Here’s Max Roach soloing with his left hand on Commutation, by J.J. Johnson, on Johnson’s record First Place. A nice little self contained lesson item— there’s some trading after this solo I didn’t bother with. […]
Category: drum solo
Transcription: Jack Dejohnette – Boo Ann’s Grand
Jack Dejohnette open drum solo from Boo Ann’s Grand, on the Jackie McLean 1967 album Demon’s Dance. Tempo is about 241— about as fast you can do this kind of stuff. This is burning for […]
Solo transcription: Billy Higgins – Third World
Here’s a drum solo by Billy Higgins, from the tune Third World on Freddie Hubbard’s album Bolivia. I’ve never played this tune and didn’t count out the form. It starts with 8 bars of an […]
Max Roach / Stan Levey duo transcription: Milano Blues
Here’s a composed drum duo played by Max Roach and Stan Levey, on their album Drummin’ The Blues. They trade off on some parts, and play in unison on others. I believe the whole thing […]
From the zone: Danny Gottlieb solo break
Another archive item— lots of action around here right now, and not a lot of time to write. And I just found some more of my old writing. I wrote a lot of drum stuff […]
Transcription: Ahmad’s Blues – fours
Hitting the ground running with this 2024 business, here’s Philly Joe Jones trading fours with Red Garland on Ahmad’s Blues, from the Miles Davis album Workin’. Joe sounds quite beautiful, hand made, and direct after […]
Transcription: Peter Erskine – Duo – 04
Here are the next 30 seconds / 32 bars of Duo, played by Peter Erksine and Bob Mintzer, from Mintzer’s record Hymn. The whole track is about three and a half minutes long, so there […]
Transcription: Peter Erskine – Duo
I don’t know what younger drummers’ current perception of Peter Erskine is, but when I was a student he was one of the top guys, always thought of as being exceedingly musical, with a great […]
Solo transcription: Ben Riley – Bemsha Swing
More Ben Riley! From the same record as yesterday— Thelonious Monk Live At The It Club— and in fact this is the very next tune they played at the gig, Bemsha Swing. So, two drum […]
Solo transcription: Ben Riley – Blues Five Spot
Solo by Ben Riley on Blues Five Spot, from the Thelonious Monk record Live At The It Club. Great record, and core literature. I think of Ben Riley’s playing as maybe the cleanest shot we […]