Why I don't hear bass drums on Jazz LPs?

Speaking of Tony Williams, in an interview in Modern Drummer Magazine the interviewer asked Tony if he had heard any drummers recently who impressed him. Tony responded (I paraphrase) "Have you heard the guy in The Ramones (he was speaking of the band’s second drummer, Marky)? Now THAT is great drumming!"

I’m pretty sure Tony was being sincere. If you listen to Marky’s drumming, it is very muscular, just what the music calls for. The playing of original Ramones drummer Tommy is much less so. Almost wimpy, in fact.

That "Night in Tunisia" track I mentioned above includes a Ron Carter bass solo and a Tony Williams drum solo with very prominent bass drums.

This reminds me of a jazz music joke: An anthropologist is given the privilege of being the first outsider to study an isolated tribe discovered deep in the jungle.  When he enters the village, he hears a slow drum beat.  He pays his respects to the village medicine man and asks about the drumming.  All he is told is that every thing is fine as long as the drum keeps beating.  The drum beats day an night and after a while the anthropologist scarcely notices it.  On his last day in the village he goes to the medicine man to say farewell.  Just as they are saying their final good byes the drumming stops.  A look of horror comes over the medicine man's face.  The anthropologist seeing the fear demands to know what this means.  The medicine man cries out: "Oh no.  BASS SOLO!"

@bdp24 

Not sure how I stumbled across this long nascent thread, but I enjoyed reading your contributions.  Since I know we share a common obsession, I wanted to add one thing.  I believe this is from Levon - he said that Richard Manuel played rhythm on piano and melody on drums.

Garth on piano, Levon on mandolin, Richard on drums was equally as great as Garth on organ (heck, on anything), Levon on drums & Manuel on piano.  After 50+ years, it's still a 3-way tie for favorite vocalist, too.

I don’t know how I missed this fascinating thread when it first developed.  I am posting this note sitting beside my 12/14/18 Ludwig Classic Maple kit.  I went to Berkley in my youth, was in the US Navy Band organization early in my life, played in the 16th District Naval Dance Band out of Great Lakes, IL in 1968/69.  Growing up in the Boston area, I studied with the very renowned George Lawrence Stone, who also taught the vastly more talented Joe Morello and Vic Firth.  Joe was like a God from Mt. Vesuvius for me.  I once saw him play Jingle Bells solo on his 13x9 Ludwig rack tom tom.  How the hell do you do that?  Anyway, he was a guy who would give you the shirt off his back in addition to being the damnedest drummer.  Another guy that I want to mention is Louie Bellson.  As I kid I saw him at drum clinics a couple of times at Jack’s Drum Shop in Boston.  One time he did a clinic with Buddy Rich.  Two pretty fair drummers.  One of the other kids asked Buddy why he didn’t use two bass drums like Louie.  Buddy said and I quote "Because I can do everything on one that he needs two to do!"  Louie just laughed it off amiably and said it was true.  And that story, I think underscores why the two greatest band leaders in jazz history, Duke Ellington and Count Basis, both said the best drummer they ever had in their band was Louie Bellson.  He was always there in support of the band.  Someone in this thread mentioned Davie Tough.  In my opinion, no drummer could swing a big band better than he and he claimed in an interview that he didn’t even have a roll.  Finally, I want to mention the late great Mel Lewis.  He could do anything well.  People have rightly acknowledged the contributions of Shelly Manne especially to West Coast Jazz and I think rightly so.  In my opinion, Mel was his equal or better in every way.

Two great new posts!

@billstevenson: It was I who mentioned Davey Tough. He was way before my time, and played a genre of music I am unqualified to talk about. But the other members of the bands he played in sure thought very highly of him. Not necessarily in terms of technique (how many people judge drummers, as if they are athletes), but in how his drumming "drove" the band.

Joe Morello was not only technically great, but also very musical. And his drums and cymbals sounded great (unlike those of, for instance, Ginger Baker). I was drumming in an instrumental trio, and the guitarist/leader wanted to add "Take Five" to his set list. He asked me if I could play it, and I said "Sort of." The bassist laughed, saying he responded the same way. I couldn’t come close to Joe’s superb playing on that song.

Shelly Mann and Mel Lewis, two more very musical drummers. Can you tell that quality is a high priority to me? 

@petaluman: I love that Levon quote about Richard Manuel! And you’re SO right about the talents of all The Band members on multiple instruments (well, except for Robertson), and the singing of not just Richard but also Levon and Rick (but certainly not, again, Robertson. Good guitarist and songwriter, though). Levon himself considered Richard The Band’s lead singer, but they all could have been a band’s main singer, and in fact at times were. I  doubt there will ever be another Rock ’n’ Roll band with as much talent as The Band.

During a break in the early-70’s, Levon Helm spent some time at The Berkley School, out of a desire to improve his technique. Jazz great Jack DeJohnette shares a lot of stories about Levon in Harvey & Kenneth Kubernik’s book The Story Of The Band---From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. Jack and Levon became friends after The Band chose Miles Davis (in whose band DeJohnette was drumming) to opened their Hollywood Bowl show in 1970. When DeJohnette’s band played the Bowl in 2017, they played their version of "Up On Cripple Creek." The Band’s version ironically features the drumming of Richard Manuel!

DeJohnette: "We got to jam briefly with The Band---nothing formal, without Miles---and really dug their musicianship."