Of excellence. I haven’t been giving my fellow blogs enough love recently, but they’ve been producing a veritable tidal wave of excellent stuff: Trap’d has a long post about playing with large ensembles, with an […]
Month: February 2012
Groove o’ the day: Airto’s samba in 3
Here’s a favorite piece of drumming by Airto, from Chick Corea’s Return to Forever album on ECM. I’d like to transcribe this entire track, but today I just have the primary grooves for you. The […]
Getting lost
Or not. Here are a few pointers on a subject with which I am all too intimately familiar: getting lost while soloing over over a form, and while reading: SOLOING First, whatever various hells break […]
Basic solo vocabulary with Syncopation
Hey, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything downloadable of my own, and you don’t want to hear me prattle on about cymbals and crap, so here’s a basic solo vocabulary builder I’ve been working […]
Some observations on a Brian Blade performance
Last night Brian Blade played in town, and I thought I’d share a few impressions from it. I can’t promise they hold any sway outside of that concert as perceived by me from the side […]
Best values in used cymbals
By the way, during this recent bout of eBay-trawling, I noticed that the best deals on used cymbals appear to be: Dirty, filthy old Paiste 2002’s – A lot of drummers have the bad habit […]
Three Paiste cymbals
UPDATE: I think I’ve correctly ID’d one of the other cymbals. I’ve been on a vintage Paiste cymbal-buying kick recently. Here are the findings on my finds: 22″ Formula 602 Dark Ride – circa 1975-76 […]
Tune of the moment: Feet First
I didn’t intend for the “tune of the moment” to be an all Steve Swallow feature, but what the hell, I’m just playing his stuff a lot these days. Like a lot of his tunes, […]
MD column: Alternative open roll stickings
Here’s an interesting piece from that same old Modern Drummer from 1977. The writer, Mickey Earnshaw, proposes a set of alternate roll stickings, using the RLLR/LRRL paradiddle inverion or the RLLR/RLLR sticking in place of […]
Butch Miles on ensemble playing
Big band drumming tips from Butch Miles, from the Oct. 1977 issue of Modern Drummer. They apply to all types of music, of course: SUPPORT. If the band has a difficult passage, support them strongly. […]
Free jazz theater
I just- God. What? I… can’t… (h/t to Michael Griener in Berlin)