That Was Smooth!
“Smooth Criminal” is one of Michael Jackson’s most iconic and well-known songs. Even the younger generation can easily identify the track just a few seconds into it. And we have to count ourselves lucky because Jonathan Moffett, who has worked with MJ for over thirty years just visited Drumeo’s studio to play it. You can already tell he’s a master of his craft because he made it look so easy!
Did he deliver the goods? Absolutely. It may seem simple and all, but it only goes to show you don’t need a lot of theatrics to be a great drummer. Watching him behind the kit pretty much explains why he has collaborated with other legendary musicians like George Michael, Elton John, Quincy Jones, and Stevie Wonder to name a few. The guy’s a professional – he’s the real deal and there’s no fluff or any overly dramatic drumming here.
But yes, his performance is absolutely perfect.
https://twitter.com/jmoffettmjm/status/1035559269523836934
“As far as I’m concerned, my bass drum technique is due to the fact that my brother played bass, so I always heard a lot of bass as I was learning drums. Growing up, I wound up playing bass guitar patterns on the bass drum to fill in the music, as opposed to most drummers growing up with more top-end, hand- oriented type things. I went for patterns that would fill in the gaps of the music. I like a real full sound.” – Jonathan Moffett
Also known as Sugarfoot, Michael Jackson would always call him first whenever he’s about to tour because he liked his drumming from the time he was touring with The Jacksons. And with the following video, you’ll know why he’s The King of Pop’s drummer of choice. The amount of focus and energy with each slam is impressive.
This man is clearly an icon.