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Butch Miles






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May June 1979:
Driver's Seat – Energy and the Ensemble
Driver's Seat lead

I said in my first article for MD last year that sometimes a well placed rim shot in an arrangement has more impact than ten thousand notes. The prime example is Buddy Rich’s two bar silent break in Channel One Suite.


July 1977:
Butch Miles: Drivin’ The Basie Rhythm Machine

It would probably be difficult to name a big band that swings and pulsates more than the dynamic Count Basie Orchestra. For over forty years. Basie has kept his aggregation alive and swinging with his inimitable brand of big band excitement.


July 1977:
Butch Miles: Drivin' The Basie Rhythm Machine

It would probably be difficult to name a big band that swings and pulsates more than the dynamic Count Basie Orchestra. For over forty years. Basie has kept his aggregation alive and swinging with his inimitable brand of big band excitement.


October 1977:
Drivers Seat: Tips From Butch Miles

A big band is many things. It can be top-heavy and cumbersome, or to quote a certain well-known world champion, it can float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.


March April 1979:
Driver's Seat – Big Band Basics

In my last article, I gave nine rules for better big band drumming. As you may recall, they were: (1) Support, (2) Don’t get in the way, (3) Cue (or Direct) the band, (4) Don’t overplay (simplify), (5) Keep the energy up, (6) Know the chart, (7) Phrasing, (8) Keep …


March April 1979:
Driver’s Seat – Big Band Basics

In my last article, I gave nine rules for better big band drumming. As you may recall, they were: (1) Support, (2) Don’t get in the way, (3) Cue (or Direct) the band, (4) Don’t overplay (simplify), (5) Keep the energy up, (6) Know the chart, (7) Phrasing, (8) Keep …


August September 1979:
Driver's Seat: Learning The Chart and Phrasing

Last time, we discussed the value of underplaying and keeping the energy level high. This article deals with two of the most important of all the nine tips I’ve suggested: learning the chart and phrasing.


December 1979 - January 1980:
Driver's Seat: Being Equipped For Big Band

In this article, I’ll touch on equipment, various big-band drummers’ set-ups, muffling the set for live and recording situations, and some hints on cymbal technique.


December 2006:
December 2006 – Volume 30 • Number 12

Stephen Perkins, Chris McHugh, Jeff Hamilton, Adam Carson, Mark Guiliana, Paul Motian, Scott Rockenfield, Abe Fogel, Thomas Pridgen, Trevor Friedrich, Jack DeJohnette, Brian Tichy, Myles Heskett, Tony Williams, Jason McGerr, Butch Miles, Ed Shaughnessy, Bruce Gary


March 2006:
March 2006 – Volume 30 • Number 3

Terry Bozzio, Riley Breckenridge, Daniel Erlandsson, Alan Evans, Michael White, Raymond Herrera, Jim Bonfanti, Butch Miles, Frank Vincent, Ignacio Berroa, Vinnie Colaiuta, George Schwindt, Paul Doucette


February 1987:
February 1987 – Volume 11 • Number 2

Anton Fig, Connie Kay, Jerry Kroon, Neil Peart, Elvin Jones, Billy Cobham, Susan Evans, Steve Jordan, Kenny Washington, Buddy Williams, Barrett Deems, Gary Wallis, Butch Miles, Steve Smith


September 1986:
September 1986 – Volume 10 • Number 9

Tommy Lee, Bun E. Carlos, Jerry Carrigan, Ben Riley, Steve Gadd, Max Weinberg, Jerry Mercer, Gary Husband, Butch Miles


April 1984:
April 1984 – Volume 8 • Number 4

Neil Peart, Ralph Cooper, Jon Hiseman, John Steel, Michael Carabello, Dave Weckl, Mark Herndon, Butch Miles, Myron Grombacher, Omar Hakim


January 1983:
January 1983 – Volume 7 • Number 1

Peter Erskine, Chester Thompson, Jim Gordon, Tony Williams, Dennis Elliot, Vic Mastrianni, Tommy Aldridge, Andy Newmark, Butch Miles, Chet McCracken, Ralph Cooper, Sue Hadjopoulos, Tris Imboden, Gene Dunlap, Mike Baird, Ed Tuduri, Bill Ward, Michael Botts, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jim Keltner, Emedin Rivera, Roland Vasquez, Don Murray, Mat Marucci, Don Moye, …


March April 1979:
March April 1979 – Volume 3 • Number 2

Phil Collins, Joe Morello, Alphonse Mouzon, David Garibaldi, Butch Miles, Lenny DiMuzio, Milk Balter


October 1977:
October 1977 – Volume 1 • Number 4

Lenny White, Badal Roy, Butch Miles, Max Roach, Terri Lyne Carrington, Garry Marshall


July 1977:
July 1977 – Volume 1 • Number 3

Alan Dawson, Butch Miles, Phil Ehart, Ed Shaughnessy, Chick Webb



Posted: February 3, 2023

Category: News
Butch Miles (1944-2023)

Drummer-bandleader Butch Miles (1944-2023) has died. Butch and his drumming were loved and admired all over the world. Butch Miles was best known for his tenure in the Count Basie Orchestra from 1975 to 1979 and then making a ten-year return to the band from 1997 to 2007. In the 1980s …


Posted: March 2, 2017

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, Featured
Jason Trammell on Sinkane’s Life & Livin’ It

This past February 10, multifaceted producer and pop, funk, and jazz blender Ahmed Gallab released his sixth album, Life & Livin’ It, with his solo project Sinkane. Drummer and longtime Gallab collaborator Jason Trammell lays down tasty, soulful, and world-influenced grooves beneath the contagious hooks and gorgeous harmonies that adorn …


Posted: January 25, 2017

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Butch Trucks: 1947–2017

In a week that was already rocked by the deaths of Can’s Jaki Liebezeit and Spooky Tooth’s Mike Kellie, the drum world was shaken for a third time by news this morning of the passing of founding Allman Brothers Band sticksman Butch Trucks.


Posted: September 29, 2016

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories, On the Beat
On Tour: Tony Leone With the Chris Robinson Brotherhood

Longtime New York City drummer Tony Leone is currently on the road with the Chris Robinson Brotherhood.


Posted: November 2, 2015

Category: Drummers, Feature Stories
Count Basie/Tony Bennett Drummer Harold Jones

Harold Jones is a marvel. While some people his age are already living in retirement homes, the seventy-five-year-old drummer is busy globe-hopping with another over-achieving American musical icon, Tony Bennett….


Posted: March 19, 2012

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Tim Walsh of the Stepkids

I’m Tim Walsh of the Stepkids, and I’m excited to be on here and hope to add to the wealth of knowledge that is MD’s awesome thirty-five-year history…


Posted: January 20, 2012

Category: Feature Stories
25 Great Double-Drumming Tracks

Two drummers working it out, face to face—trading licks, contributing to a massive groove, spurring each other on—it’s one of the great musical traditions, and surely it goes back to the very invention of the drumkit at the beginning of the last century. This group of tunes focuses on tracks …


Posted: December 6, 2011

Category: Book Review, Drummers, Reviews
Rifftide: The Life
and Opinions of
Paoa Jo Jones

As Told To Albert Murray

The father of modern drumming kept his bag of tricks safely hidden. Thank goodness his playing spoke for itself.


Posted: November 22, 2011

Category: News, News and Events
November Web Update News

Drumming news for the month of November complied in one place.


Posted: November 13, 2008

Category: Drummers, On the Beat
Spencer Peterson

My name is Spencer Peterson, and I first took an interest in the drums at an early age, though it wasn't until I was ten years old that I took them seriously.



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