Greatest rhythm sections

What about Paul Simonan and Topper Headon from the clash? How about Mingus' bands with Danny Richmond on drums and either Horace Parlan or Jaki Byard on piano?

Of current bands, we need to include Praxis--Bill Laswell and Bootsy Collins on basses and Brain on drums.

I forgot to mention it, but I think the first response had it right. The Stax/Volt/Atlantic work by Booker T. and the M.G.s is unbeatable.

Benny Goodman's 1938 rhythm crew: Gene Krupa on drums, Harry Goodman on bass, and - on piano - Count Basie or Teddy Wilson.

Hey, let's not forget Danny and Chris Partridge.

I just saw The Bad Plus in concert at the Blue Note here in Tokyo this weekend. I had thought their recorded music was great but the show was fabulous and I have to say that Reid Anderson (bass) and David King (drums) from The Bad Plus really are the dog's dangly bits.

Before I saw them live, David King's creative drumming had completely changed the way I listen to drums/drummers. Seeing their show brought my appreciation of his talent to new levels. Reid Anderson is an excellent bassist, with a great sense of group. Together they are excellent. Ethan Iverson on piano could be considered the third member of the rhythm section and he too is a pianist of extraordinary range and creativity, but as the band has only three members, including all three as 'the rhythm section' might be cheating... :^)

I encourage you to listen if you have a chance (Amazon has samples - listen to tracks 3-5 on These Are The Vistas - the more accessible of the two major label albums (Motel, an earlier album on the Fresh Sound New Talent label, is not terribly well-engineered to my ears). They play both originals and some surprising covers (a jazz band which covers Aphex Twins, Nirvana, and ABBA on the same album?). If you get a chance to see them live, by all means do so. They are a huge amount of fun.