It is not often a jazz drummer elicits wows from metal heads. Jeff Hamilton gets wows from everybody. He plays with Diana Krall at some sky dome and he commands the band, owns the time, and dictates the essential swing feel. Similarly, at a club, say Steamers in Fullerton, CA, Jeff Hamilton owns the stage. People feel his swing because they know it's from a deep well. That swing has kept Jeff aligned with top acts of our time including Oscar Peterson, Monty Alexander, Rosemary Clooney, Ray Brown, Woody Herman, Lionel Hampton, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and the Clayton Hamilton Big Band. Hey, Hamilton even replaced the drummer's drummer, the jazz great Shelley Manne in the LA Four—those are some heavy credentials.


 






Notice the way Jeff doesn't have to blast in order that you gasp. He learned this from Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Philly Joe Jones, Papa Jo Jones, Mel Lewis, and John Von Ohlen. All of those historic jazz drummers came from an ethic that dictated you nailed it—nailed the shots, ran with breakneck tempos or painfully slow ballads. Watch how during the latter he'll fan brushes across a coated head in silk degrees, then abruptly jab with a stick that's lying in wait—invariably lodged between his legs (last we checked!). Then cool, as if nothing happened, he'll be up there dancing on the ride cymbal.

Jeff is so particular about gear he bought into a Turkish cymbal company. That's real devotion and it helps explain the wows. So does the well worn vernacular, Jeff Hamilton rocks.
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