Make a mistake! – Thelonious Monk to Abby Lincoln, quoted by Max Roach, Down Beat Magazine, November, 1978, interview by Bret Primack. The complete context: I remember when Abbey Lincoln, who is a very fine […]
Category: very occasional quote of the day
Larry Bunker / Shelly Manne / Donald Bailey on solo structure
In a drummer round table in Down Beat magazine (March, 1973), Larry Bunker, Shelly Manne and Donald Bailey discuss soloing: Larry Bunker: When I solo I always think in terms of the structure of the […]
Very occasional quote of the day: brave
Be strong and brave enough to stand up and say. “It’s me!” If they want to throw tomatoes at you, stand up and take it. Max Roach, Down Beat Magazine, November, 1978, interview by Bret […]
Very occasional quote of the day: tooth and nail
“You’ve got to let the limbs fly-let ’em go just like rubber. Young drummers don’t get into the meat of the drums enough. They seem to be afraid of them. Especially the bass drum—they’re afraid […]
Very occasional quote of the day: don’t talk about the gig
No matter what, you never talked about the music on the bandstand or the gig for that matter. It can ruin a gig. You’re crazy when you’re on the bandstand, vulnerable, without defenses. Tempers can […]
Very occasional quote of the day: technique and improvised music
When it comes to “technique” I don’t just want fast hands, I want fast ears! In improvised music you have to compute and consider what you’ve heard and make a decision instantaneously. Your technique, or […]
Very occasional quote of the day: how you learn how
“You have to understand, as a filmmaker, I didn’t really know how to make The Godfather. I learned how to make The Godfather making it.” – Francis Ford Coppola [h/t to Dean Frey]
Very occasional quote of the day: art state
“The object isn’t to make art, it’s to be in the wonderful state that makes art inevitable.” – Robert Henri, The Art Spirit
Very occasional quote of the day: mistake
“Make a mistake and make it loud.” – Art Blakey, 1978 Modern Drummer interview with Howard Howland
Very occasional quote of the day: now
“I defy any painter to say ‘Now I can paint a picture!’ A master is a man who can, to be sure, but he never knows from one picture to the next whether the […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Max fast – 02
SF: Some of the tempos that you play are lightning fast. MR: That’s done through combinations though! No one limb is overworking. There’s a way that it works itself out so that all the weight […]
Very occasional quote of the day: time and feathering
“[T]here are certain things that will never change. Good time is good time, whether it’s Baby Dodds riding on a snare drum or Jack DeJohnette slammin’ a full kit. Time is time whether you put […]