Quick little transcription that includes one of the great opening drum fills ever— Ndugu Leon Chancler playing Man in the Green Shirt, from Weather Report’s album Tale Spinnin’. I’ve just written out the opening, some […]
Category: fusion
Groove o’ the day: Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit
Alphonse Mouzon’s groove from McCoy Tyner’s Walk Spirit, Talk Spirit— as he plays it in the live video below, from 1973. The tune was originally recorded on Tyner’s album Enlightenment— a 24 minute spiritual journey. […]
Transcription: Tony Williams – Life Suite, Part 2
Some more from that self-titled Stanley Clarke album. I must have gotten the record in high school. Nobody ever told me to get it, I was just rooting through the stacks at the used record […]
Let’s talk about Billy Cobham
I was working on this post about Billy Cobham some weeks ago, and felt I couldn’t finish it— it’s not that easy to write a complete portrait of the playing of a great drummer. Try […]
Groove o’ the day: Ndugu Latin
Listening to Ndugu Leon Chancler is always a great lesson in how to play funk, and how to use a set with a lot of tom toms. How to use the tom toms period. I […]
Transcription: Ivan Conti
Ivan Conti and Azymuth playing A Caça, a lightweight little 70s fusion arrangement, with some fun things happening. It’s from Azymuth’s album Águia Não Come Mosca. It’s such a clean and tight performance and arrangement […]
Daily best music in the world: Bruce Ditmas
Honoring a new Facebook friend: Bruce Ditmas, an American drummer living in Rome. Here’s something he played on with Paul Bley, Jaco Pastorius, and Pat Metheny: He’s also on some Gil Evans records, including the Jimi […]
Chaffee linear patterns in context – 01
Gary Chaffee’s linear system— found in book 3 of his Patterns series— is a major entry in the literature of drumming, but it has always felt unfinished to me. There are some extra steps required […]
Groove o’ the day PLUS : Airto – Fingers
UPDATE: Correction from the comments, it is Fattoruso on drums! I’ll put the correct credit in the 2018 Book of the Blog. Until then, you’ll have to pencil it in onto your printout. Here is […]
Figure Control: 4/4 – Nexus riff
Let’s do one of these for the rhythm in the Nexus practice loop. You’ll recall, with this Funk Control / Figure Control series what I do is take a single performance rhythm and put a […]
Daily best music in the world: Roy Haynes Hip Ensemble
Hip Ensemble is Roy Haynes’s fusion band that was around for a couple of years around 1970. Or is it just the title of the one record under Roy’s name? I don’t know, man. Anyone […]
Daily best music in the world: Miroslav
Here’s a great record from 1970: Purple, led by Miroslav Vitous. With John McLoughlin, Joe Zawinul, and Billy Cobham. It’s very much in a post-In A Silent Way Miles mode, with Cobham sounding at times […]