Calvin Rodgers - The Dave Weckl of Gospel

Joshua Kell
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Calvin Rodgers - The Dave Weckl of Gospel

Postby Joshua Kell » Mon Apr 30, 2012 9:30 pm

Gatos, et al : You may have heard of this guy, but if not, lemme hip you to the scene. Calvin Rodgers is pretty much THE drummer on the Gospel Scene. I make the Weckl comparison because Calvin has changed the face of this genre like Weckl did to fusion in his heyday. Plus, Rodgers is a big Weekl fan. I know 'gospel chops' can turn into a reductionist wankfest, but Rodgers, IMHO, approaches his instrument with a sizzle and musicality that separates him from the masses of thundering, familiar phrases.

Here are a couple of links w/tracks featuring Mr. Rodgers.

http://youtu.be/AYHpS289Z9E
http://youtu.be/-04F0ZqOSyQ

There is a ton of stuff for on YT, naturally. Hope you enjoy this and it resonates w/your sensibilities.

JK
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Terry Branam
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Re: Calvin Rodgers - The Dave Weckl of Gospel

Postby Terry Branam » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:03 pm

Yeah, Calvin is great!

From the Chicago south side scene. I did a Style & Analysis piece on him for Modern Drummer a couple of years ago and wrote out some super nasty licks he did. The one that really made me laugh was on the tune "Looking to get there" from the Clark sisters. The band plays a quote from Weckl's "Heads Up", and Calvin lets it rip right at the end. Nice fill! Not sure if I can find the transcription, but if anyone wants to see it, let me know...

Check it out:

@6:01

Check out my app PERFECT RHYTHM on the App store!
Joshua Kell
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Re: Calvin Rodgers - The Dave Weckl of Gospel

Postby Joshua Kell » Mon Apr 30, 2012 10:31 pm

^ that ^
You rock, Terry! Hope to find your article. C-Rod is quite the player.
Rodge
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Re: Calvin Rodgers - The Dave Weckl of Gospel

Postby Rodge » Tue May 01, 2012 3:41 am

I like that one : (I hear DC way more than Dave though...)

I come from Tain, Vinnie, Omar, Jeff, Fish, Stewart, and many more...
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samnmax203
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Re: Calvin Rodgers - The Dave Weckl of Gospel

Postby samnmax203 » Tue May 01, 2012 5:47 am

Awesome, thanks for giving these examples! I've heard Calvin's name tossed around for awhile and hadn't really checked him out yet. This is the style of gospel that speaks to me the most- really smooth and funky groove with nice vocals with tasty hits/setups occassionally. The perfect mix of groove and chops :)

I've been yearning for a new "driving" cd for commuting; looks like that live Clark Sisters cd is it for me!
bstocky
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Re: Calvin Rodgers - The Dave Weckl of Gospel

Postby bstocky » Tue May 01, 2012 5:37 pm

Never heard of him. He sounds awesome. Thanks for the heads up.

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