The Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy performed by The Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy Kuumbwa Jazz Center, Santa Cruz on 4/23/15

[@skuhlman2665]

I agree. I never heard of TI until I bought his "Groove Essentials" a few months ago. As he said, he loves to play and it shows. He can fill in for Kenny A. any time.

[@Drumaier]

Thanks for the video! Tommy is a great inspiration for us drummer wannabes. Not only for his musicality and skills, but the authority and joy with he plays is great to see and a thing to at least try to emulate as much as possible.

[@DrummerMike86]

That splash cymbal sounds great!

[@Shiveyful]

Can we take a minute to honor that sweet lick by Tommy? 1:25

[@MarcKellerSax]

I'll even give you two minutes !

[@Thedrummersalmanac]

Beautiful balance!!!

[@larrysmith6797]

The band is balanced but this recording is way too drum heavy.

[@sandroadami5869]

Ma quanto mi piace sto pezzo ( cz

[@habnerbatera6026]

Muito bom

[@seungkeeya]

Wow...

[@sandroadami5869]

Grandi

[@kenbrooks5242]

Boy that is a slow version of that song.

[@U2WB]

Great job but the song dragged a bit. I guess I'm used to the tempo the Buddy Rich Big Band played it.

[@trevorlitteral5785]

U2WB give their album version a listen. This recording doesn't do it justice.

[@kristoferpersson1614]

tommy p is hot

[@90Aga]

I hate crash cymbals on drummers face :D Btw Tommy Igoe is a genious

[@danlc95]

I try and make sure my crashes cover my face!

[@paulrodberg]

isn't the tenor player a tower of power alumni?

[@harpburns]

Yes, Tom Politzer is in Tower of Power.

[@CarrotCompany]

And here you have a great example of how a group led by a ROCK player would interpret this tune as compared to the original from a band and an arrangement who are clearly in the jazz world. The version we are seeing here is actually annoying when put up against the original and certainly when compared to the Steve Smith and the AON version which is a faithful homage. What's old is eventually new again . . . NOT!

[@taigasugimoto632]

You know nothing about Tommy Igoe and the band...

[@CarrotCompany]

@@taigasugimoto632 All I know is what I see and what I hear. Please read the comments and exchange between George Niedorf and myself that started this current version of the discussion. You will find that both of us feel Tommy is a genuine performer with lots of skills and obvious talent. So I don't know what your beef is? We are not critical of his playing at all, but reserve the right to listen, compare and comment. George brought Tommy's playing to my attention after a comment that I originally made over 5 years ago. This is an example of how the standards have gradually been lowered and the observers of good drumming have become complacent with many of the current players. Can you imagine this discussion taking place 50 years ago as fans of Gene Krupa would attempt to keep his name among the all-time greats and Buddy and his big band were touring the country and setting the new standard for excellence in drumming? I remember and lived through these kinds of discussions with the potheads who thought John Bonham was the second coming of the Messiah. Thankfully, that seems to have died down now as I don't see his name or Krupa's name much in these discussions. There is always a faction that tries to defend their "champion" but it is a waste of time as there is plenty of room at the table for everyone. For me, I group drummers into two categories. . . players and pounders. Tommy is certainly, a player and that is the higher category and let us not forget, IT IS A GOOD THING! We need more players and fewer pounders. When I gave drum lessons at my local music store at the tender age of 14, I always tried to impress upon the aspiring pounders (many of whom were 5 or more years older than myself) that they should always strive to become a player, because music needed more drummers who were players to push along and foster the art form. Sometimes this sunk in, but most of the time, they wanted to be Ringo or Dave Clark or even, Karen Carpenter who was also, a great player. But what did any of them do to move the art of drumming forward? It is like asking how does rap and the repetitive rhyming of single syllable words by people who can't carry a tune, move the art of songwriting forward in the bigger scheme of things? In my opinion, it is a step backward to reward talentless performers with a record deal when they have nothing to bring to the party and nothing to add to the mix. I would rather listen to Michael Buble' or Harry Connick sing Cole Porter tunes than spend a nano-second listening to anything Kanye West thinks is worthy of my time. So to summarize my position, when asked, I would say of the drummers who have risen to the top in the last 20-30 years, Steve Gadd and Steve Smith are at the top because they respect the greats who have gone before and have built on the foundation that has been established. I'm not critical of Tommy Igoe and I will listen to more of his stuff going forward. He has shown the respect that is due the greats who have come before him, so that automatically puts him in the player category and worthy of our admiration. And I think he has much to offer and will be capable of bringing more examples and discussion to "the big paradiddle in the sky." But based on what I have seen, he is not in the Gadd and Smith club just yet. And as for the rappers who may take offense with something I've written here, none was intended. But I would be more likely to listen to what you had to say if you could rhyme orange in one of your next recordings. And no. syringe does not count. R.I.P. Freddie Cole, one of the talented Cole brothers.

