UPDATE: Oh, Crisis by Freddie Hubbard is also similar. Here’s a funny one for you— check out the tune Post-Catholic Waltz from this 2021 recording by Jorge Rossy. Now compare with my tune Headlights from this […]
Mel Lewis master class
Here’s a one hour master class lecture given by Mel Lewis in the early 80s at North Texas State University (now the University of North Texas). Embedding on blogger is weird now, so you’ll have […]
Plain talk about fast tempos
“Billy, can we talk?” Henry Fonda time. I see we need to have this talk again. Everybody wants to talk about ride cymbal technique for blazing tempos. A little perspective on the subject: About 15 […]
More notes on Dahlgren & Fine
I’ve continued working on the harmonic portion of Dahlgren & Fine’s Four Way Coordination— the basic exercises in 4/4, on pp. 15-18— since it’s so bloody difficult, I’m writing about it a lot. Around here, extra […]
Subtractive patterns for jazz snare and bass
Continuing to develop this subtractive method, here are some good patterns for snare drum and bass drum in a jazz feel. I’m digging the system. It allows me to put whatever part I want consistently […]
10 and 11 stroke rolls in Wilcoxon’s Rolling In Rhythm
Let’s ring in the new year drummer-style, by complaining about a Charley Wilcoxon book maybe two or three of you own, Rolling In Rhythm! Even without the book, there’s something to be learned about archaic […]
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 […]
EZ Reed method – Jack’s way – 02
Continuing a very easy system I’m using with a younger student— I feel kind of cheated that I wasn’t taught this myself, and that I haven’t been teaching it all these years. This is as […]
Listening: Freddie Waits with Freddie Hubbard
Here’s the album I mentioned in that Freddie Waits Latin post— Fastball – Live at the Left Bank. Part of a cache of live recordings made at a club in Baltimore in the 1960s, discovered […]
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 […]
“Worst drummer ever”
Bookending Sunday’s false prodigies rant, I suppose. Worst drummer ever is title of this video shared by Paul Mason (@tempusdrums) on Twitter. I watched the whole thing, which is more than I can say for […]
Transcription: both versions of Flower Punk
I can’t believe I never posted this. Back in 2017 I transcribed both versions of Frank Zappa’s Flower Punk— the original, played by Jimmy Carl Black, on the Mothers of Invention album We’re Only In […]