“I am comparatively a heavy drummer. I like to play heavy, and I play forceful, and sometimes I tend to get loud, and it might be overbearing because I’ve seen some customers who sit close to the drums get up and move. So I understand.
“A lot of drummers play for themselves and don’t think about the audience. I do. I think about the audience at all times when I’m playing. I have a feeling for their ears as far as volume is concerned. But on some tunes, you just cannot come down and make the tune effective, so I have to play loud. If I would play it much softer, it wouldn’t be any good. It would kill the brilliance of the tune.
“But even though a drummer can play loud, I notice the public will accept it if the drums are loud and musical. If you’re loud and not musical, they won’t accept it.”
– Philly Joe Jones, Down Beat interview with Ralph J. Gleason, March 1960
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This is great. Thank you.
From your Down Beat archive, I think!