Here in chronological order are three very similar intros to the tune Four, recorded by Miles Davis. The one by Philly Joe is the classic beginning of this tune— I don’t know if he was […]
Year: 2011
Very occasional quote of the day: Randy Brecker
It’s a reality these days that it is harder to tell guys apart trumpetistically, because we all study out of the same books, and there’s a certain trumpetistic artistry that’s prevalent these days. So it’s […]
Cruise ship pianist!
Here’s something from Timothy McSweeney’s Internet Tendency (usually dedicated to hyper-well-written humor): a straightforward interview with a cruise ship pianist. Good straight info for anyone considering that line of work.
Daily best music in the world: Gil Evans
We can debate the subtleties of the meaning of the word “daily” later- right now just play this loud: That’s Tony Williams on the drums, in one of my new favorite performances of his after […]
Big band figure builder
Here’s another installment of a thing I’ve been doing with several students, using Syncopation lesson 4 to get familiar with the basic moves and reading associated with setting up and kicking big band figures (“cutting” […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Jack on Max
“…and he could play the fastest tempos!” – Jack Dejohnette on Max Roach I thought this one deserved its own post.
Know your tempos: what’s meant by up
In case you were wondering how fast you need to be able to play, here are a bunch of your favorite tracks spanning the break between “medium up”- where it’s still possible to swing- and […]
Ron Carter on drummers
Here’s an excerpt from an old interview with Ron Carter, from Ethan Iverson’s Do The Math, concerning some of the great drummers Carter has worked with. Absolutely go read the whole conversation: EI: In the […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Paul Motian
I had at the time 7A drumsticks. After one set one time, Oscar came over and looked at my drumstick and started bending it. He said, “Man, what the f__ kind of stick is that? […]
Paradiddles with 16th note triplets
Here’s a companion to the other pages of paradiddles I’ve posted, this time using an embellishment used in Wilcoxon occasionally- a 16th note triplet in place of the double. Playing the triplet starting on an […]
Kenny Washington overheard
Or the cyber-equivalent. Mark Feldman at the Bang! the drum school blog features a Facebook post by jazz drummer and scholar Kenny Washington, in response to a question about how to take one’s drumming “to […]
Talent and practice
I guess the “Gen Y Entrepreneur and Investor” author of this piece Why natural talent is overrated knows this stuff from reading a book, but there are some good things in here about practice. Maybe […]