Usually people start with jazz coordination by playing snare drum independence patterns along with a static cymbal rhythm— see Jim Chapin’s Advanced Techniques, for example. It’s a thing to do, and it should be done. […]
Category: waltz
Roy Haynes waltz lesson – practice suggestions
So, I wrote that Roy Haynes waltz lesson in about ten minutes— I just listened to the tune and picked out the most obvious possible ways to cop the basic thing he’s doing there. And […]
World’s shortest Roy Haynes waltz lesson
UPDATE: See the page of practice suggestions for more on this! Someone on the internet asked me to explain what Roy Haynes is doing on the Chick Corea tune Windows, from the album Now He […]
Page o’ coordination: Olé – 01
A Portland jazz educator asked me about what Elvin Jones was doing on the tune Olé, by John Coltrane, so I wrote this up. He plays a few different major patterns, and this might be […]
Listening to Keith Copeland
Let’s listen some more. This is Charlie Rouse playing After the Morning, a tune in 3/4 by John Hicks. The great Keith Copeland, who left us too soon, is on drums. This is normal modern, mainstream […]
Practice loop in 6/4: Journey In Satchidananda
Another groovy practice loop, sampled from Journey In Satchidananda by Alice Coltrane. It’s a slow, 97 bpm swing feel in 6/4— good for getting into both of my ways of doing Chaffee’s jazz thing, as […]
Jazz waltz with Chaffee
Let’s detail something I mentioned in the Chaffee jazz post: using the patterns in that system as 8th notes in a jazz waltz. They’re three-note (or rest) patterns, so playing them two times = a […]
Groove o’ the day: Chico Hamilton waltz
Here’s Chico Hamilton playing his version of an Elvin-type waltz in 1962. I’ve always assumed it was Elvin’s thing, that everybody else was copying. Maybe it was a type of groove everyone hip was doing, […]
Transcription: Jack Dejohnette – Tennessee Waltz
Jack Dejohnette plays Tennessee Waltz! One of the most cursed tunes in the standard repertoire. I don’t know what’s going through his head here— maybe he’s having a wonderful time. I know a couple of […]
Page o’ coordination: basic jazz waltz – 02
Another page of basic jazz waltz materials, with a dotted-quarter note rhythm on the bass drum, which gives your waltz a more rolling feel. As opposed to the traditional, rather hokey boom-tap-tap feel. Play the […]
Page o’ coordination: basic jazz waltz – 01
After doing this feature for about five years, I finally get around to doing a basic jazz waltz. Doing easy stuff wasn’t supposed to be its purpose, but it’s a familiar format, and not everyone […]