Two very similar Latin grooves recorded by Art Blakey in 1960 and ’61. On both of them the bell pattern has that little syncopated move across the barline that we see a few years later […]
Category: jazz
Very occasional quote(s) of the day: consecrated and desynchronized
A couple of quotes from the pianist Ethan Iverson. From blog post Rhythmic Folklore: “Consecrated jazz drummers have less accurate time than rock and fusion drummers for a reason. The beat is connected to the […]
Transcription: more Max Roach comping
Posting lots of 50s stuff these days. Here is Max Roach playing on Infinity Promenade, from the Miles Davis Lighthouse All-Stars record, At Last! In 1953 Miles was living with his father in East St. […]
Alternating triplets displaced
Developing an independence idea that has been happening spontaneously in my practicing— triplets alternating between the snare drum and bass drum, with odd breaks. Play the foot part with the bass drum or hihat. These […]
Daily best music in the world: Tony Williams solo
I’m still having a hard time writing anything, so here’s a really great open drum solo played by Tony Williams, in a concert video with Jean Luc Ponty and Stanley Clarke. This is in 1972, […]
Transcription: Connie Kay – Cosmic Ray
A melodic drum solo with mallets by Connie Kay, on Cosmic Ray, from the Milt Jackson / Ray Charles album Soul Brothers. Kay is kind of a mysterious player to me, so I’m always on […]
Listening to Ray Bryant
“I used to be a free jazz drummer, now I just want to play tight arrangements.” — me a few years ago That’s not 100% true, but I’ve learned a lot of respect for the […]
Mel Lewis intro – One for Pat
I’m just taunting myself now— I’ve got this book of intros sitting around, almost completed, and I keep finding new things that should probably go in it, but I don’t have the nerve to open […]
Roy Haynes intro – Alto-itis
I’m being very slovenly about posting as things continue being politically crazy. It’s a little distracting. So here’s something easy: a four bar drum intro played by Roy Haynes on Oliver Nelson’s tune Alto-itis, from […]
Listening: Art Blakey groove number
Let’s do some more guided listening. Here’s Art Blakey playing a little Quincy Jones groove arrangement with a nine piece ensemble: Plenty, Plenty Soul, from the Milt Jackson album of the same title. The form […]