I'm going to be busy and on the go for the next few weeks here so blogging will lighten up considerably for awhile. But I wanted to let you all know about a big show of mine coming up this Saturday night. I'm thrilled to be playing with saxophonist Fraser Calhoun's quartet featuring one of my favorite jazz pianists of all time, the great Mulgrew Miller on piano.
In case you are not familiar with Miller's career he is literally an icon of the contemporary jazz language and someone who really exemplifies a modern extension of all the great jazz piano greats. I'm really honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to share the bandstand with him for several dates over the course of the next week here in Calgary and then in Edmonton. Mulgrew has played with the likes of Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Woody Shaw and countless other jazz greats over the years. Hope to see you all there!
Fraser Calhoun Quartet Featuring Mulgrew Miller Saturday, March 16 2013
8:00pm (7:30pm door)
River Park Church 3818 14 A Street SW Calgary, AB
Tickets: $25 Advance/$30 at the Door
Students: $20 Advance/$25 at the Door
Advance tickets available at: http://frasercalhoun.eventbrite.com/ Featuring:
Fraser Calhoun - Alto Saxophone
Mulgrew Miller - Piano
Rubim De Toledo - Bass Jon McCaslin - Drums
I heard this fine band featuring Greg Hutchinson on drums during the late set at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in New York City following a performance of pianist Bill Charlap's trio featuring Kenny Washington on drums during the spring of 2011. It was a good night for drums, to say the least!
Here's some smoking footage of Greg unleashing with guitarist Yotam Silberstein's Quartet from a recent hit at Small's on John Lewis' classic drum feature "Two Bass Hit":
From 20 years ago, here's a nice brush feature with Carl Allen on drums joined by Benny Green (piano) and Ben Wolfe (bass):
Dig the slick back sticking work that Allen throws into his solo (maybe that should be called "Back brushing?). I learned how to do that back in my high-school drumline days but never really considered it a part of my drum set vocabulary until I saw Carl use this years later. Why not? Although, whenever I pull a stunt like this I usually drop one of my sticks!
I first met Joe LaBarbera during the summer of 1997 at the Banff Centre for the Arts and most recently reconnected with him via interviews I've conducted towards my doctoral dissertation. Some friends and I also brought Joe to Calgary last fall and was fortunate to spend some time studying and hanging out with him then. He is a really wonderful human being, a fantastic drummer and an incredible teacher. Here's an interview with Joe in advance of a performance with his brother's big band at the Rochester International Jazz Festival: Joe also recently released an album featuring his quintet entitled "Sixth Sense" and here's an edition of this band from a recent performance on the West Coast:
Dig the drum solo (sorry it gets cut off!) and big sound he gets out of the instrument. Now one thing that has also really struck me is how loose Joe looks when he plays. Watching Joe play has always reminded me to keep a relaxed and proper posture, remember to breath and, most importantly, not be afraid to let the arms stretch out a bit and contribute to the overall stroke. One could easily get carried away with using the arms but the way Joe does it, it combines grace with practicality and, overall, translates into a huge, warm sound on the drums with a beautiful sense of flow. So with these things in mind, I decided to ask Joe myself via e.mail about his thoughts with regards to how he physically plays the drums. Of course, Joe was nice enough to accommodate my request and offered these words of wisdom: "Many people have commented on the relaxed motion I use when playing. My wife mentioned it to me recently in connection with a friend who is very active and physically fit but who is experiencing several problems involving arm, leg and foot pains. She went on to say that at 65 years of age I am still able to perform because I use relaxation to good advantage in my performance. I’m sure there is some plain old good luck involved here with the gene pool since both my parents lived to well into their 90’s with only the usual aches and pains. But over the years in my role as an educator I have given serious thought to posture, limb motion and set up of the kit and am on constant lookout for my students to help them avoid developing any bad habits. I think often of Buddy Rich who was plagued by back problems in his later years. Perhaps it was genetic or perhaps sitting as high as he did and playing down on the set with his back arched played a significant role."
"For myself, I have always strived for a fluid sound with a controlled attack so that I could be dynamically expressive with the drums. People who have never seen me play will often comment on the flow they hear in my drumming which is the same thing that others experience when they see me. Years ago when I was with Chuck Mangione, we shared the stage with Chick Corea and Return to Forever. After the gig Chick commented that I looked a Gazelle when I played!"
