Buddy. One word says it all. Icon, household name, a celebrity with a comics wit, a virtuoso unequaled.  He was a force of nature to behold.  He commanded the best out of his musicians because every time he sat down behind the kit he was the best in the world. Quite simply, no one drove a big band like he did. Beyond his soul shattering technique, it was just the time feel—the drive that he had that was like nobody else.  His time felt like a cigarette boat with the front end hiked up in the air cruising on the water at a ferocious speed.  At the same time utmost musically always prevailed and he could be just as sensitive too. His astonishing brush playing clearly demonstrated this.