Some of my favourites have already been mentioned (Tony Allen, Clyde Stubblefield, Jaki Liebezeit)
But also:
Bernard Purdie
Mitch Mitchell (Jimi Hendrix Experience)
Ed Greene (a session drummer who did a lot with Barry White’s Love Unlimited Orchestra – ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More’ has one of the slickest grooves ever)
More recently:
Questlove (The Roots, D’Angelo)
Betamax (The Comet Is coming, various other projects)
I finally got to see Tony Allen about 3 years ago. He was in his late 70s and just made it look so effortless!
Oh, also, Steve Jordan. He’s one of these guys with incredible skills that but I haven’t heard a decent record with him on! There’s a solo video (possibly a Vic Firth promotion) of him on YouTube, which is awesome. Then you look for some records he features on and it’s all noodly jazz fusion…