After my pathetic little beater of a car bit the dust a few weeks ago I replaced it with a dynamite $5500 20 year old Mercedes-Benz E320— the last of the bombproof Benzes— with an […]
A little technique video
Let’s talk more about me. I just posted a little technique video in response to a forum conversation. Someone was confused about the meanings of the stroke types, and wanted evidence of my competency to […]
Groove o’ the day: Little Feat – Front Page News
Here’s a very inventive modern-sounding groove by Richie Hayward with Little Feat, on Front Page News, from the group’s album Down On The Farm. What he’s doing on the hihat reminds me of the staticky […]
Page o’ coordination: basic triplet texture in 4/4
Here’s a straightforward page o’ coordination for learning bass drum variations along with a basic triplet texture with the hands, in a jazz feel. The hands are doing a simple linear sticking pattern— a paradiddle-diddle […]
Notes on the first playing gig in some time
I had my first actual jazz club gig since COVID the other night, thought I’d share some playing notes about it. This is the type of thing we talk about here. The rhythm section was […]
CYMBALISTIC: 26″ Holy Grails, small swish cymbals
CYMBALISTIC: I payed a brief visit to Cymbal & Gong HQ (aka Tim’s house) the other day, and he had a few interesting things around: They’re making 26″ Holy Grail rides now. I got an […]
Reed interpretations: special voicing – 01
This came out of the groove part of my recent Country Rock thing. It’s a kind of subtractive method for voicing the snare drum and bass drum. Not unlike my John Riley-inspired “that with interruptions” […]
A few rare items
I found some interesting things on one of those shady pdf download sites— a couple of rare books, and very old versions of a couple of unusual books. Worth getting if you’re into that sort […]
Page o’ coordination: yet another Elvin 5/4
Here’s a page o’ coordination based on Elvin Jones’s playing on Lazy Afternoon, from Grant Green’s album Street of Dreams. It’s a medium slow 5/4— the tempo is about 109. He plays the ostinato below […]
Best books: Rudimental Primer by Mitchell Peters
Mitchell Peters is becoming the guy for snare drum literature, for me— his books form a thorough and complete vocabulary for the snare drum as it is played in the real world. They’re adequately challenging for […]
Transcription: Roy Haynes feature
UPDATE: I have extreme quality readers. Jim in the comments pointed out a bunch of errors in this, and figured out the insane Mystery Lick on the second page. The corrected pdf is up now. New […]
CYMBALISTIC: A lot of new cymbals!
CYMBALISTIC: I’ve just posted a bunch of new cymbals on the site— six Holy Grail Jazz Rides, 20-22″, a HG 16″ crash, a 20″ Janovar— inspired by Giant Beat, in B20 bronze— and a couple […]