Steve Gadd is one of the most well respected, highly acclaimed and in-demand session drummers in history, including iconic contributions to Paul Simon’s “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” and Steely Dan’s Aja. Gadd was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1984 and has chalked up countless accolades since, his resumé bursting with such A-list names as Paul McCartney, Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau, James Taylor, Jon Bon Jovi, The Bee Gees and Eric Clapton, not to mention his influential work with such jazz giants as Chick Corea, Bob James, Paul Desmond, Michel Petrucciani, Steps Ahead, and The Manhattan Transfer.
Born in Rochester, New York, in 1945, Gadd was handed his first pair of sticks at the age of 3 from his Uncle Eddie, a former Army drummer. By the age of 9 he was performing on TV, playing a drum solo and tap dancing on The Mickey Mouse Club while being mentored by members of the Rochester Philharmonic. He went on to study at the Manhattan School of Music and the Eastman School before following in his uncle’s footsteps, enrolling in the U.S. Army and spending three years playing with their Field and Stage Bands.
Gadd’s professional career began in the late ‘60s as a sideman for Chuck Mangione and his brother Gap, whose solo debut, Diana in the Autumn Wind, would mark the first entry in what would become a legendarily voluminous discography for the drummer. After his Army stint, Gadd formed a trio with Tony Levin and Mike Holmes, leading him to New York City. One of his first major gigs in the city was with Mike Mainieri’s White Ensemble, in whose ranks he would meet Michael and Randy Brecker, Jon Faddis, Warren Bernhardt and other artists who would go on to become NYC’s first-call session musicians as well as, in many cases, jazz and fusion innovators.
Gadd would find a home at Creed Taylor’s CTI label, where he accompanied the likes of Hubert Laws, Joe Farrell, George Benson and Chet Baker. By 1975 Steve's career was in high gear; he would sometimes play three studio sessions by day and play packed clubs like Mikell's and Seventh Avenue South by night. His first number one hit came that year with Van McCoy's “The Hustle,” with many more to follow.
In 1976, Gadd and his fellow studio aces formed the group Stuff, which also featured Gordon Edwards, Eric Gale, Cornell Dupree, Chris Parker and Richard Tee. The band became known as New York’s finest rhythm section, keeping up a demanding recording scheduled while touring behind Joe Cocker and others. Through the 1980s, Gadd somehow found the time to release several albums with his own Gadd Gang in between work with such legends as Paul Simon, Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones, and Grover Washington Jr. In the ‘90s and early 2000s, he kept busy touring with Eric Clapton, Michel Petrucciani and James Taylor, among others.
In recent years, Gadd has released a new spate of recordings as a leader, including 2013’s Gadditude, 70 Strong celebrating his 70th birthday in 2015, and Way Back Home, recorded live in his native Rochester, in 2016. Gadd’s most recent release, Chinese Butterfly, reunites him with legendary keyboardist Chick Corea, a friend and collaborator for more than 50 years. The album finds the two jazz pioneers co-leading a band for the first time, joined by Benin-born guitarist and vocalist Lionel Loueke, saxophonist and flutist Steve Wilson, Cuban bassist Carlitos Del Puerto, and Venezuelan percussionist Luisito Quintero. Stretching out across two CDs, Chinese Butterfly draws on the pair’s shared history and the wealth of styles and innovations it covers, while continuing to push forward into adventurous new territory with the aid of an inspired band of collaborators.