Jack DeJohnette
Perhaps the greatest drummer who ever lived, I hesitate to admit Mr. De Johnette into my Compendium of "Classic Era" Jazz-Rock Fusion because I feel that his drum playing always stood firmly within the historical threads that we call "Jazz Music." Even when contributing to an album that has been included in the Jazz-Rock Fusion world, Jack's performance really never veered into the corrupt world of electrically-enhanced "rock and roll"; his playing always remained pure and totally acoustic. Also, I would never consider him a master or even much of a contributor to the evolution of the Black man's Rock 'n' Roll: Funk music; though Funk became such a draw for many, many drummers in the 1970s, Jack never really condescended ("dumbed himself down") to comply to the pressures to conform. At the same time, every time I come across a performance of Jack De Johnette I am totally blown away. As stated in my opening sentence, I don...