369 – [Daniel Glass Show]: Zoro: Five Favorites
The latest installment of the “Five Favorites” series features Daniel in a wide-ranging musical conversation with one of his mentors, the legendary funk drummer Zoro. Through the lens of five key albums, Zoro shares how a deep love for music helped him rise above a difficult childhood to discover his true potential as a drummer and human being.
What’s covered in this session:
- Incredible stories from Zoro’s unorthodox upbringing in Compton, Grant’s Pass Oregon and Hollywood.
- Zoro’s many Forrest Gump-like encounters with a wide variety of musical mentors who would make a deep impact on the budding musician. These include the members of Earth, Wind and Fire, Buddy Rich, Alphonse Mouzon and his childhood friend Lenny Kravitz.
- A breakdown of five influential records that made an impact on Zoro’s development as a musician and a human being (drummers are listed in parentheses):
- The Motown Story – The First Decade – 1-5 Album Box Set (1970, with drummers Benny Benjamin, Pistol Allen, Uriel Jones).
- Frank Sinatra – Come Dance With Me with Billy May (1959, with drummers Irv Cottler, Alvin Stoller and Shelly Manne).
- Earth, Wind & Fire – That’s The Way of The World (1975, with drummers Maurice White, Freddie White and Ralph Johnson).
- Alphonse Mouzon – Virtue (1976).
- Buddy Rich – The Roar of 74 (1973).
Resources/Links/People Mentioned:
- Zoro and Daniel dive into a serious “drum battle” at the 2009 PASIC convention.
- The Commandment of Early Rhythm and Blues Drumming, a book co-authored by Zoro and Daniel.
- Drummer Uriel Jones playing along with one of the Motown standards he recorded in the 1960s.
- Irv Cotttler swings hard on “Luck Be A Lady” with his boss Frank Sinatra.
- Earth, Wind & Fire throw down some wicked funk in 1975 with “Shining Star.”
- Buddy Rich performs Nutville, one of the standout tracks on the album The Roar of ’74.
- Alphonse Muzon playing withe the great Jaco Pastorius in 1976.