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Gene Krupa

 

Gene KrupaEugene Bertram Krupa, born January 15 1909 to a polish immigrant family on Chicago's South Side, arguably achieved greater fame to the man in the street, than any other drummer.

Despite the greater speed and techniques of such wonder technicians as Buddy Rich and Louis Belson, who came after him, it was Krupa who captured the imagination of the fans. That is not to imply that he was necessarily the best drummer around (whatever that means) or the fastest, as if that were important, or the most technically gifted. In fact, valid arguments could be put up for Big Sid Catlett, Chick Webb or Lionel Hampton, all exceptionally talented players.

In Gene's case it was a combination of circumstances that propelled him into the public eye in the mid 1930s. He was white, (important in an age in which racial prejudice was rife) he was good looking, he was a great showman, with an intense driving beat that came straight out of New Orleans from people such as Baby Dodds, Zutty Singleton and Tubby Hall. This was further fashioned by the dynamite drumming of Chick Webb

Chicago in the 1920s was a thriving centre of New Orleans Jazz. King Oliver's Creole Band with Dodds, Carroll Dickerson's Band with Singleton and a host of other hot combos were to be found all over the city. Young Gene may at one time, have been destined for the priesthood (he was a devoutly religious man, according to those who worked with him), but Jazz was his real vocation.

Gene was in good company, hanging around with fellow drummers George Wettling and Dave Tough. The three percussionists had the same influences, but each achieved a clearly identifiable sound of his own.

Prior to these three musicians, Jazz drumming by white and in some cases black drummers, who were not New Orleans born and bred, had very little going for it. The urgency and drive of Tony Sbarbaro of the Original Dixieland Jazz Band was not to be found in the riki-tick rhythms of Bix Beiderbecke's Wolverines, Red Nichols Five Pennies, Adrian Rollini's Goofus Five or Paul Whiteman's lumbering ensemble.

Chauncey Morehouse and Vic Berton who graced many of these recordings may have been good percussionists, but they did not speak the language of Hot Jazz. Their accompaniment consisted mainly of cumbersome choked cymbal beats that served only to break up the rhythm instead of laying it down. By 1927, Krupa had become part of a group of young Jazz nuts known as the Austin High School Gang.

This group included Joe Sullivan, piano, Bud Freeman, saxophone, and guitarist/banjoist and fixer, Eddie Condon. Condon and vocalist / comb player, Red McKenzie managed to secure a record date for the band which recorded under the name of McKenzie & Condon's Chicagoans. It was on this date from December 1927 that the first recordings of the style that became known as Chicago Style were cut.

Significantly, it is the sound of 18 year old Krupa's drums which define the style more than any other factor. Jazz historians have long believed this to be the first session on which a full drum kit was used. This is not the case, Baby Dodds had recorded with a full kit some months earlier, and it is my belief that Tony Sbarbaro, with the ODJB, used a bass drum and toms on the London recordings by this band in 1919. It was, however, usual for drummers to record only with snare drum, blocks and cymbals, due to the problem of vibrations upsetting the early recording equipment.

The state of drumming in Jazz in the mid 1920s had been laid down by Dodds and a little later Singleton. It was essentially a parade beat made up of press rolls. There are various different ways of rolling on a snare drum and drummers certainly varied the approach. However the basic method for an up tempo tune was to play four even beats with the right hand whilst rolling the left stick across the snare drum on beats two and four.

The bass drum would play either two beat (beats one and three) or four beats and often a combination of the two. This is an over simplification, as the great Parade drummers were using a great variety of accents which added colour to their drumming.

In Jazz bands, woodblocks and cow bells were used. The blocks, in the case of Baby Dodds, provided a constantly shifting rhythmic pattern, using a combination of triplets, single and double strokes, flams and paradiddles.

Cymbals were not played open, but choked or muffled by holding the left hand and stick under the instrument while striking it with the right.

Hi-Hats were not around until the mid 1920s, pioneered by Vic Berton, who it was claimed invented the instrument.

No one had thought of riding the cymbal to give that "ten to ten" sounding swing rhythm that is obligatory in every Jazz band today. This rhythm most likely came from the washboard players in the 1920s. Krupa's drumming on the Condon sides is obscured by an over recorded and enthusiastic double bass of Jim Lannigan, but he played press rolls in the manner but he played press rolls in the manner of Dodds and Singleton, using rim shot punctuations, plus cymbal accents. The ride out is driven by an off beat tom tom in the same manner as used by Dodds - and by Andrew Hillaire on Jelly Roll Morton's "Black Bottom Stomp".

"Indiana" with Condon's Quartet gives a first glimpse of Krupa the soloist - albeit briefly. He also can be heard using brushes on this track, during Joe Sullivans's piano solo.

In 1929 Gene was featured on an unusual session by the "Mound City Blue Blowers". Led by Red McKenzie, blowing a comb and paper, this all star ensemble included Pee Wee Russell, Coleman Hawkins and a young Glenn Miller. Krupa is well recorded and the interplay between the snare rim shot and cow bell is in evidence, together with a rim shot ride out.

A well constructed four bar drum break can be found in "After You've Gone" (1930) with the augmented "Red Nichols Five Pennies". Here we have Krupa, the developing drummer, much more in control of the instrument and already displaying a considerable technique as he uses a combination of single strokes and paradiddles played between snare, tom and cowbell.

With the same band we hear, what is believed to be the first example of open ride cymbal, played behind Nichol's solo on "China Boy". The open ring of the cymbal can be clearly heard on this clip. Listen for the rim shot just before the end of the solo - another GK trade mark that was to be put in practice with the Goodman band a few years later.

The ride cymbal was to become the standard tool of the Jazz drummer from the late 1930s onwards, replacing the snare drum as the principal instrument in the drummer's time keeping armoury. Did Gene discover this technique, or was he just an early practitioner? My guess is that he got it from Zutty Singleton, who can be heard using the ride cymbal on Jelly Roll Morton’s trio recordings in 1929.

By 1932, Krupa was playing in dance bands, and must have relished the odd Jazz recording date, such as a memorable session by the Rhythmakers, which featured the wonderful New Orleans trumpeter, Henry Red Allen and the unique Pee Wee Russell.

Gene's style at this point is very similar to Zutty Singlton's, who was on the later sides by the band. Listen to Zutty's solo on "Who Stole The Lock" in the sound clip section below. Gene gets a break on "Bugle Call Rag", of which there are two takes. Compare the difference between the two.

In 1933, Gene took part in several recording sessions by the early Benny Goodman Orchestra, including the first session by Billie Holliday. Krupa's drums are best captured on a session recorded under the pseudonym of Bill Dodge and his Orchestra. The opening bars are played on the hi-hat. For the middle 8 bars of the first chorus the rhythm is transferred to the snare drum press roll. Note the two rim shots just before the close of the clip. This is played by striking the left stick with the right, and is a frequently used Krupa trademark.

In 1935 Gene led a band, drawn from the Goodman Orchestra, for a recording session. "The Last Roundup" is a good example of the Chicago come Swing style, with Gene again taking an interesting break.

This was the period of the first Benny Goodman Trio recordings, with Teddy Wilson on piano. It was at this time that Krupa the soloist started to emerge. Until Chick Webb came on the scene and soloed on "Don't Be That Way" in 1934, the drummer had mainly been allocated the occasional break.

Webb used triplets to great effect. Krupa, who would have been well aware of the little giant of the drums by that time, had obviously absorbed what he heard and created his own reaction to it.

The trio recording of "China Boy" is played on wire brushes throughout. Gene's technique on the brushes mimics his press roll rhythm, except that the left hand drags the brush across the drum head. This gives a lighter sound. For colour, shuffle beats are inserted. His solo starts with the brushes playing straight time, building, eventually into a fast triplet rhythm, which concludes with the full stop of a bass drum beat.

With Lionel Hampton (vibes) added in 1936, the trio became a quartet. Gene's technique at this time was extremely well developed, and he was able to play at ridiculously fast tempi. When playing with sticks, it sounds like the press roll with the left hand is shortened. The solo on "Ding Dong Daddy" is probably the fastest on record to that date. Listen to the way the tension builds, starting with the rim shot cowbell figure and building into a rapid fire snare / tom / cymbal solo, utilising a wide variety of drum rudiments, including single and double strokes and paradiddles.

During the 1930s, Krupa heard records of Zulu Natives in the Belgian Congo. Absorbing these sounds and blending them with Dodds (who was the closest of the New Orleans drummers to that African root) Gene created the work which firmly put him on the map. "Sing Sing Sing" was a combination of two songs, one composed by trumpeter, Louis Prima and the second, “Christopher Columbus”, by saxophonist, Chu Berry.

It was Krupa's pounding tom tom beat which made this a hit. Gene was given a large amount of solo space on toms throughout the piece, which on the commercially released record, took up two sides of a 12inch 78rpm disc. When the band came to play at Carnegie Hall in January 1938, it was "Sing Sing Sing" that was the highlight of the concert.

The beat is fairly simple, echoing the African influence. It is constantly moving. Gene moves between snare, high hat and toms creatively and dynamically, building the tension behind each soloist.

The Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Concert remains a masterpiece of 20th century music. It was the peak of the band's career to date, but it fell apart within weeks. Goodman, jealous of the applause his star drummer was attracting sought to diminish Gene solos. Eventually, after a famously reported row, Gene left to form his own Orchestra.

Before leaving the Goodman period, it is worth examining two further examples from this classic Carnegie Hall concert. "Sensation" was an attempt to recreate the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, and Gene obviously studied Tony Sbarbaro. Listen to the sharp snare work and the exciting rims. This is Dixieland drumming at its best. "Swingtime in the Rockies" is a real raver - with Gene driving the band (and the audience) into a frenzy.

The most noticeable thing about the Carnegie Hall concert is that the drums were captured live, without the usual restraint put on Gene by the whims of a recording engineer. They sound full bodied and real. For sure the bass drum is loud and heavy - but that is what bass drums sounded like in those days. Modern audiences are used to bass drums that are dampened, with more of a thud than a note. Gene came out of Baby Dodds - Baby's bass drum always sounded loud.

The first Krupa Orchrestra was a good swinging unit, but with its leader being the only outstanding soloist. By 1941 with the arrival of trumpeter Roy Eldridge and vocalist Anita O'Day, the orchestra raised its game. Gene was, by this time a big star and had started to get spots in the movies, such as Ball of Fire, which starred Gary Cooper and Barbara Stanwyck.

At the height of his fame he was arrested on a trumped up drugs charge and jailed. The rebuilding of his career started with him rejoinging Goodman for a short while. A spell with Tommy Dorsey followed

In 1944, Eddie Condon secured a series of broadcasts on the Blue Network, which were straight no-holds-barred Jazz shows. Gene was a frequent guest, always delighting the crowds with his explosive solos.

The Gene Krupa Orchestra was re-formed and developed stylistically. Be-Bop had arrived. Gene, ever the forward looking musician, tried to keep up. Gradually he came to rely less on the snare drum for time keeping and more on the ride cymbal. With his trio however, which featured tenor saxophonist, Charlie Ventura, the futuristic sounding "Ten Ritchie Drive" still has the press roll as its foundation. "Challenging the Challenger" offers an example of how Gene would bring in the Orchestra with a solo at the beginning of the tune. "Bugle Call Rag" has another fine solo from this period.

When the Big Band era burned itself out at the tail end of the 1940s, Gene joined Norman Granz's Jazz at the Philharmonic touring package. He worked mainly with a trio, then a quartet.

