Steve Jordan is one of those guys you’ve probably heard play on a hundred recordings, but just didn’t know it. You just knew you liked it.

The first recording of Jordan I ever heard goes back a few decades. My parents purchased Briefcase Full of Blues by the Blues Brothers. (This is, by the way, a terrific live blues album if you’re ever looking for one.) I remember, even way back then, thinking “Who is that guy on the drums. That groove is so sweet!”

Jordan’s had an illustrious career to be sure, joining Stevie Wonder’s band when he was just a teenager, playing with Paul Shaffer in both the Saturday Night Live band as well as the original incarnation of The World’s Most Dangerous Band in the early days of Late Night With David Letterman. He’s also performed and recorded with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, Sheryl Crow, Alicia Keys, Sonny Rollins, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, Neil Young and the John Meyer Trio.

It is from this last project that I’m pleased to present you with this week’s Friday Drum Launch. This live recording from the John Meyer Trio is a giant grooving pile of guitar and drumming deliciousness. Notice how Jordan’s actually got two kits merged into one so he can completely change his sound depending on the needs of the song.

Featured in this video are two of my favorites from this group, Who Did You Think I Was and their cover of Hendrix’s Wait Until Tomorrow, and the subject of a tutorial I wrote last year on Jordan’s playing with JMT. Check this out and then tell me you don’t want to go and jam on your kit for a few hours.