Probably the only musician to play on tracks by James Brown and the Beatles, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie has performed on almost as many important records as the late session drummer Hal Blaine. Purdie’s become a rhythm legend due to his ability to add punchy funkiness to a myriad of compositional situations for artists such as Aretha Franklin, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Quincy Jones, the Rolling Stones, Gábor Szabó, Bama the Village Poet, and with Galt MacDermot on Hair. You need the solo LPs Soul Drums and Soul Is... Pretty Purdie, too. The man’s trademark is the “Purdie shuffle,” with its emphasis on quarters, eighths, 16ths, triplets, half notes, and 12/4 and 12/8 time signatures. (See his Drummerworld tutorial on YouTube for an entertaining demonstration.) As Pretty is pushing 80, these shows may be the last chance to witness this oft-sampled beat sorcerer in person. by Dave Segal