Joe Morello, Legendary Drummer and Educator
Joe Morello
After years of lessons, Joe actually played violin in the Boston Symphony when he was a teenager. Joe knew his father wouldn't be happy when he would tell him he is switching to the drums! But, as it turned out, his father got to see his son playing at Carnegie Hall!
Joe studied the basics with his first drum teacher, theatre drummer (Vaudeville), Joe Sefcik, in Springfield, Massachusetts for three years. He studied in the basement of a theatre, some of which included working out of the Ed Straight book. He then went to study for three years with classical percussionist, George Larry Stone, famed author of Stick Control (often referred to as The Drummer's Bible and ranked #1 in drum books). Stone taught Joe how to get a musical sound out of the drum. George L. Stone dedicated his book Accents & Rebounds to Joe, referring to him as an "Outstanding Perfectionist". Joe provided Stone with the ideas for this book, as Joe began to add accents to Stone's Stick Control. Stone told Morello that he would have trouble reading music and watching a conductor because of his eyesight, and recommended Joe to go into jazz drumming. Joe was very upset, because he wanted to be a classical player! Joe actually wanted to study with Sanford A. Moeller, who taught Jim Chapin, but Moeller didn't want Morello travelling from Boston to New York.
Then Joe went to study with Billy Gladstone in New York, who felt Joe didn't need the lessons. Gladstone was instrumental in Joe learning his finger technique. Then Joe watched him play "My Fair Lady" at the opera house in San Francisco every night. For Joe, he put everything together so it all made sense. It was a very relaxed way of playing. Joe said Gladstone was technically incredible, having better chops than anyone, and that he could never play a drum like he did! Gladstone had a beautiful, effortlessly fast single stroke roll. Gladstone would say to Joe, "You don't need it." And Joe would say, "Yes I do. I want to learn that technique." He felt that Buddy Rich was the only one who could equal Gladstone in technique.
Joe Morello used to wow drummers that surrounded him in clubs as he would demonstrate his licks on a folded napkin on a table. While playing with The Marian McPartland Trio on 52nd Street in the early 1950's, his reputation really took off, and Dave Brubeck came to the Hickory House to see Joe play. Joe toured the world with The Dave Brubeck Quartet from 1956 to 1968.
Joe Morello, Take 5
How did it come about? Morello was playing a drum solo called "Sounds of the Loop" 7 nights a week. (This was the first drum solo he recorded.) He was getting tired of it, so would play the drum solo in 5/4. Morello told Dave to write a song in 5/4. Paul Desmond decided to do it, and they never expected it to be a hit -- it was a way to end a concert for them.
"Take 5" is one of the most famous drum solos and deemed "the most melodic solo" of all-time in DRUM! magazine. A lot of drum solos had a "machine gun" effect in them, and Joe wanted to do something different -- So, he added space between the notes!
The first time Morello played the solo in the Blue Note in Chicago, the place went crazy, and the owner told Joe that it was the first
time anyone ever got a standing ovation in that club! As the hit was getting big, Brubeck told Morello to play exactly what he had played on the record! Morello said, "I can't do that! You've got to be kidding me! I can't remember exactly what I did!"