Bernard Purdie is the worlds most prolific drummer with about 4,000 albums under his belt. Who can mess with that. He has come a very long way from rural Elkton, Maryland and the cotton fields of North Carolina. When I emailed him about having a conversation on Yazbowe Blues Cafe; I held my breath. About six weeks ago Mike Clark (drummer) and I had coffee and I told him about the radio show I was producing on Blog Talk Radio and he said " Yaz you better talk to Purdie, cause he played with all those cats." Yeah, Mike still uses words like "cats".
I confessed to Mike that I hadn't spoken to Purdie for a very long time, so he promised to send me his digits. Within 24 hrs after emailing Purdie, I received a phone call from the man himself. We met for dinner between shows (HAIR) at the Hirschfeld. I have to admit I was a little nervous, but he greeted me with open arms. It is not everyday that we eat sushi with a living legend. Dinner was quite lively since, several members of the band joined us.
Bernard was clearly the godfather; the visionary at the table watching and listening to all the voices around him, taking it all in, making an occasional comment between sips of green tea. He looks into me with those penetrating eyes and reassures me that he will fit my interview into his schedule. For more than two weeks I scoured the net for everything Bernard Purdie. What I discovered merely whet my appetite for our upcoming conversation. The list of questions compiled made me realize that the subject (Bernard Purdie) would require much more than a half hour interview.
The Purdie Shuffle, is the best known test for aspiring drummers such as auditions for P.Diddy's Making His Band; one which very few can pass. Anyone who loves music ; R & B, jazz, Blues, rock, funk etc.. has got to love Bernard Purdie. If you listen to some of the iconic tracks i.e. Rock Steady( Aretha), Deacon Blues( Steely Dan), The Thrill is Gone(BB King), Bitches Brew( Miles Davis), you realize what musical genius is. His story is a true American dream story and one that needs to be told. I hope you have the pleasure of meeting Bernard "Pretty" Purdie on my show this Sunday @ 6:30pm.
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/YazboweBlues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poJV4g52wo4 Click for more Purdie
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