Just directing your attention to the Bandcamp site for Mainstream Records— an independent record label in the 60s-70s. Founded by Bob Shad in ’64, folded in ’78. There’s a lot of 70s jazz in a […]
Very occasional quote of the day: you figure it out
“I hired you because of who you are & what you do, so DO it. I’m having a hard enough time playing my instrument, so you figure out how to play your own.” — Reggie […]
Groove o’ the day: Art Blakey tom tom groove
This is a fast Latin groove played by Art Blakey during a solo on a concert video filmed in Japan, posted on Twitter by jazz writer Ted Gioia. I’m sure Blakey plays it on his […]
Alternating flam rudiments tree
Just a little throwaway graphic illustrating the connectedness of flam rudiments. People think of them as “omg a bunch of different things”, but they use very similar motions. The key rudiment here is the Flam […]
Afro 6 warm up patterns
This is how I operate, after about ten years of writing the really hard stuff, I get around to giving people the easy way in. These are some preparatory exercises for playing an Afro 6 […]
Syncopation rhythms in 5/4
Hey, who wants some practice rhythms in 5/4? Here are several pages of them. I’m working on a new book, Syncopation in 5/4— companion to my other book Syncopation in 3/4. There are some formatting decisions […]
Daily best music in the world: Buck Hill
Here’s a really nice 1978 recording of some 70s powerhouse bebop by Washington DC saxophonist Buck Hill. Wikipedia says about him: Hill began playing professionally in 1943 but held a day job as a mailman […]
EZiest swing in 5/4
Teachers’ item here. In working with various beginners, younger students, and hobbyists, you have to be flexible and creative in how you show them things. At those stages, differences in how people learn are really […]
Page o’ coordination: Freddie Waits Afro
UPDATE: A student brought it to my attention that according to Wikipedia, Idris Muhammad is the drummer on this track. Which surprises me, but there you go. A combination groove o’ the day and page […]
Grooves o’ the day: Art Blakey Latin
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 […]