Michael De Luca

Since Jeff's unexpected departure in 1992, there has been a tremendous void left in the world of music, and for every musician who appreciated and loved his work. 28 years is a long time to mourn the loss of a American drumming icon that gave so much through his art and humanity. The answer to that void came from Robyn Flans who shared the journey for the rest of us to understand. Sometimes, the right people and moments in time collide to finish the story, and in a large way give some comfort, and most certainly keep Jeff's memory alive. But Jeff's memory will not suffer the cadence of time fading everything. Robyn took care of that for us, along with scores of civilians like myself that cherish what he gave us, with the time he had. One can only image how difficult it was to approach a book like this. Through a collection of stories, the author provides detail unlike anything I've ever read. The part I find stunning is the stories recanted in detail in a time when smartphones were just a science fiction pipe dream. Conversations that happened years ago, come with detail of who said what to who and when. I can't remember what I had for breakfast today, but somehow, moments and conversations were remembered with accurate detail. I give credit to Robyn for being the scribe in preserving what some may have thought at the time inconsequential. Brought back to life for the reader to really understand the era, the music, the artist and the exchanges with Jeff along with way. The scores of artist praise for Jeff's playing, and attitude are endless. It comes as no surprise that these words surfaced after the fact. Names such as Streisand, Boz Scaggs, Cher, Steely Dan all show that Jeff's talent translated well across all styles and the artist were quick to point out Jeff's playing was clutch in a song becoming a hit. I've been a fan of Jeff's playing longer than I can remember. His humanity rose to the top often in this book. Family was at the center of his orbit. I find it humbling that there were times when Jeff felt he wasn't right for a project, and didn't think twice about recommending a colleague like Jim Keltner, or John Robinson. That is the brotherhood of drummers for you. Honestly, I can't gush enough about this book. Often when I read something, I am relieved I finished it. When I read the final page, I wanted more. With 2020 being a year of incredible loss on a multitude of scales, this book might be the only thing good that came of this year. Thank you Robyn Flans for this incredible work. If you are on the fence about reading this book, please allow me: Read it. Drummer, Pianist, Guitarist-what ever you do-read it.