Jazz at the Phil gave him the opportunity to work with Buddy Rich, and the two were pitted against each other in drum battles. Though Rich was the faster and more technically advanced of the two, it was Gene's musicality and simplicity which enabled him to more than hold his own.

By the late 1950s his quartet had a very modern sound. Gene's bass drum, whilst still playing four beats, was broken by bombs which were usually preceded by a rim shot accent on the snare.

In 1963, when he again recorded with the Goodman Quartet, there was little left in the drumming of the 1930s Gene, save the solos. Ride cymbal and Hi-hats were the fashion of the day. Later, however, as a number of TV and broadcast items evidence, he would still switch back to the press roll style. In fact, shortly before he died, he appeared at Philharmonic Hall with Goodman, and plays snare drum on the opening chorus of Avalon.

A final farewell concert with Chicago mates, Eddie Condon, Wild Bill Davison, Kenny Davern and Dick Wellstood in 1972, provides the opportunity to hear Gene, without a bass player, playing with the style of band with which he grew up. It is fair to say that the style had developed - only occasionally does he play press rolls. Most of the time is kept on the ride cymbal - but the beat is strong and exciting, despite the fact he was in poor health.

Gene Krupa died on 16th October 1973. He had fought against heart disease and Leukaemia.

Krupa was responsible for making the drummer accepted as a soloist. Critics have not always been fair to him. Many have criticised the flash showmanship, yet Krupa, for all the show, was essentially a creative musician, The show was always secondary to music.

For further information on Gene Krupa, follow the links to the Shawn Martin's Gene Krupa Web site on our links page. Bruce Klauber's site has many recordings on CD of Gene available, as well as two superb videos and a book, "The World of Gene Krupa", from which some of the biographical information

The Benny Goodman Carnegie Hall Concert CD has recently been reissued on Sony Columbia and also on Avid Records in the UK and is an album no drummer should be without.

Jazzology Records in New Orleans have issued the Eddie Condon Town Hall Concerts , the first four volumes of which have Krupa material of specific interest. The Bill Dodge CD from 1933 can be obtained from the same source.

Hep records in the UK have issued three volumes of Genes mid 1940s band and these should be obtainable from Jazz 'n' Blues Records in Norwich, UK.

Most of the other clips were taken from old LPs, many of which are probably available on CD.

© John Petters, May 2006

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Sound Clips

Sound clips are in MP3 format. Please listen to the clips as the music speaks volumes more than words can express. To hear a clip, simply click on the buttons.

China Boy
China Boy
(McKenzie & Condon's Chicagoans 1927)

Indiana
Indiana
(Eddie Condon Quartet)

Hello Lola
Hello Lola
(Mound City Blue Blowers)

After You've Gone
After You've Gone
(Red Nichols Orchestra)

China Boy
China Boy
(Red Nichols Orchestra)

China Boy
China Boy
(Rhythmakers)

Bugle Call Rag
Bugle Call Rag
(Rhythmakers)
(Take One)

Bugle Call Rag
Bugle Call Rag
(Rhythmakers)
(Take Two)

Jubilee
Jubilee
(Bill Dodge Orchestra)

The Last Roundup
The Last Roundup

Ding Dong Daddy
Ding Dong Daddy
(Benny Goodman Quartet)

China Boy
China Boy
(Benny Goodman Trio)

Bugle Call Rag
Bugle Call Rag
(Gene Krupa Orchestra)

Challenging The Challenger
Challenging the Challenger
(Gene Krupa Orchestra)

Ten Ritchie Drive
Ten Ritchie Drive
(Gene Krupa Orchestra)

I Know That You Know
I Know That You Know

Fidgety Feet
Fidgety Feet

Impromptu Ensemble
Impromptu Ensemble

Swingtime In The Rockies
Swingtime In The Rockies

Sensation
Sensation
(Benny Goodman 1938)

Sing Sing Sing
Sing Sing Sing
(Benny Goodman Orchestra 1938)