When I first started I used to practice the rudiments while watching TV, I found it boring so TV helped distract me. –Jack Dejohnette One of the harder things for me to master was the […]
Method book round up: Brazilian drumming
As some of you may have noticed, I’ve been thinking a lot about Samba of late. And as my friend Blake Thomas, an expert cuica (not to mention caixa and zbumba) player has loaned me […]
Finishing taxes music
More after the break:
Gigs this weekend
There are a couple of opportunities to hear me play this weekend, for those of you in Portland: Friday, April 15th – 8-11pm – Benson Hotel With Brazilian pianist Weber Iago, and saxophonist David Valdez. […]
What Monk was trying to do
I’ll be on light posting for a few days while I complete my taxes, and get charts together for an upcoming recording session (Ornette Coleman tunes; with my great Seattle guys Rich Cole and Paul […]
The Ultimate
Here’s The Ultimate Elvin Jones, one of the first Elvin records I ever got. I think it was out of print at the time, and I was really lucky to find an LP copy (a […]
Getting started transcribing
There have been a whole raft of people asking for transcriptions over on the Drummerworld.com forum, so I thought this would be a good time for me to write up my long-intended little tutorial on […]
Todd’s methods: 11-note pattern – part 1
This is part one of something I’ve written up strictly for my own practice, but others may be able to use it as a guide for developing and exploring their own ideas. Or maybe someone […]
Sabian AA’s are amazing
I just received my 22″ Sabian AA Raw Ride (purchased blind on Ebay) in the mail the other day, and continue to be really impressed by the quality of the AA’s- these beautifully refined-sounding cymbals […]
16th note fills using Syncopation – part 2
Here’s part 2 of my method for practicing 16th note fills using Syncopation. The goal is to practice reading interpretively, and also to give you a framework for working on the timing of your fills […]