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Vinnie Colaiuta on Bromberg Plays Hendrix, Session Work, Retirement, and More

By On 26th Feb 2021

Legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix passed away fifty years ago. This seems unimaginable, as his music, message, and influence are just as powerful and relevant today as they were during his few short years leading a musical revolution for freedom of expression for a young baby boomer generation. The Jimi Hendrix Experience, a multicultural, multiracial power trio, successfully reimagined blues, funk, rock, jazz, and R&B in a powerfully poetic, experimental, political, yet unifying musical platform for peace, love, and oneness.

In a tribute to Hendrix’s musical legacy, bassist Brian Bromberg has remastered his 2012 Bromberg Plays Hendrix recording, in which he recruited master drummer Vinnie Colaiuta to share in the instrumental reinvention of a selection of classic Hendrix tracks, including “Fire,” “Crosstown Traffic,” “Manic Depression,” “Hey Joe,” “Foxy Lady,” and “The Wind Cries Mary.”

“When I would hear a drummer like Mitch Mitchell play with Hendrix when I was young, I would get excited and be inspired by it,” says Colaiuta. “It didn’t matter if they played simple or complex because it was all fresh. There was something very authentic and disruptive in its originality before drumming seemed to become formulaic. And, as aggressive as Hendrix’s music could be, it was expressed in a unique way so that the music could be transformative. Hendrix was like a comet that appeared on the scene, right on time, and left a deep, indelible crater. And Mitch was a big part of that.”

March 2021 Issue