"I have never formally studied Moeller Technique but what I have learned is the value of a preparation stroke followed by a down stroke. When I am teaching new students how to play the ride cymbal I have them use an accent and rebound motion with exaggerated height and quarter notes only. The accent is on 2 and 4 and the up stroke on 1 and 3. Gradually we will introduce the dotted eighth/sixteenth or “ride” pattern. As the tempo increases the motion becomes more condensed but it is still there. This allows me to play up tempos for extended periods of time without tiring but it takes time and some serious practice to get it. I continue this approach when we work on the pads as well and am quick to comment when I see a student trying to generate all the power from the just the wrists. Maybe you have seen drummers who keep their arms locked when playing the ride cymbal and on the drums as well. Of course it is possible to play this way but it has never appealed to me."
"In a nutshell, I was trying to get a sound and a feel that I was hearing and my technique evolved to meet my needs. Hope this helps."
Welcome back everybody and I hope you all had a nice weekend. I was hoping to get a "Monday Morning Paradiddle" together this morning but things are on the go over here...
So in the meantime, from a recent Art Blakey tribute concert featuring an all-star lineup, here's some nice footage of Lewis Nash paying tribute to the great Art Blakey:
This is a blog about jazz, jazz drumming and all things unrelated. Thanks for stopping by!
A Bit About Me...
Jonathan McCaslin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. Jonathan began playing the drums at the age of nine. He progressed through the Regina Lions Junior Band and the music program at his high school, Campbell Collegiate, soon developing a passion for playing the drums and jazz. Ultimately, Jon's interest in music led him to enroll in the Jazz Studies program at McGill University, graduating with distinction in 1999.
While at McGill Jon had the opportunity to study with some of the finest jazz educators in the country including Gordon Foote, Kevin Dean, Jan Jarcyzk, Chris McCann, Andre White, Michel Lambert and Dave Laing. He also attended the prestigious summer jazz workshop presented by the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1997, where he performed with Canadian jazz greats Hugh Fraser, Don Thompson and Kenny Wheeler.
Jon has also been fortunate to have performed with many of Canada's jazz elite including Charlie Biddle, Brian Hurley, Louise Rose, Alaister Kay, Mart Kinny, Gary Guthman, Mike Rud, Hadley Caliman, Greg Clayton, Chase Sanborn, Andre White, Tilden Webb, John LaBelle, Kevin Dean, Dave Turner, Ralph Bowen, Don Thompson, Dionne Taylor, Jim Vivian, Kelly Jefferson, Ian McDougall, Brad Turner, Jim Brenan, The McGill Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Johnston, Lorraine Desmerais, Steve Amirault, Hugh Fraser, Chucho Valdes, Kieran Overs, The Altsys Jazz Orchestra, Pat LaBarbera, The Regina Symphony Orchestra and The Montreal Jazz Big Band.
In the spring of 2002 McCaslin completed his Master's in Jazz Studies at McGill University where he studied jazz drumming, improvisation and composition.
In January 2003 Jon released his debut CD, “McCallum’s Island”. Featuring his quintet, the CD contains an exciting collection of McCaslin’s original compositions, featuring himself and his band. The release of this CD was followed by a twenty-day tour of Western Canada, performing to enthusiastic, capacity audiences. During March of 2003 Jonathan was the recipient of a fellowship from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and attended the “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” residency in Washington, D.C. Along with twenty other distinguished young jazz artists, McCaslin was featured with such jazz icons as Terence Blanchard, Carmen Lundy, Winard Harper, Curtis Fuller and John Clayton.
McCaslin’s quintet performed at the 2003 edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival and was nominated for the General Motors Grand Prix du Festival (awarded to the most outstanding Canadian group). From 2004 until 2006, Jon toured North America, Asia and Europe with the high-energy, critically acclaimed music production troupe “Barrage”. Featuring a cast of seven world-class fiddlers and a four-piece band, this dynamic show featured high-energy music and fiddle traditions from around the world set to upbeat choreography and movement.
In 2015, Dr. McCaslin received his Doctorate through the University of Toronto and completed his dissertation on the conceptualization of contemporary melodic jazz drumming. He is currently based in Calgary, Alberta where he maintains a busy performing and teaching schedule across Canada.
