Here’s a really nice 1978 recording of some 70s powerhouse bebop by Washington DC saxophonist Buck Hill. Wikipedia says about him: Hill began playing professionally in 1943 but held a day job as a mailman […]
EZiest swing in 5/4
Teachers’ item here. In working with various beginners, younger students, and hobbyists, you have to be flexible and creative in how you show them things. At those stages, differences in how people learn are really […]
Page o’ coordination: Freddie Waits Afro
UPDATE: A student brought it to my attention that according to Wikipedia, Idris Muhammad is the drummer on this track. Which surprises me, but there you go. A combination groove o’ the day and page […]
Grooves o’ the day: Art Blakey Latin
Two very similar Latin grooves recorded by Art Blakey in 1960 and ’61. On both of them the bell pattern has that little syncopated move across the barline that we see a few years later […]
Very occasional quote(s) of the day: consecrated and desynchronized
A couple of quotes from the pianist Ethan Iverson. From blog post Rhythmic Folklore: “Consecrated jazz drummers have less accurate time than rock and fusion drummers for a reason. The beat is connected to the […]
Transcription: more Max Roach comping
Posting lots of 50s stuff these days. Here is Max Roach playing on Infinity Promenade, from the Miles Davis Lighthouse All-Stars record, At Last! In 1953 Miles was living with his father in East St. […]
Reed tweak: adding 16ths to a basic method
Another tweak to the same basic method we used with the tweak I posted last week: right hand plays rhythm on cymbal + bass drum / left hand fills in. That basic method is a super-standard […]
Alternating triplets displaced
Developing an independence idea that has been happening spontaneously in my practicing— triplets alternating between the snare drum and bass drum, with odd breaks. Play the foot part with the bass drum or hihat. These […]
CYMBALISTIC: Five 24″ rides!
Does anybody need a sweet 24″ ride cymbal? I’m checking out four OUTSTANDING Cymbal & Gong jazz cymbals, plus a monster medium ride. I will have these around for a couple of days, then they’ll […]
Stick control exercises, mixed rhythm in 2/4
A page I’m using with some of my students, to learn to fill, and develop basic facility on the drum set. We’ve been doing a lot with parts of my harmonic coordination method— which is […]
Daily best music in the world: Tony Williams solo
I’m still having a hard time writing anything, so here’s a really great open drum solo played by Tony Williams, in a concert video with Jean Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke. This is in 1972, […]
Drum heads!
This. Just get this. Did you know that it’s rather hard to write about drum stuff while your country is being dismantled and driven into the ground by a narcissistic criminal psychopath, who is certainly […]