Episode 16: The James Gadson Conversation

It brings us great joy to add legendary drummer and incredible human being James Gadson to The Compared To What Podcast family of conversations. Mowo! got to visit James at his home and sit with him for a little while and chat. It’s not often you get to sit down with someone that can say (very modestly we might add) that they’ve played on upwards of 500 Gold and Platinum albums. For those not familiar with James here’s a quick list of artists he has played with: Bill Withers , Charles Wright And The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band , Dyke and The Blazers , The Jackson 5 , Marvin Gaye , Paul McCartney , Beck , Lady Gaga , Lalo Schifrin , Freddie King , The Isley Brothers, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Smokey Robinson, and Frank Sinatra………quite a list right? It might even be easier to list the artists James HASN’T worked with. That list would be shorter! James is easily one of the most recorded AND sampled drummers of all time. An unmistakeable sound and feel. One of kinds actually applies when you speak of James Gadson. So many things were covered in the short amount of time we hung out. Things are not quite as they would seem when it comes to how James learned how to play drums. Drummers take notice of the story of his progression as a drummer/musician. You will be surprised to learn that James was actually not much of a pocket player until well into his late 20’s. This is an astonishing fact based on his grand master level knowledge of “the pocket”. Good things come to those who wait. We really hope you enjoy this episode. It’s a special one……and yes…..you’ll hear some rainfall in the background. It does rain in southern California after all! CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION

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