This is a little lightweight thing that came out of practicing along with that recent Fela Kuti loop. I was playing four on the floor in a half time feel, with some variations on the […]
Year: 2020
Tony Williams phrase endings
Some things Tony Williams plays at phrase endings on Moose The Mooche, from the Great Jazz Trio at The Village Vanguard. There’s a lot more to learn from Tony’s playing on this tune, but who […]
Billy Hart interview
Photo by Anthony Porcar Cano More Billy Hart. Michael Griener sent me this 1994 Modern Drummer interview by Ken Micallef, and it’s excellent. It gives a much fuller picture of his musical intellect than I […]
My new axe
I got a cymbal to replace a similar model I sold to our man in Berlin, Michael Griener, last year: a 20″ Cymbal & Gong Holy Grail Jazz Ride, 1893 grams. Has a special heavy […]
Progressive Steps to Syncopation – an itemized critique
I spend so much time talking about how great Ted Reed’s Progressive Steps to Syncopation (commonly known as “Syncopation”) is, and how you can do everything with it— and should— and how it’s the only book you […]
3+3+2
I’m really not happy with the quality of the available beginner/younger student drum set materials. For the most part they’re terribly designed. They’re either extremely dull, or they demand too much, or they’re just dumb— […]
Groove o’ the day: Tony Allen / African Message
More Afrobeat: here’s Tony Allen playing with Africa 70. The tune is African Message, from the album No Accommodation For Lagos. Tempo is 118. It’s starts with solo drums playing this groove: Here’s a little […]
Practice loop: Fela Kuti / Buy Africa
Oh, here’s the practice loop I’m using with that 4:3 Chaffee thing. It’s sampled from Buy Africa, by Fela Kuti, from his 1971 album Fela’s London Scene. Tempo is about 87 bpm. It’s in 4/4, […]
Chaffee jazz patterns in a 4:3 feel
Playing the jazz patterns from Gary Chaffee’s time functioning volume as 16th notes in a 4:3 feel. I feel like kind of a horse’s ass writing this— it’s all already in the book. But there […]
Daily best music in the world: Billy Hart with Buster Williams
A busy few days here, so here’s a Buster Williams album with Billy Hart on drums, which I’ve been running on a continuous loop since Monday.
EZ Hemiola Funk beats with RLB
Just an easy page of hemiola funk-type beats including the RLB pattern as a fill, that I wrote for my students, who have been having a lot of fun with this series. Write in the […]
Billy Hart clinic
Had a very interesting time at a Billy Hart clinic yesterday at Portland State University— I was sick, and barely made it through the two hours, but I went. If you came into the clinic […]