The Drum Battle

The Drum Battle
Live album by Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich
Released	1960
Recorded	September 13, 1952, at Carnegie Hall, New York City
Genre	Jazz
Label	Verve MG V-8369
Producer	Norman Granz
Gene Krupa chronology
The Gene Krupa Story (1959) The Drum Battle (1960) Chicago...And All That Jazz! (1961)
Buddy Rich chronology
The Driver (1960) The Drum Battle (1960) Playtime (1961)

The Drum Battle – Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich at JATP (later issued as The Original Drum Battle!) is a 1960 live album by drummers Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa, recorded at Jazz at the Philharmonic in 1952 at Carnegie Hall.^[1]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Lindsay Planer writing on Allmusic wrote of the opening tracks that "While Smith drives the band, Krupa is front and center with his antagonistic percussive prodding. "Idaho" is marked with Jones' rollicking post-bop mastery as he trades solos with Smith and can be heard quoting lines from Monk before yielding to Smith. The cover of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady" sparkles from beginning to end. Jones' opening flourish sets the tenure as Smith settles into a smoky lead, containing some nice syncopation and regal augmentation from Jones. ...The tempo is significantly stepped up on a cover of Benny Goodman's "Flying Home," which is full of high-spirited playing and garners a sizable reaction from the audience." Fitzgerald's performance on "Perdido" was described by Planer as "hot steppin' and definitive" and that her performance on the song featured "authority, class, and most of all, soul".^[1] Rich and Krupa's performance on "The Drum Battle" was described by Planer as a "mile-a-minute wash of profound percussion".^[1]

Track listing

1. "Idaho" (Jesse Stone) – 7:26
2. "Sophisticated Lady" (Duke Ellington, Irving Mills, Mitchell Parish) – 4:35
3. "Flying Home" (Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton) – 6:02
4. "Drum Boogie" (Gene Krupa, Roy Eldridge) – 9:20
5. "The Drum Battle" (Norman Shrudlu) – 3:20
6. "Perdido" (Ervin Drake, Hans J. Langsfelder, Juan Tizol) – 3:30

Personnel

• Gene Krupa – drums
• Buddy Rich – drums on "The Drum Battle" and "Perdido"
• Hank Jones – piano on "Idaho", "Sophisticated Lady", "Flying Home" and "Drum Boogie"
• Willie Smith – alto saxophone on "Idaho", "Sophisticated Lady", "Flying Home" and "Drum Boogie"
• Ella Fitzgerald – vocals on "Perdido"
• Benny Carter – alto saxophone on "Perdido"
• Flip Phillips, Lester Young – tenor saxophone on "Perdido"
• Charlie Shavers, Roy Eldridge – trumpet on "Perdido"
• Oscar Peterson – piano on "Perdido"
• Ray Brown – double bass on "Perdido"
• Barney Kessel – guitar on "Perdido"

Production

• Leonard Feather – liner notes
• Chuck Stewart – photography
• Norman Granz – producer

References