Big band drumming is unique among all the genres. Where else in the course of two one hour sets would you potentially get called upon to play classic swing style, modern jazz, Afro Cuban, Brazilian, Rock, pop, fun, reggae, hip hop and maybe even a little orchestral snare drum or free improvisation for good measure.

If there is a more wide-ranging context in which to be a drummer I haven’t come across it yet, and as music continues to evolve and grow, there will continue to be big band arrangements and adaptations of music genres we haven’t yet heard of.

The star drummers of the big band era were the first ‘big name’ drummers, and names like Chick Webb, Jo Jones, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich are spoken of with awe to this day.

The musical evolution of this period in popular music cemented the role of the modern drum set as we know it today, both in terms of components and musical functions. It is not an overstatement that were it not for the innovations of this period, the whole role of rhythm in contemporary music might be entirely different.

In short, no jazz, no drum set. Fact.

Big band music has never not been part of my life. From my earliest days I was surrounded by recordings of Basie, Sinatra, Shorty Rogers, Woody Herman and others, plus all kinds of good music on the radio. My Dad’s purchase of new audio equipment to play his recently acquired stereo recordings by the Buddy Rich Big Band when I was aged five sealed the deal. I had never heard music with such power and clarity and was immediately captivated.

During my young years big bands would be featured on television pretty regularly and the visual impact of seeing all these great big band drummers doing their thing (Buddy, Louie Bellson, Sonny Payne, Butch Miles, Kenny Clare, Jack Parnell and more besides) made me want to do it myself.

My Dad was a busy working drummer, though for most of his life he held down a day job as well. From a young age I would tag along with him when the bands he played in would rehearse, or on those occasions when groups of musicians would gather to blow through a few charts for fun. Lots of these bands had brass and sax players and the sound of the sections playing together was dramatic and exciting.

In 1977 I became aware of the Midlands Youth Jazz Orchestra, a very highly regarded young band in my local area (Birmingham, UK) which had appeared on television and radio, made records, and performed alongside some of the most well-known British jazz personalities of the time. Due to chairs being over-subscribed they had formed a ‘B’ band to accommodate surplus and developing players. I got into this band immediately and bided my time until the incumbent drummer moved on. It took about a year but this in turn taught me an important industry life lesson to be patient, tenacious, and just hang in there until your opportunity presents itself, and when it does, to be as prepared as you can possibly be.

Getting that gig afforded me huge experience, and the opportunity to develop my skills as both a team player and soloist. In addition, in a small way, I started to develop a little ‘profile’. Unbelievably by today’s standards, BBC radio used to hold an annual national big band competition, and at my first attempt in 1979 I saw off the adult competition to be awarded the Jack Parnell prize for the best drummer in the contest. This brought with it a little flurry of media interest which I enjoyed, and with the acquisition of a driving licence a couple of years later I was off rehearsing and gigging with all kinds of bands. At one point I was getting called regularly by nine different big bands and in 1982 had formed the first band of my own.

Great though all this was, back in the early-mid 1980s there were a vanishingly small number of opportunities to play big band music professionally, so pragmatism and the need to break out of the local scene steered me towards developing an ‘all-round’ skill set, with the long term aim of relocating to London. There were some truly excellent musicians in the Birmingham scene at that time (as there are today) but London had far more jazz players and opportunities to play and develop. It was and is the centre of the music industry in the UK, and another life lesson learned early on is that you have to go to where the industry is. It’s highly unlikely that the industry will come and find you unless you are very fortunate indeed. Having managed to establish myself in London after a slightly slow start, in late 1994, inspired by how many great up and coming young players I had got to know on the London scene, I felt that the time was right to have another shot at leading a big band, and so in February of ’95 we gathered for the first time to rehearse, with the public debut taking place on April 30th.

What started off as a side hustle, a bit of fun for some talented young musicians, would turn out to be the thing for which I am best known, and I consider myself hugely fortunate to have made my adolescent dreams a reality. I’m grateful to all the musicians who have played in various editions of my band from 1982 until the present day, as well as the support from record labels, the British jazz press, management, agents, festivals, promoters and some hugely dedicated behind the scenes supporters who helped make it all happen.

Our albums are still available, and at the time of writing I have another couple in the planning stages as well as further appearances with The Great Drum Show, a big band format paying tribute to the greats of big band and jazz drumming throughout history.

In addition to my own band I have had the great good fortune to play with many of the very best UK bands, and continue to take sideman gigs to this day.

These bands include the BBC Big Band, the Syd Lawrence Orchestra, the Don Lusher Big Band, the Nick Ross Orchestra, the Glenn Miller UK Orchestra, the Matthew Herbert Big Band, Back to Basie, the John Miller Orchestra, Echoes of Ellington, and countless more.

Most recently I have been busy with the Simon Spillett Big Band. Tenor saxophonist Simon leads an A-list group of UK musicians and is dedicated to recreating the seminal British big band jazz composed by and associated with British jazz legend Tubby Hayes. In 2023 I had the great privilege to produce and release the debut album by this band, and it is drumless remixes from this session that make up the playalong tracks included.

It’s never too soon to state what a band wants from its drummer.. Steady time, good feel, the ability to ‘drive’ the band as required, close attention to dynamics, knowing how to phrase with the ensemble in such a way as it make the collective timekeeping coalesce around what the drummer is doing, and perhaps most importantly, that feeling of confidence that an assured big band drummer can instil in the big band. In other words, Be The Boss!