Tony Williams: Control and clarity

Tony Williams explaining his approach to hand technique and how it helped him have control and clarity. This is an excerpt from his clinic at the Zildjian Day in Dallas, TX (1985), originally uploaded by @tedsirota.

Watch the full clinic here:

[loucontino]

There will never be another Tony Williams. He was a shooting star. Just like Hendrix & Jaco. This man came into the world to turn music on it's ear. And he did . Rest In Peace Tony Williams, One Of A Kind.

[HuckFinn]

Tony Williams is still the state of the art of drumming!

[EricBaileyDrums]

"I used to practice only playing the cymbal for long periods of time"...

I heard Mike Clark say that Tony used to sit down and practice four-limb unisons for hours at a time. It seems something all the great players have in common is that they put in enough time to absolutely master of the fundamentals of drumset playing. Mark Guiliana is another good example: "I still can't play eighth notes in time, so I still work on it"

[pacmanlp]

One of the father's of modern drumming. Spread his words is much appreciated

[troyjones]

The greatest to ever pick up the sticks. The most telling statement Mr. Williams makes “ I love the drums “. I was fortunate enough to see him at the old Concerts by the Sea in Redondo Beach California in the late 1980s.

[tyronesmith]

"I don't rely on bounce" - Thank You Tony Williams!!!

[rhythmfield]

That solo at the beginning…, Such fluidity, completely focused & in command yet totally relaxed. Watch carefully. This is one of the greatest drummers ever to sit at the instrument.

[Indoman_]

"I do change it because I want to change it because I choose to change it, not because I can't help myself..."
Love that. So many drummers to me it seems when they change, do so because of lack of emotional self control.

[Rockin_Ross]

I loved his comment about not changing drum sets for different music. That it’s the player, not the equipment.

Such a talent taken from us WAY too soon.

[mletalien]

So happy I got to see him play live. One of the greats for sure.

[spookybaba]

Tony still is my favourite drummer. Vinnie, an extremely close second 😍

[eelamite]

so relevant. rn for me personally. wrists way overworked n this went over my head a year back. so grateful to see this again and grasp it better

[miker]

He's probably my favorite of all time definitely one of the best if not the best

[JA-ionx]

Never forget the first time I heard "Fred" when I was a kid in the 70s. Game changer for me.

[randybrickson]

it's hard to overstate how insightful TW's comments are. Amazing that he's speaking off the cuff

[thelonious-dxvi]

Tony played better than everybody else. Long live the King.

[robertdowler]

They also must know Dynamics, too, controlling the sound level with both hands. Thank you Sir for your very informative class.

[miguelmerino]

ain't nobody got muscle to play without the bounce except for tony

[peterguidera]

Thank you for editing this down !!! I try to watch this clip at least once every few months. :-)

[sonsauvage]

His personal technique philosophy makes a lot of sense as to why his playing has so much force behind it, very dynamic player but there's always that intensity there