Another choice item from a 1981 column in Modern Drummer, in which Scott K. Fish talks to a lot of great bass players, about drummers: “Faults I hear in drummers? Mainly that they play too […]
Category: very occasional quote of the day
Very occasional quote of the day: futuristic
“A lot of drummers try to be futuristic and more modern, but they lose the groove and find themselves nebulous instead of in contact with what it really is. So all of the interesting things […]
Very occasional quote of the day: the way they got built
“I’ve never really been interested in the books that do things like analyze Sonny Rollins or Coltrane solos because I’ve never seen one that breaks them down in the same way they got built.”– Melvin […]
Very occasional quote of the day: listening
“Listening is the whole thing. I’ll tell you exactly how I play. My whole approach to playing is reaction. I don’t listen to myself play. I’m not aware of myself because I’m too busy listening […]
Very occasional quote of the day: space to contribute
“The way guys like Bud Powell shaped their solos, they automatically left spaces for the drummers to contribute. A lot of times today, in student performers, I don’t hear that space being offered, because they’re […]
Very occasional quote of the day: sound and touch
“I’m not happy with my sound at all. I wish I sounded like Art Blakey or Elvin Jones. You have to be born with a certain feel or touch. Blakey had that African sound. It […]
Very occasional quote of the day: cultivate
“You got to cultivate that rhythm, man.” – Miles Davis, interview by Don diMichael, 1969 [h/t to thenuge @ DFO]
Very occasional quote of the day: competition
“Music isn’t about competition, but about cooperation, doing s*t together and fitting in.” —Miles Davis
Very occasional quote of the day: simpler ways of playing
“You have to see the truth in the simpler ways of playing. That was a real challenge to me. I realized that technique doesn’t mean a s* if you can’t play a back beat in […]
Carl Friedberg on touch and technique on the piano
More from Piano Mastery by Harriette Brower— some words on sound and technique at the piano from Carl Friedberg (1872-1955). He was the principal piano instructor at Juilliard in the mid 20th century— Nina Simone […]
Josef Hofmann on piano artistry
Some quotes from the pianist Josef Hofmann from Piano Mastery by Harriette Brower. Published in the 1920s, it’s the type of thing you’d have to go to the library and dig around in the stacks […]
Very occasional quote of the day: rich and famous
R. Crumb and son Jesse, in the movie Crumb: Jesse: You didn’t go to art school and you’re rich and famous. R.: I’m not talking about rich and famous, I’m talking about learning how to […]