It doesn't take much comparison to know Nate Smith is good.
Whether with Dave Holland, his own groups, or Chris Potter's Underground, Nate's playing sizzles from the first beat.
But what if you had to explain why?
Let's come at this another way. When I was in high school, I assumed that what made great players great was immediately obvious, and obvious to all.
If I and my cohorts could do the surface level of that whey did, we'd have it. So we spent a lot of time learning their licks and their tunes.
We'd play a pretty faithful cover, just like the "beginners" in this video, who cover Rumples, a tune Nate's played on for years, practically to-the-note.
Then we listened to a recording of ourselves next to the original.
The differences we subtle. But countless minute differences added up to a Whole that seemed a universe away from the original.
It was then that I realized music making was subtle.
As I'm constantly striving to give viewers of this channel a way into the same insight I had, it occurred to me that side-by-side comparison might do the trick. Look at a Chrysler Town and Country, then describe to me how it's different from a Honda Odyssey.
Pretty hard, right?
What happens when they're parked side-by-side. It's much easier.
I was lucky enough to stumble over not just many covers of Rumples, but many *levels* of cover.
By juxtaposing the "beginner", and "advanced" covers with the original, I attempt to unpack the subtle things that make the original so amazing.
Hope you enjoy.