Most-Recorded Jazz Drummers

[Mark Stryker]

A conversation with Ethan Iverson about Billy Hart led me to spend WAY too much time compiling statistics from The Jazz Discography by Tom Lord to see who are the most-recorded drummers in jazz. What follows is list of the top 136. The numbers represent total number of sessions, not individual records. They also include only jazz sessions as defined by Lord's inclusion — no pop, R&B, film, TV, jingles, etc. They do include broadcasts and bootlegs that have been released.

The results are interesting. The biggest numbers belong to top-call studio cats – Shelly Manne, Grady Tate, Osie Johnson, Mel Lewis. But there are surprises: Billy Hart is 5th (!) on the list, particularly impressive because his appearances are mostly single-session, modern jazz records dating back to 1961. Of course, he's still going strong at age 80. I went deep in my memory banks thinking of drummers whose numbers I should look up. I also looked at some online lists of jazz drummers and percussionists to jog my memory. Finally, after I posted earlier versions on Twitter, folks there pointed out a gaggle of omissions. I'm sure I've still left out some players, but this is fairly comprehensive.

As more names come up, I'll add them to a running list I'm keeping on Facebook if they have enough credits to make the field. Remember, the numbers refer to sessions and not individual recordings.

1. Shelly Manne, 902
2. Grady Tate, 698
3. Osie Johnson, 692 (among the most impressive because his recording window was an insanely short 17 years, 1949-1966). 
4. Mel Lewis, 690
5. Billy Hart, 646
6 Gene Krupa, 620
7. Buddy Rich, 606
8. Sonny Greer, 589 (Ellington made a LOT of records – all but about 25 of these are with Duke)
9. Don Lamond, 569
10. Steve Gadd, 554 (and God knows how many pop records, TV/Film dates, and commercials)
11. Papa Jo Jones, 539
12. Peter Erskine, 536
13. Kenny Clarke, 535 (woulda been higher had he not moved to Europe in the late ‘50s)
14. Jack DeJohnette, 502
15. Larry Bunker, 500
16. Billy Higgins, 498
17. Alvin Stoller, 497 (if you didn’t call Manne on the West Coast, you called Stoller).
18. Harvey Mason, 479
19. Louie Bellson, 472
20. Alex Acuna, 469 (percussionist)
21. Victor Lewis, 442
22. Lewis Nash, 421 (at 62, he’s obviously going to keep moving up the ladder.)
23. Elvin Jones, 417
24 (tie). Roy Haynes, 410
     Ray McKinley, 410
26. Art Blakey, 402
27 (tie). Max Roach, 386
      Jimmy Cobb, 386
29. Sam Woodyard, 381 (Duke Ellington redux)
30. Airto Moreira, 377 (percussionist)
31. Ed Thigpen, 374
32. Ray Bauduc, 373
33. Bernard Purdie, 361
34. Al Foster, 357
35. Don Alias, 354 (percussionist)
36. Ralph Macdonald, 347 (percussionist)
37. Stan Levey, 343
38. George Wettling, 342
39. Daniel Humair, 341
40. Han Bennink, 339
41. Cozy Cole, 338 
42. Gus Johnson, 336
43. Joe Labarbera, 326
44. Art Taylor, 323 (also woulda been higher but for spending 20 years in Europe)
45. Idris Muhammad, 314
46. Connie Kay, 314
47. Kenny Washington 310
48 (tie). Ben Riley, 306
     Panama Francis, 306
50. Adam Nussbaum, 303
51. Hamid Drake, 301
52. Danny Gottlieb, 298
53. Paul Motian, 293
54. (tie). Billy Drummond, 284
        Alex Riel, 284
56 (tie). Lenny White, 280
      Matt Wilson, 280
58. Billy Cobham, 276
59. Louis Hayes, 274
60. Joey Baron, 273
61. Jeff Hamilton, 272
62. Ed Shaugnessy, 271
63 (tie). Mickey Roker, 270
     Warren Smith
65. J.C. Heard, 268
66. Albert Tootie Heath, 267
67. Vinnie Colaiuta, 264
68. Dave Tough, 262
69. Philly Joe Jones, 261
70. Jeff Watts, 249
71. Sonny Payne, 248
72. Oliver Jackson, 246
73. Sid Catlett, 243
74. Gerry Hemingway, 242
75. Charli Persip, 240
76 (tie). Tony Williams, 239 (only 51 at his death)
      Leon Ndugu Chancler, 239 
78. Minu Cinelu, 235 (percussionist)
79. Earl Palmer, 233
80. Jake Hanna, 231
81 (tie). Joe Morello, 220
          Bill Goodwin , 220
83. (tie). Marvin Smitty Smith, 217
      Brian Blade, 217
85. Bill Stewart, 215
86. Frank Capp, 214
87. Ray Barretto, 205 (percussionist)
88. (tie). Bobby Rosengarden 199
      Tom Rainey, 199
90. (tie). Cyro Baptista, 196
      Dave Weckl, 196
92. Joe Farnsworth, 195
93. Emil Richards, 194 (percussionist)
94 (tie). Roy McCurdy, 193
      Kenny Wolleson, 193
96. Zutty Singleton, 192
97 (tie). Andrew Cyrille, 187
      Carl Allen, 187
99. Akira Tana, 186
100. Greg Hutchinson, 185
101. Alphonse Mouzon, 184
102. Paul Humphrey, 183
103 (tie). Joe Chambers, 179
       Gerald Cleaver, 179
105. Herlin Riley, 178
106. Chico Hamilton, 177
107. Dennis Chambers, 174
108 (tie). Ray Mantilla, 173 (percussionist)
        Paul Lovens, 173
110. Jon Christensen, 171
111.  Omar Hakim, 170
112. Jim Black, 169
113.  Irv Cottler, 166 (Sinatra's drummer from 1956 forward)
114. Alan Dawson, 164
115. Terri Lyne Carrington, 162
116. Clarence Penn, 159
117. Aldo Romano, 158
118. Nasheet Waits, 157
119. Shadow Wilson, 156
120 (tie). Dannie Richmond, 154
       Pheeroan AkLaff, 154
122. Dave Bailey, 151
123. Butch Miles, 144
124 (tie). Donald Bailey, 142
       Bill Summers (percussionist), 142
126. Baby Dodds, 150
127. O’Neil Spencer, 146
128: Famoudou Don Moye, 145
129. Bobby Previte, 143
130. Motohiko Hino, 136
131 (tie). Eric Harland, 131
         Jeff Ballard, 131
133. Tony Oxley, 130
134. (tie). Freddie Waits, 129
       Barry Altschul, 129
       Willie Jones, 129

