This is a thing I was working on with a student— this particular Chaffee-style linear phrase (5/3/5/3) happens to work really well as a fill— it sounds impressive, and it’s really easy to play. In […]
Year: 2017
Chaffee linear phrases: adding 2s
This is a baby-step entry into adding a two-note pattern (RB) to Gary Chaffee’s linear system, which is based on 3-to-8 note patterns— dig into Patterns, vol. 3 for Chaffee’s full explanation of that, or […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Ndugu on talent
Another great quote from Ndugu Leon Chancler, from his 1983 Modern Drummer interview: “I think the most important thing is your attitude. There were, and still are, a lot of musicians who have more technique […]
Help a young drummer out
Slow posting for a few days, but if you’re in a giving mood, there’s a very talented young Portland drummer named Domo Branch who needs some help getting to the Centrum and Stanford jazz camps. […]
What’s the point?
Yeahhh, you probably don’t need to bother with this one.* * – Not a terrible book, actually. Since we here at CRUISE SHIP DRUMMER! dump countless pages of quality practice materials onto the internet annually, […]
Tony Williams comping
Here’s a nice record I would’ve have liked to have known about 30 years ago, on which Charles Lloyd is rocking a Jimmy Giuffre kind of vibe. It’s Of Course, Of Course, and it was recorded […]
Transcription: Art Blakey – Afrique
Here’s the drum solo from the same tune as our GOTD the other day: Afrique, from The Witch Doctor, by Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers. Blakey’s solos with his group often serve a compositional […]
Groove o’ the day: Art Blakey – Afrique
Here’s Art Blakey playing an Afro 6 feel in 1961, on Afrique, from the Jazz Messengers album The Witch Doctor— the first Blakey record I ever bought. I should start noticing when this type of […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Ndugu on musicality
“I think a drummer’s success and notability are based on sensitivity as a musician—not as a drummer. I don’t even approach myself as a drummer. I’m an orchestrator. The drums are just the instrument I […]
EZ linear solo method
Ever find yourself playing too much bass drum? It’s easy to do when, like me, you practice out of Syncopation a lot. And a thing I’ve noticed in doing so many transcriptions is how sparsely many […]