Vinnie Colaiuta - Master of the Polyrhythm

When people write about music with complex or unusual rhythms, they will often use the word 'polyrhythmic', without really understanding what it means.

A polyrhythm is not just playing in one rhythm or time signature, however complicated it might be.

A polyrhythm occurs where a soloist is playing over the main pulse of the music in a time that does not conform to that underlying pulse.

In compositional terms, the more the rhythm of a line rubs against the implied basic time (which in rock music is typically 4/4) the more 'statistical tension' is created. This requires the rhythm section to be able to respond to the soloist's rhythmic shifts - and still come back on the 1.

Most drummers can't do this. Frank Zappa put it this way: "Either a drummer will play steady time, in which case my guitar line will wander all over his time, or he will hear the polyrhythms and play inside them, implying the basic pulse for most rock drummers, accustomed as they are to life in the petrified forest of boom-boom-BAP!"

"The chances of finding a drummer, a bass player and a keyboard player who can conceive of those polyrhythms - let alone identify them fast enough to play a complementary figure on the moment - are not good."

Lucky for Zappa, he found such a drummer - the inimitable Vinnie Colaiuta. Of all the talented drummers operating in rock and jazz, Vinnie is considered the master of the polyrhythm. He played with Zappa in 1978 and '79, appearing most notably on the album Joe's Garage and, on video, in the Circus Krone concert filmed in Germany in 1978.

Vinnie playing with Frank Zappa, late '70s

He has recorded with a wide range of artists including several tracks that remain benchmarks for complexity. These include the Sting song 'Seven Days', Joni Mitchell's cover of 'You're So Square' and the Zappa tune 'Keep It Greasy'. I have listed some more of his recorded highlights at the foot of this piece.

Of the experience in FZ's band, he said, "Frank liked that I understood polyrhythms - bizarre groupings of rhythm that I was able to sort of play with him because he loved all that stuff.

"And for me, I think that one of the things he liked about the way I played was that he played guitar solos and I'm improvising with him, kind of having this dialogue with him."

The best musicians invariably wound up being hired by Zappa, if they could hack it. He was famously demanding of his hired players and, because Zappa was a master of compositional complexity, the musicians themselves had to be able to handle whatever Frank would throw at them.

Even someone as accomplished as Vinnie Colaiuta was initially intimidated by the prospect of trying out for Zappa's band. Here, Vinnie describes his audition.

On tour with Joni Mitchell, 1983

Vinnie became immensely popular as a drummer for hire and by 1980 he was able to quit Zappa's band and rely solely on being a session drummer. 

Some of the best sessions and albums he appeared on in the 1980s, include Gino Vannelli's 'Nightwalker', the amazing City Nights from the 'Secrets' album by Allan Holdsworth and The Three Graces by Jeff Beal - Vinnie plays on one half of the record and Dave Weckl is on the other half.

In 1982, he became part of Joni Mitchell's band for the 'Wild Things Run Fast' album and the subsequent tour of North America and Europe.

Wild Things was Joni's rockiest album, at least in parts and Vinnie plays some dazzling stuff, particularly on the title track, the song 'You Dream Flat Tires' and the cover of 'You're So Square'. The latter has a drum break that includes a polyrhythmic pattern that Vinnie nails by coming back in - magically - on the one.

In 1994, Vinnie released a solo album, showcasing, as he said, his many influences in jazz and rock music. And once again, within many of the tunes he demonstrates his unique ability to throw bizarre and, to ordinary mortals, unfathomable drum patterns into conventional rhythms. 

Another of his most astonishing displays was the jam band session at the legendary (but tiny!) Baked Potato live music bar in Hollywood.

It's just phenomenal. I have a DVD of this and I never tire of watching it. It's a fixed camera angle side-stage with an odd sound mix (that is, no mix) but you're right in there with Vinnie, to witness his groove, his swing, his outrageous flights of fancy and mastery of rhythm.

I have followed Vinnie's career from those early days with Zappa and I've been lucky enough to see him play live several times over five decades and in many different situations:

- with Frank Zappa at Knebworth in 1978 - my first time seeing Vinnie - a fun day at this open air festival in the UK. Zappa played the hits and there was a good spirit about the concert.

 - Joni Mitchell at Wembley in 1983 - Joni's partner, bassist Larry Klein, put a band together including Mike Landau on Guitar and Russell Ferrante on keyboards. It was a real treat to see Joni playing with a rocking band, who were also able to bring out the sophistication in her songs, especially those more jazzy tunes from the late 70s. Vinnie was especially good at laying back on the beat here. Also the best sounding arena show I ever saw.

- with Chick Corea in 1992 - my wife and I were in New York at Christmas time and this particular evening, after an expensive dinner at a midtown restaurant, we headed downtown to the Blue Note jazz club. The Blue Note is not a big venue and Vinnie's drumkit was set up at the front of the stage, so there was going to be no getting way from him on this night. I credit my wife for not being overwhelmed by it, because this was an amazing display by the whole band - John Pattitucci on bass, Wallace Roney on trumpet, Bob Berg on sax and, of course, Chick Corea on keyboards. The clip linked to above is the trio recorded in Tokyo around the same time. 

- with Jeff Beck at the Royal Albert Hall in 2007 - My brother and I went to this show. David Gilmour came on for the encore.  

- with Herbie Hancock, 2006 - my wife's second experience of live Vinnie, in a bigger venue this time, Auckland's ASB theatre.  

Here's a collection of some of his best playing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7KbQtAeFlc

and here's some more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fnqNbKNGPXU

Here, he talks about his influences and how Tony Williams turned his head around.  

On being a session drummer

He's a monster drummer, that's all there is to it. 

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