Track 12 The Buddy Rich Band MEXICALI NOSE from the videotape BUDDY RICH MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP CONCERT TAPE FOUR The Buddy Rich Band Neil Peart - drums

April 8, 1991 Live at the Ritz, NYC DCI Music Video VH082 2:48

In 1991, Buddy Rich's surviving daughter, Cathy, arranged for Neil to perform at one of the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concerts. Not one to approach this half-heartedly, Neil studied the way Buddy played and thought, attempting to do justice to the master's work.

Steve Says

Ah, some real big band music. Great stuff. It was largely due to his dissatisfaction with his performance at the Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert that Neil became determined to do more. This eventually led to his producing Burning For Buddy, volumes 1 and 2. At the Scholarship Concert Neil performed One O'Clock Jump, Mexicali Nose and Cotton Tail. For Burning For Buddy, Neil is featured in a revamped studio performance of Cotton Tail. (He also has a percussion credit on Pick Up The Pieces). For Burning For Buddy Volume 2, Neil revamped One O'Clock Jump. The only recording of Neil playing Mexicali Nose is this performance at the Scholarship Concert.

Tape 3 features Neil on One O'Clock Jump.

Tape4 has Mexicali Nose & Cotton Tail.

Vol 1 has Cotton Tail (& Pick Up The Pieces).

Vol 4 has One O'Clock Jump.

Quote

"Well I always saw him on a heavenly rank. There are all the good drummers in the world, of which there are so many, and then I just took it for granted that Buddy Rich was up there. That was one of the special things about this opportunity. Not only was it wonderful to be at all associated with the name of Buddy Rich, but to have a chance to play with a big band at last after all these years and to mark my 25th anniversary with such a big challenge, which it was to me..............But I thought the greatest tribute to the music, and certainly the biggest challenge to me would be if I [were] to play the songs exactly, as close as I am able, to the way Buddy did. So in learning the way he played, I soon found that trying to figure out how he played was not the point. I had to figure out how he thought. I mentioned to Cathy [Rich] a couple of weeks ago that I really felt that I'd been wandering around inside the brain of Buddy Rich, which is an amazing place to be. Just the way he thought about his playing, I think that's refreshed my whole interest in drumming, preparing for this event. I hadn't really studied anybody else's drumming that closely for many years."Neal from Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert Tape 3

"I'm very fortunate that the band I'm in plays exactly the music that I like to play and I think it's why we're still together after sixteen years. I think all of that is really special and I'm glad that I followed the course musically and that it's led me into that channel, but at the same time I'm really glad to have this opportunity to play a music that was in my blood before I even picked up a pair of drumsticks."Neal from Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert Tape 4

"...And things have changed a lot in modern music. Music is recorded to metronomes so you get used to hearing perfect metronomic time or else...so much popular music is done to drum machines. And a lot of times when I listen to old jazz records, even with the best of musicians there's an average time situation that happens among the musicians. And speeding up and slowing down was an organic part of the way it breathed. But with Buddy there was no question. It was like a metronome. He'd go off into a drum break and come back in and ... it was just perfect. Stunning. Not only astoundingly precise technique, but a sense of time that was superhuman."Neal from Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert Tape 4

"Anything you take for granted you assign a role. You say, 'ok, Buddy Rich is the best drummer in the world.' You don't re-examine it. You just accept it as a reality and I think I went through many years just accepting it without ever having to go back to the records or re-exam that opinion basically. And having the opportunity to do that has ... It was astonishing just how good he was."Neal from Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert Tape 4

Tidbits

There have been many Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concerts (not to be confused with the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert of 1988 Carnegie Hall).

The DCI Music Video series of Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concerts consists of 4 tapes and a highlight tape. Tape 1 and 2 are from the October 14, 1989 Scholarship Concert. Tape 3 and 4 are from the April 8, 1991 Scholarship Concert. The highlight tape is an overview of tapes 1 and 2.

A company called DRUMTV produced 2 tapes of the 1993 Scholarship Concert and, oddly enough, decided to call them "The Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert Series Tapes 5 and 6".

Where To Find It

"The Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert", Video Series at The Collective Proshop.

Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert Vols. 3 & 4 at CD Now.

"Mexicali Nose" from Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship Concert Tape Four

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