Edited April 6, 2021 by Mark Stryker

[duaneiac]

Am I missing Louis Bellson's name in there somewhere?

How about one of my favorite jazz names, Buzzy Drootin?

[Mark Stryker]

20 hours ago, duaneiac said:

Am I missing Louis Bellson's name in there somewhere?

How about one of my favorite jazz names, Buzzy Drootin?

Ooh, somehow Bellson's name got deleted while I was moving things around. He's got a big number: 472, good enough for 19th on the list. Correcting momentarily.

Buzzy's 119 wasn't enough to make the list.

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Mark Stryker

[Milestones]

Lewis Nash is already 60-years-old?

 

[Mark Stryker]

1 hour ago, Milestones said:

Lewis Nash is already 60-years-old?

 

Actually he's 62. I'm correcting ...

Edited April 6, 2021 by Mark Stryker

[duaneiac]

George Wettling didn't make the list?

I'm really surprised about Steve Gadd at Number 10.  I bet if I looked, I would find twice as much Sam Woodyard in my music collection as I would Steve Gadd.

[Mark Stryker]

20 minutes ago, duaneiac said:

George Wettling didn't make the list?

I'm really surprised about Steve Gadd at Number 10.  I bet if I looked, I would find twice as much Sam Woodyard in my music collection as I would Steve Gadd.

Good call on Wettling. I overlooked him, but he's got 342 credits. I'll correct. Thanks.

[Milestones]

Seems like Nash recorded barely a thing before 1990.  That's a late start for a drummer.   

It's interesting that several of the all-time greats are pretty much clustered together: Elvin, Roy Haynes, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Jimmy Cobb.

 

Edited April 6, 2021 by Milestones

[mikeweil]

That is a bias due to Lord listing only what he considers "jazz". Bellson and Alvin Stoller recorded a lot in Hollywood in other genres, as did Jimmy Crawford in New York, who didn't make the list

[Mark Stryker]

1 hour ago, Milestones said:

Seems like Nash recorded barely a thing before 1990.  That's a late start for a drummer.   

FWIW, I count nearly 25 session for Lewis before 1990.

[Ken Dryden]

What is interesting is that Shelly Manne died around the age of 64, much younger than some of the other greats. 

Edited April 7, 2021 by Ken Dryden

[Niko]

Bennink, not Bennick... and just imagine if he hadn't lived in Europe ... Happy I saw him live a few times in recent years, he's simply the best

[Mark Stryker]

6 minutes ago, Niko said:

Bennink, not Bennick... and just imagine if he hadn't lived in Europe ... Happy I saw him live a few times in recent years, he's simply the best

Got it. Thanks.

[Gheorghe]

I must admit I don´t have so many recordings from the most recorded drummer Shelly Manne. Maybe it´s because my list of West Coast recordings is quite small.

[Dub Modal]

Manne was a great drummer, but he must have been working all the time. Maybe he didn't tour much, at least outside of California? That may explain why he got so many sessions in his relatively shorter lifetime...

There's a lot to enjoy in his discography, at least for me. I think he paired really well with Bill Evans, and his live at the Black Hawk sessions are essential. I even like his 70s excursions into fusion like Mannekind. 

[Gheorghe]

Maybe I scrolled too fast, but is it possible that THE GREAT AL FOSTER is not listed ?

He must have made many many records and last not least, he is maybe my favourite drummer. 

[Dan Gould]

6 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Maybe I scrolled too fast, but is it possible that THE GREAT AL FOSTER is not listed ?

He must have made many many records and last not least, he is maybe my favourite drummer. 

Mark got some 'splainin' to do but if discogs is right he's probably around 35 on the list. They have him at 408 credits but more than a few are comps or 45s from LPs.

[Peter Friedman]

Drummer Leroy Williams was on 115 sessions according to LORD.

Terry Clarke was on 291 sessions according to LORD. He should be on Mark's list.

[mikeweil]

10 hours ago, Gheorghe said:

Maybe I scrolled too fast, but is it possible that THE GREAT AL FOSTER is not listed ?

He must have made many many records and last not least, he is maybe my favourite drummer. 

Lord has 357 entries!