“Playing with Billy was like heaven. He was the greatest collaborator in the history of jazz. He played exactly right for you at exactly the right time. His dynamics were perfect, he balanced his energy […]
Category: very occasional quote of the day
VOQOTD: Al Foster on taste
“I’m trying to play less when keeping time behind a soloist,” Foster says, “not answering every phrase with the left hand and bass drum. You want to be on it, but not on everything. I’m […]
VOQOTD: Q & A with Jim Black
Are you always in control? >That’s a great question:))) — Interview question by Sergio, from Black’s site. OK, a little more: “[D]rums and guitar suffer from serious technical sportsperson-like abuse, which can be fun, of […]
VOQOTD: Erskine on Keltner and space
When you think of Keltner you think of these delicious, huge gaps, and when that backbeat comes down, it’s just sweet. And the reason it’s sweet is that it’s not filled up with a bunch […]
VOQOTD: Max Roach on what it’s about
“It’s not about comparative things: who’s the fastest, or… it’s not about that. It’s about someone who, when you hear them, you say, Oh, that’s Tony! Oh, that’s Miles! Ah, that’s John Coltrane! That’s what […]
VOQOTD: note to himself
Play at least ten minutes a day on the drum set. — Paul Motian
VOQOTD: Al Foster’s listening habits
From the Small’s interview archive: “He’s in it all the time. He’s listening all the time. He’s got kind of a small range of stuff he listens to over and over again: Monk, Bird, earlier […]
VOQOTD: bad wallpaper
“[Things that are] complex and busy and amazing all the time are kinda like bad wallpaper after awhile.” — Peter Erskine
VOQOTD: Dave on practicing
If you come to my house and walk into the room where I’m practicing, you’re going to hear me sound like I can’t play. That’s because I’m working on stuff that I can’t do so […]
VOQOTD: Stephen King
From Stephen King’s On Writing: If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot. There’s a musical parallel to that, and it […]