The Drum Battle

Updated on Nov 25, 2024

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Released 1960 Artists Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa Producer Norman Granz Genre Jazz		The Drum Battle(1960) Playtime(1961) Release date 1960 Label Verve by Request

Recorded September 13, 1952, at Carnegie Hall, New York City The Drum Battle(1960) Chicago...And All That Jazz!(1961) People also search for The Capitol Vaults Jazz Series

The Drum Battle – Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich at JATP (later issued as The Original Drum Battle!) is a 1960 live album by drummers Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa, recorded at Jazz at the Philharmonic in 1952 at Carnegie Hall.

Reception

Lindsay Planer writing on Allmusic wrote of the opening tracks that "While Smith drives the band, Krupa is front and center with his antagonistic percussive prodding. "Idaho" is marked with Jones' rollicking post-bop mastery as he trades solos with Smith and can be heard quoting lines from Monk before yielding to Smith. The cover of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" sparkles from beginning to end. Jones' opening flourish sets the tenure as Smith settles into a smoky lead, containing some nice syncopation and regal augmentation from Jones. ...The tempo is significantly stepped up on a cover of Benny Goodman's "Flying Home," which is full of high-spirited playing and garners a sizable reaction from the audience." Fitzgerald's performance on "Perdido" was described by Planer as "hot steppin' and definitive" and that her performance on the song featured "authority, class, and most of all, soul". Rich and Krupa's performance on "The Drum Battle" was described by Planer as a "mile-a-minute wash of profound percussion".