Here in chronological order are three very similar intros to the tune Four, recorded by Miles Davis. The one by Philly Joe is the classic beginning of this tune— I don’t know if he was copping Blakey’s earlier thing, or if it was rehearsed as part of the arrangement. Certainly by Tony’s time it was, at least informally- though on his more famous version from Four & More he abandons the Philly Joe/Blakey thing altogether. In the intervening years there are some versions by Jimmy Cobb which follow it loosely. There’s also a recording with Kenny Clarke where he just plays 8 bars of drums up front.
wphill says:
Do the even eighths in PJJ's
intro from "Workin'" begin on
1+ or 2 as transcribed?
Nice catch- yes, it clearly sounds like they come in on the & of 1, which would put the cymbal hit on the & of 4, with an 8th rest on the following downbeat, just like in the tune. I don't know what I was hearing there- I must've been in quite a hurry.
wphill said:
Thanks much for your
clarifications.
Any mind tricks on playing the "and 4 and" phrase? My mind wants it to be "3 and 4".
Maybe learn the figure on a slower tune– it occurs repeating like that on Stolen Moments by Oliver Nelson. And play it a lot, maybe with a metronome. You should start hearing it.
If things get really dire, play the figure very slow while counting the whole swing 8th note grid out loud:
1 &2 &3 &4 & 1