581 - Steve Jordan: The Godfather of Groove - Drummer's Resource: Conversations with the world's greatest drummers and music industry pros.
September 7, 2020

581 – Steve Jordan: The Godfather of Groove

Steve Jordan is an icon. His larger than life grooves can be heard on thousands of records over the years, dating back to the ’70s when he was the house drummer for Saturday Night Live (at the age of 19), all the way to 2020 with his newest release, Beat Odyssey 2020 with Mix Master Mike.

It’s hard to encapsulate a career as illustrious as Steve Jordan’s in a few sentences, not only because of his recording credits (The X-pensive Winos with Keith Richards, Chuck Berry, The Rolling Stones, John Mayer, The Blues Brothers, etc) and his production credits (Don Henley, John Mellencamp, Andres Calamaro, Cat Stevens, Bob Dylan, Sonny Rollins, BB King, Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Neil Young) but also because of the lasting effect he’s had on drummers around the world for decades.

Steve’s inimitable sound and style is the envy of most drummers, and for good reason. Although not surprising that Steve is classically trained and has the technical prowess to go toe-to-toe with anyone, he made the conscious decision to strip down his playing, focus on groove and feel, and dedicate his entire career to serving the music and playing what the music dictates – not the other way around.

Devoid of ego and agenda, Jordan’s playing is adaptive, much like the way water adapts itself to the shape of whatever it is poured into. No matter the situation, he always manages to fit the bill, while always sounding like Steve Jordan, regardless of music style. He does this while simultaneously serving the music in the most authentic and accurate way.

To understand the full scope of Steve’s career, check out his Wikipedia page.

Steve Jordan talks about:

  • Having support from family and great teachers
  • What has happened to music education in schools
  • The influence of the Beatles on him wanting to play music
  • How he developed his feel/sound
  • How the music industry has shifted to focus on social media
  • His tips for young drummers

Resources/Links mentioned: