I absolutely can't cite the Most artistic.  All I'd do is cite
a person among many who are truly artistic.

My latest *discovery* is - Jeff Ballard - Brad Mehldau drummer.
I have their Live CD, and it's just filled with great, very artistic
playing all around.

It's so subjective.
And I'd hate to see this thread become another excuse to separate one type of drummer from another. 
However....
One drummer I very much admire in the jazz genre is Jack De Johnette.
He has solo albums on the ECM label where he plays the drums and piano.
The two jazz drummers fans most often talk about are Tony Williams and Elvin Jones. It does seem they broke a lot of new ground in their day.

As noted above, there are many for many different reasons.

If I had to name one that seems to fit what you are asking for, DeJohnette always springs to mind as someone whose drumming really challenges traditional concepts of time. Check out his playing on Inside Out with Jarrett and Peacock. They scrapped the standards at a live gig and just played a "free" set. Jack's drumming is just alive on that one.

There are so many...

DeJohnette, Paul Motian, Sunny Murray, Han Bennink, Jeff Ballard, Brian Blade, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Roy Haynes, Ed Blackwell, Ralph Peterson - those are all guys that I've listened to for a conceptual kick in the pants...

But then again there's nothing more artistic than Ed Thigpen laying it down with some brushes. So "inside" that it's transcendent. Only the 'correct' notes, every time. That's sublime...

There are so many...

To be honest, I think any drummer who can play Jazz well is very artistic. That may be because I can't play Jazz very well at all, but I just find it amazing at what kind of things that drummers in the Jazz/Swing genre do.

As far as just picking one, the first ones that come to my mind are the Jazz legends, such as Buddy Rich and Tony Williams.

Chonson, you make a good point about embracing the genre as a collective artform. In defense of the OP a bit though, understanding a type of music we are somewhat new to usually starts by latching on to what is familiar first. I know when I started playing jazz my favorite albums were the ones with my favorite drummers. Hell, I'd listen to Chick Corea's Now He Sings... over and over just to hear Roy's ride.

But yeah. You make a good point to keep in mind.

all the legends [tony, buddy, billy c., jack, elvin, philly jo, etc] became legends for a reason. they added new things to the vocabulary of drumming and language of jazz. so i love all those guys, but with the exception of jack, tony and some billy c., i haven't studied all the greats so extensively. my only gripe with jack is that his (latter-day) groove is not always so deep. but that's okay; he's more of a free player, which is his strength and which no one can imitate.

but when i think of the newer players [even though they've been playing for well over 2 decades], i always go to tain watts and terri lyne carrington, because to me they've raised the bar on multiple levels--technique, musicality, improvisational inspiration/brilliance, "chops" [i know, i know], overall ferocity on the kit and deep knowledge of jazz tradition.

tain's last album with branford marsalis, 'braggtown', goes to new musical depths. i listen to it at least twice a week. tunes like 'blackzilla', 'hope' and 'fate' showcase tain in all his glory, from biting, provocative out-there stuff to soulful, introspective 'ballads.' tain gets deep, deep, deep into the melody, and re-states it in very original, unexpected ways. i also love his work on 'crazy people music.'

i went to check him out i think in january, for this semi-solo performance he gave at a small club in nyc. it was in part a tribute to max roach, whom tain idolizes. he did 'the drum also waltzes' intro [and joked about how he only knows 3 things from roach's vocabulary], then took it way, way out. then he did a drum/piano duet with this woman who was sitting in the audience [am totally spacing on her name], who had a real cecil taylor-like quality to her, so that got real out-there, too. then he did some quasi-rap and more 'inside' modern/blues/rap/spoken word jazz stuff with a few fellas from his ebonix group that rocked. the whole thing went on just over 3 hours and i was rapt the whole time. i've got a tiny bit of video footage that maybe i'll get on here at some point. [i'm not big on bootlegging stuff, so i only took a wee bit, for my own indulgence]. there were only like 10 people (!) there so i was able to chit-chat with him. very sweet man.


terri lyne has been a prodigy like forever, and the big thing that always stands out to me about her is her musical intuition. talk about being in the moment, man. she's at that level where she anticipates what another player is going to say, and when she responds to other players, she does so in very articulate, and often very surprising ways. she also has the sickest singles--they may even be faster than tony's. she lays in blazing 64th notes at every turn, and it never sounds contrived or out of place. amazing snare/foot/hi-hat combos, too.

i love her playing on the 'structure' cd with jimmy haslip and greg osby. one tune in particular, 'fire'--says it all. she opens it up with a blazing solo and goes into a really uptempo off-beat jazz ride/bass drum pattern that makes way for the tune. i have to hit rewind everytime i hear that, just to hear the intro. THAT deserves to go into a 'best drum intro tunes' biography, for sure. it's on her myspace page, so you should check that out.

i also like a lot of her work (namely 'flat-out') with john scofield, even though his tone occasionally drives me frickin' insane, cornelius kreustch [few tunes on 'drop kick'], and she's toured extensively with wayne shorter and herbie hancock, which i'm so sorry i never got to see. also haven't gotten that rachel z. album she played on; rachel z. rulez like ozzy, so i'm sure it's kick butt. tlc has a few solo albums, but with the exception of 'jazz is a spirit,' some of them cross over into a smoothy/poppy realm that doesn't really do it for me. she has a haunting voice, though, which is showcased on 'voice and music.' she does a cover of 'ethiopia' on the structure cd that gave me chills.

btw, it's not great form, but i gotta say it: she has totally revamped her image and looks positively ab fab these days. she always had that pretty, demure, almost tomboyish vibe, but now she's let her inner woman come through [without looking trashy] and i think it makes her shine that much more. i am ready to go get my hair and make-up re-done so i can look like her. lol!

so yah--those are the two sometimes lesser-discussed jazzers that float my boat. i love smitty smith, too, but it seems he's been so musically dormant as of late, i can't say nothing. i'd love for him to come to ny and tear it up. gary husband is also a huge hero of mine; amazing player, but i think i love him more so for his emotive and compositional skills--he is a phenomenal drummer and pianist, and to hear his rendition of 'softly as in a morning sunrise'-- playing both instruments--is enough to make you throw down your sticks forever.


i was gonna go on a diatribe regarding the phrase "artistic expression of an abstract quality" but i blabbed too much already. main thought: what once seemed abstract to me doesn't seem so abstract anymore, but very logical.


ok. i am typed-out.



**splat**

you're welcome, smitty.

i know what you mean about the greenwich village thing. new york or "east coast"-flavored jazz definitely has a vibe all its own. to me, there's a kind of sadness and desperation to it--an urgency. i dig that aspect of it.

as for playing jazz--you don't have to become superbad at it, but learning some "jazz voicings" on the drums might add some flavor to your own playing. not sure what style you play, but if it's rock--well, you probably heard the old adage: jazz took a poop and rock was born. there's underpinnings of jazz in a lot of rock. at the simplest level, i was always surprised at how few of the local rock drummers i used to play alongside would incorporate triplets in their playing. to me, that adds such a great feel to rock music, especially when you mix it with 16ths.

the other thing i love about jazz [now that i'm getting 'up there' myself] is that age and style is not a barrier. you don't have to look superhip or like a model to belong. it's a very embracing music and community. i know some of the younger jazzers are being marketed as hipsters, but when push comes to shove, it's the music that's the focus.


enjoy your musical explorations!

Absolutely!  My straight-ahead rock/surf-punk drumming could use some swing!

I have been noticing this recently, too, listening to how Mehldau and Ballard play together.
You can literally hear the conversation at times.  It's incredibly interesting.