Herlin Riley and Johnny Vidacovich – Together in the lineage

10th September 2018   ·   0 Comments

By Geraldine Wyckoff
Contributing Writer

Drummers Herlin Riley and Johnny Vidacovich share a wealth of musical experiences though in many ways these master musicians are as different as can be. The two, who will perform together for the first time on Saturday, September 15, at N. Rampart Street’s Jazz & Heritage Center, tend to agree with that assessment.

“First of all we’re both from New Orleans – that’s number one,” Riley, 61, declares. “As drummers we have been influenced by the whole vintage of New Orleans drummers. Basically we’re in the same era and we’ve played with the same people so that’s definitely a common thread that we have.”

Vidacovich, 69, expresses a similar thought saying, “We have historical knowledge of this area that we’re indigenous of – this New Orleans folk music. Street beat is what we’re doing. Street beat is the perfect description of New Orleans folk music. Though I’m a little older than Herlin, we grew up in the same pot of beans listening to the same radio stations, the same jukeboxes, the same popular bands and the same great drummers.”

Naturally, because of their abilities in a wide variety of genres they’ve often subbed for one another in various bands. However, Riley’s and Vidacovich’s individual approach to playing sets them apart from each other and, well, from most. Riley is best recognized for leading his own group, working with Wynton Marsalis’ Quartet and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, playing with piano great Ahmad Jamal and performing world-wide with noted Cuban and African artists.

Vidacovich will always be associated with the all-star band Astral Project, now celebrating its 40th year, and noted for his stint performing and recording with the legendary Professor Longhair and decades with pianist/vocalist Mose Allison. These days, Vidacovich has gained new audiences at his hot Thursday night shows at the Maple Leaf where he invites different special guests to join him each week. Interestingly, early in Harry Connick Jr.’s career, they each had a turn behind the drums with the now-famous pianist and vocalist. Riley is heard on Connick’s first recording, “E” that was a tribute to pianist/educator Ellis Marsalis.

For the uninitiated, on hearing these two guys play, it might seem unlikely that they came out of “the same pot of beans.” Yet New Orleans remains at their core.

“Herlin really projects this unique happiness that’s infectious when he plays,” says Vidacovich, who is animated behind the drum set yet perhaps less gregarious. “That’s the true feeling I get when he plays. I can feel it in my stomach – it has nothing to do with my brain. When I play I kind of allow myself to be taken away by the moment of the music and get lost in it. That is kind of one of my goals, I think, but I don’t try to do it. I try to let it happen.”

“Johnny’s approach to playing is looser than mine,” Riley offers. “It lends itself to New Orleans sensibilities where everything isn’t so much on top of the beat pushing the beat forward. He owns his own style – he comes with his own truth. I, on the other hand, I play on top of the beat. I play with a lot of energy.”

Both drummers, most would agree, are not only exceptionally inspiring to hear but also fun to watch. The ever-smiling Riley often dances out from the back of a room wielding a tambourine or, more recently, blowing a conch shell to join the band already onstage. His background in African music comes into play as he licks his fingers and slides them across a drumhead resulting in a rich, earthy tone. Often enjoying the role of entertainer, Riley seems to get a kick from the audience’s reaction at Snug Harbor when he uses a nearby pipe as part of his percussive apparatus.

Meanwhile, Vidacovich is a wonder as his lanky limbs move seemingly effortlessly to produce a cacophony of sounds and rhythms. His sticks and brushes remain ever so close to the snare with his light touch seeming to coax the instrument to life. It’s always easy to spot a drummer who has studied under Vidacovich, who teaches at Loyola University, as they – like Brian Blade and Stanton Moore – incorporate some of his style.

“I think Herlin is definitely technically better than me,” Vidacovich concedes. “The older I’ve gotten, the less important it (technique) is – I’m more into reduction. Some 25 or 30 years ago, I abandoned some of the stuff that I was doing technically when I was 20 or 30. As I grew older it seems as though I’ve learned not to learn more drum-istic stuff but to take all the years and years of external knowledge that I have accumulated and doing a little bit of spring cleaning on it. Making more use of space and simplicity.”

Riley and Vidacovich both warned not expect anything as academic as the history of New Orleans music or jazz at Saturday night’s free concert. Performing on a bandstand together for the first time, they plan to enjoy themselves. Along for what is sure be a joyful ride is saxophonist Derek Douget, guitarist Steve Masakowski and bassist James Singleton, the latter two who are bandmates of Vidacovich’s in Astral Project. He doesn’t recall having played with Douget outside, perhaps, in a big band setting. Conversely, Riley has performed often with Douget but not since yesteryear at the now-defunct Tyler’s Beer Garden has he met up to play with Masakowski and Singleton. Those gigs included the great keyboardist Willie Tee.

Word is there won’t be any swapping out tunes as Riley and Vidacovich will be holding their positions on stage all night. Both are enthusiastically looking forward to the collaboration. “What makes us similar is that we’re flexible,” Vidacovich says. “We’re not in one category. We play music.”

“It’s going to fun. It’s going to be a surprise is what it’s going to be – even to us.”

This article originally published in the September 10, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.