Charlie on Jazz Drumming

About this video

For Charlie Watts, learning drums was about watching his heroes rather than wading through music notation. He regrets his lack of tuition, but admits the wealth of knowledge acquired from drummers he saw and heard in the clubs in London and Paris.

A jazz player by nature, Charlie also acknowledges that one of the hardest skills for jazz drummers to learn is how to “play with intensity very quietly”. By contrast, rock ‘n’ roll requires “strength and regularity”.