57 Best Jazz Drummers

Jack DeJohnette

Jack DeJohnette is a similar drummer to Robert Searight, as he’s an incredible pianist as well. However, he’s quite well-known for being a huge influence and mentor to many of the world’s best jazz drummers that are currently playing.

His experience with playing piano has made him a highly unique drummer that tends to play more musically than rhythmically.

Ari Hoenig

Ari Hoenig is an incredible drummer that I tend to find quite underrated. He’s a huge name in the jazz music scene in the US, but many people around the world don’t know about him in the same way that they know all the other drummers on this list.

He’s a fantastic player with a very relaxed style of playing. I once saw him play a drum solo where he bounced a stick off the ground in perfect time. That’s one of the many things he’s done to make him another one of the best modern jazz drummers around.

Steve Smith

Like Cindy Blackman, Steve Smith can be considered both a rock and jazz drummer. He’s another player with deep roots in jazz, and he’s been kicking it with some of the best jazz musicians in the world throughout his career.

He’s many people’s favorite drummer, which has a lot to do with him playing drums with Journey. However, I think his jazz drumming skills are immaculate, and he’s definitely a solid drummer for this list.

Vinnie Colaiuta

Vinnie Colauita is another drummer that falls into many of the same conversations as Dave Weckl. He’s a very talented jazz fusion drummer that just blows your mind every time you watch him play.

While he was a big name in the 90s and early 2000s, he’s still killing it behind the drums in his old age.

One of my favorite things to do is watch old Vinnie Colaiuta drum solos on YouTube.

Antonio Sanchez

Antonio Sanchez is a powerhouse drummer in the jazz music industry. While he’s most well-known for his work with Pat Metheny, he’s also an incredible composer and soloist.

While every single drummer on this list knows exactly how to create a musical and enticing solo, Antonio Sanchez has honestly played some of the best drum solos I’ve ever seen. They’re just so captivating.

With regard to composing, he created an entire drum-only soundtrack for the movie Birdman.

Eric Harland

Eric Harland is another great modern jazz drummer. He’s one of those guys that often gets the call when a big jazz artist needs a drummer these days, and he’s played with some big names like Joshua Redman, Dave Holland, Aaron Goldberg, and Chris Potter.

He’s become a major influential figure to many young jazz drummers, as his playing perfectly exemplifies what it means to push boundaries in a jazz band context.

Marcus Gilmore

Marcus Gilmore is one of the most unique drummers I know of. Roy Haynes is his grandfather, so the jazz drumming influence runs deep in his family.

A highlight to mention is the way Marcus sets his drums up. He regularly uses two pairs of hi-hats, with a very small pair set up on a stand next to his main pair. He then effortlessly moves his left foot between the two pedals.

Nate Smith

Nate Smith is one of my top three favorite drummers. While he’s been playing jazz with some big names for years, he’s gained massive popularity over the last decade.

He’s now the main attraction for many of the gigs he plays, running a few bands as the bandleader.

He has an incredible sense of groove. His playing is quite powerful, and he somehow manages to make simple drum parts sound much better than how other people play them.

Larnell Lewis

I’ve heard many people mention that Larnell Lewis is on his way to becoming one of the best drummers to have played the instrument.

He’s another drummer that makes my personal top three favorites list. He’s one of the drummers that plays for Snarky Puppy, but he also has plenty of his own projects where he plays more traditional styles of jazz.

If there were one big thing to say about Larnell’s playing, it would be that it’s musical. He just knows exactly what to play to make a song sound better every time.

Robert “Sput” Searight

Sput was one of the founding members of Snarky Puppy. He’s another incredibly musical drummer that plays things that just seem to gel very well.

He doesn’t play with Snarky Puppy as much anymore, but he does a lot of work as a musical director with various projects.

He can play keys just as well as he can play drums, which has taken him really far in his career.

Jason Thomas

Jason Thomas is another drummer that regularly plays for Snarky Puppy. He also plays with a lot of the musicians from that band when they do their own solo projects.

His drumming is quite powerful behind the kit, and I think it brings a unique sense of force behind the rhythmic side of a jazz setup.

Like most drummers on this list, he can play some amazing drum solos!

Moses Boyd

Moses Boyd is one of the leading drummers in the UK jazz scene at the moment. Jazz groups in the UK sound quite different from the ones coming out of other countries, and you can easily hear that in the way that Moses Boyd plays the drums.

He’s mentioned that he draws influence from African musical styles, which I think is really cool.

Typical jazz drumming includes a lot of swing patterns, but Moses Boyd’s style is very grooving and rhythmic. I’m a big fan of his drum parts when he plays with Ashley Henry.