Gadd: A Life in Time

A Life in Time is a look at Steve Gadd’s incredible career. Written by Joe Bergamini and produced by Robert Wallis.

This unique, coffee-table style collector’s book and package comes with not only the 236-page main book, but also a separate, spiral-bound, 82-page book of all the music notation contained in the hardcover book (designed for practice), and hours of bonus video. This limited edition will create a unique collector’s item with signed copies available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“As musicians age, they learn to listen; they become more collaborative. Chops are only the beginning. Playing with Steve is the best. He’s the most “musical” drummer you could hope to find: the sounds he gets from his kit, the groove, the connection with Jimmy Johnson on bass and with the whole band... It’s integrated: He leads, he follows. He collaborates.”
- James Taylor

With a career spanning four decades as the most in-demand recording drummer in the world, Steve Gadd is an icon of the music world whose name has become synonymous with groove and drumming greatness. As a sideman, his resume reads like a list of the most important artists of the last half century:  James Taylor, Eric Clapton, Chick Corea, Paul Simon, Al Jarreau, Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, Steely Dan, Stuff, Chuck Mangione, and hundreds of others. With an instantly identifiable feel, sound, and vocabulary, he is considered by drummers to be one of the all-time greats, and is easily one of the most copied, studied, and imitated players in drum set history.

Written by Bergamini under Gadd’s supervision and culled from dozens of hours of new interviews with him, A Life in Time offers a compelling look at all the aspects of Steve’s career. From his rise out of Rochester into the New York studios and through his staggering body of work up to the present day, go behind the scenes at monumental recording sessions during a golden age of music in New York City and Los Angeles, and backstage with Clapton, Taylor, The Gadd Gang and more. A foreword by James Taylor; exclusive new commentary from Tony Levin, Eddie Gomez, Donald Fagen, and Gary Katz; and archival interviews with Chick Corea, Eric Clapton, Phil Ramone, and Russ Titelman add compelling detail to the story.

A combination of biography, scholarly analysis, transcription book, and photo memoir, the book brings all these elements together into a beautiful package. Musicians and fans can experience the sessions that led to the creation of iconic songs and drum parts from the perspective of the people who were there. Drummers who want to study and learn Gadd’s parts will find note-for-note transcriptions from his most famous tracks and performances, including “Aja,” “Nite Sprite,” “Late in the Evening,” “Chuck E.’s in Love,” “Fifty Ways to Leave Your Lover,” “Lenore,” “Spain,” “Love for Sale,” and many, many more. Intense solo performances from The Gadd Gang, Steps, and others are also included. The notation is coupled with expert analysis from the author, providing insight into the music and Gadd’s creative process. With unprecedented access to Steve’s personal collection, the book is beautifully tied together with close to 200 photographs, many in full colour and never published before.

“As musicians age, they learn to listen; they become more collaborative. Chops are only the beginning. Playing with Steve is the best. He’s the most “musical” drummer you could hope to find: the sounds he gets from his kit, the groove, the connection with Jimmy Johnson on bass and with the whole band... It’s integrated: He leads, he follows. He collaborates.”
- James Taylor