I never knew Richard Innes personally, nor did I ever get the chance to meet him. It was a hopeful resolution that I held and believed would be a very special moment in my life, both personally and musically. Sadly, it was never to be. Richard Innes made me a better person and drummer through the way he conducted himself. He inspired others, which in turn inspired me. The only way I have any connection to the man is through third party stories, anecdotes and of course the recordings where his drumming can be heard. Yet his influence on me is stronger and more deeply felt than a great many people with whom I have had countless personal interactions.

He is, to me, the greatest blues drummer of our time, and decidedly one of the best of all time. Famed sportscaster Bob Costas in the 1994 film by Ken Burns entitled Baseball said of Ted Williams, “He was what few of us ever become. He was exactly what he set out to be. He said he wanted to be able to walk down the street some day and have people say, ‘There goes the greatest hitter who ever lived,’ and if they don't say that, it's only because they don't know what they're talking about.”

I feel this way in regards to Richard Innes and blues drumming. His encyclopedic knowledge of the genre was surpassed only by his nuanced command of every aspect of blues drumming. I can remember the first time listening to Kim Wilson’s album Smokin’ Joint, it was an epiphany for me. His groove, touch, feel, sense of dynamics, technical facility, professionalism, pure creativity and matured taste on songs like Ain’t Gonna Do It are second to none.

Though the list of his measurable abilities is staggering, even more impressive are all the intangible qualities he brought to the music. There isn’t one song I’ve ever heard which Richard Innes played that I wasn’t forced to smile at least once or twice at something he was doing. It could be a certain fill, a subtle but impactful change in groove, a tasteful choice of comping or how he simply knew exactly what to play and when to play it. It was as if he understood the music forwards and backwards and could anticipate the other musicians every second of the way and at every change. The phrase “effortless mastery” comes to mind whenever I think of Richard Innes.

Through his level of musicianship and his dedication to the instrument and the genre, Richard Innes has left an indelible impression on me and no doubt countless others. What I’ve learned from him, I now share with my students and musical colleagues, which they will in some way share with others. So the ripples of his incredible contribution to drumming and music which are impossible to measure will truly transcend his life and times.

“For he on honey-dew hath fed and drunk the milk of paradise.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge