is the greatest drummer to draw breath. That statement by gene Krupa still holds true today”