[@taigasugimoto632]

@@CarrotCompany My disagreement with you is two things. You simply calssified him as a "ROCK" player, even though his talent is versatile in multiple genres. He even has a top selling drum book with hundreds of grooves from different genres. I do understand that it's hard to know everything about a musician's background and history, but it is unfair to the musician to judge him and classify him based on one video. Second, you said that this arrangement is an example of jazz standards becoming lowered and called the arrangement annoying. Liking the arrangement is your own opinion, however saying that this arrangement is "lowering" standards is a bit unfair. The group's style is definitely jazz with rock influnece. That is why the arrangement has that energy and momentum and it is different from how Zawinful originally wrote it. The beauty of this song is how adaptable it is since it is simple. Which is why Buddy Rich Band played it as their lead song on one of their albums. But would you call his arrangement annoying for lowering a jazz standard and writing it for rich gamblers and residents at Caeaar's Palace? In my opinion, both Tommy Igoe and Buddy Rich arranged the same jazz standard to meet the style of their band, and they both executed precisely.

[@angeliquerivas7819]

Taiga Sugimoto he wrote an essay to you, man

[@CarrotCompany]

@@taigasugimoto632 i don't know who did the arrangement of Mercy Mercy Mercy that Tommy Igoe and his band uses on the KZbin clip, but I do know that Phil Wilson wrote Buddy's arrangement and it was all about doing an incredibly simple tune in a jazz rock style so that Buddy could answer all the youngsters who didn't understand and couldn't play jazz tunes including swing and multiple time signatures. These were the pounders, most of who dreamt of being a rock star. My point was that the tune was dumbed-down on purpose to sell records, and to sell copies of the arrangement to high school band directors all across the country to trick the students into thinking that big band was suddenly hip, cool and happenin'. No need for 3 or more guitars strutting around the stage with their crotches stuffed. I can't imagine in the year 2019 that there is a need to do another version of this tune because Buddy's version is the penultimate example. And Steve Smith and the AON are playing a straight homage to the original and with great style and verve --I might add. Steve Smith's fills are clean as a whistle and Buddy would be pleased to hear them. Again, just look at the cover of the album with Buddy in his Nehru jacket and gold chains. He is making fun of all the people who pestered him to record more tunes and arrangements that the high school sophomores could emulate. I don't even know what the orchestration of Tommy's version includes because the video is shot so poorly and the audio is sloppy and poorly edited so you can't really tell who is playing on that version and how many there are. And let us not forget, that among the real jazz players, none of them bought that album to listen to Buddy's interpretation of Mercy, Mercy, Mercy. It was Channel One Suite that became the standard of excellence in 1968. i was there, I lived through it. I'm just saying that I know Tommy can play many styles and genre's and he is trying to establish himself as an educator and authority on the academic side of the art. Many have tried this in the past and few have succeeded. I have attended many drum clinics hosted by the local music stores and sponsored by the vendors from Billy Cobham to Anton Fig and dozens in between. If you walk away with a few original new ideas and are inspired as you walk out of the room, then it was a success. I'm just saying that Tommy's playing and credits haven't reached the upper echelon just yet and there was no reason for him to be playing Mercy, Mercy, Mercy unless he was going to match Buddy's original rendition or bring some really innovative interpretation to this simple tune. He did neither and it ended up sounding like a cymbal slugfest. Let's move on to something new. Have you ever seen Sonny Payne or Roy Haines play live? Two great drummers who have sort of been lost in the discussion.