Here’s a drum solo by Billy Higgins, from the tune Third World on Freddie Hubbard’s album Bolivia. I’ve never played this tune and didn’t count out the form. It starts with 8 bars of an […]
Category: Afro 6
Groove o’ the day: Dave Weckl Afro 6
Hey, happy new year— let’s roll in 2024 with a snazzy Dave Weckl groove, which inspired some conversation. It’s from 1994— hey, 30 years ago now— and Weckl is in his zone. He’s been writing […]
Groove o’ the day: Ed Blackwell – Love
Here’s a fast 6/4 Afro type of groove from Ed Blackwell, on the track Love, from a duo record with Wadada Leo Smith, The Blue Mountain’s Sun Drummer. There’s no tune, it’s just free blowing […]
Groove o’ the day: Grady Tate Afro
Grady Tate playing a heavy Afro-Cuban style groove, or Afro 6, as I’ve been calling it, on Grant Green’s The Final Comedown movie soundtrack. The track is Soul Food African Shop, and the transcription is […]
Page o’ coordination: Airto’s afro
Page o’ coordination based on Airto’s unique afro 12/8 groove played on the intro of Casa Forte, from Flora Purim’s album Stories To Tell. It’s a good introductory groove for this style— the hands are […]
Afro 6 in 4
Purely exploring an idea that occurred to me during a lesson— this has nothing to do with anything. Except I’m writing a new book about developing the Afro 6 groove, so I’m thinking about the […]
Groove o’ the day: Airto Afro 6
An Afro 6* groove played by Airto, on the intro of Casa Forte, on Flora Purim’s 1974 record Stories To Tell. It has some big shot LA musicians on it, including saxophonist Hadley Caliman, who […]
Afro 6 – advanced bass drum ideas/coordination
A page of patterns I’m playing around with, in an Afro 6 feel, that are difficult or unusual for varying reasons— either the bass drum is in unison with the left hand, or the actual […]
More on that Latin system
Breaking down part of that short Latin method from the other day. I like it. It’s easy, and gets us into some pretty fundamental things about rhythm, drumming, using the drum set. This is a […]
Groove o’ the day: Afro 10/8
An interesting groove by Billy Kilson, on A Seeking Spirit, from Dave Holland’s Prime Directive album, one of the big records of the late 90s. If you’re not familiar, he had a very high powered […]
Analysis: Ed Blackwell – Strength and Courage
Here’s a boiled down version of the Christmas transcription, Strength and Courage, by Joe Lovano. It’s a real crash course in Ed Blackwell— a lot of what he plays on many albums throughout his career […]
Transcription: Ed Blackwell – Strength and Courage
Merry Christmas, everyone. Ho ho hoooeeere’s a LONG Ed Blackwell transcription for you, basically all of Strength And Courage, from Joe Lovano’s trio album Sounds of Joy, along with Alex Cox on the bass. The […]