Well, the Fall season is now in full swing around here and I hope you are all keeping busy, studying/practicing hard and digging the music wherever you may be. Remember, be humble and keep the dream alive!
People have been asking about my limited edition Four on the Floor t-shirts lately. My fist run has sold out but I'll keep you posted once the second run has been printed and is in stock. If you are interested in one, please email me at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com and I will keep you updated once they are available.
Here's what has been making the rounds around the Four on the Floor office these days:
- Bill Frisell on the legacy of Ginger Baker from Rolling Stone magazine
- Mike Clark shares some wisdom on trading 4's and 8's over at the Drum Channel
- Peter Erskine's Modern Drummer article on dealing with off-beat rhythms
- Paul Francis with some very insightful history of Zildjian Cymbals from the Drum History Podcast
- Check out Kyle Andrews new drum blog. Lots of thoughtful ideas here.
- Thanks to frequent Four on the Floor correspondent Tim Mah for passing along this interview with Adam Nussbaum from BANG! The Drum School
- Hey look! Quincy Davis is back after a bit of a hiatus. I've always loved his series of "Q-Tips" and now that he's settled into his new position, teaching Jazz drums at the University of North Texas, I hope that we see more of these. They are always really great. In this edition Quincy talks about and demonstrates the legacy of Philly Joe Jones:
- From That Drum Blog here's a great recommended playlist from Brazilian drummer Edu Ribeiro, featuring his favourite Brazilian drummers. This is really worth checking out.
Ribeiro also has a new Brazilian drumming series through Open Studio that is worth some serious attention in my opinion!
Check out these 2-minute lesson previews:
- Jerome Jennings has what will undoubtedly be another amazing album coming out soon. Check out this preview of his arrangement entitled "Boom Bap Be-Bop":
- Jeff Hamilton shares some ideas on hi-hat technique from a recent drum clinic:
- A feature on Mel Brown, a seminal figure on the Portland Jazz scene:
- And speaking of Portland, here's one of my favourite drummers anywhere, the ever musical and inventive Alan Jones with his sextet:
- I've been really digging Jason Tiemann's Instagram posts lately and here's a couple of Jazz drum set compositions/etudes of his that you can actually check out and purchase:
- Finally, here's Chris Lesso with some words of wisdom from the teachings of Jim Blackley:
- What am I listening to these days?
Mike Allen "Just Like Magic" - Lewis Nash (drums)
PJ Perry "Time Flies" - Joe LaBarbera/Dave Robbins (drums)
Jodi Proznick "Sun Songs" - Jesse Cahill (drums)
Phineas Newborn Jr. "We Three" - Roy Haynes (drums)
Francois Theberge Group "Elenar" - Alan Jones (drums)
Karriem Riggins "Alone Together" - Karriem Riggins (drums)
- And today's Final Word(s) go to these two wise individuals.
First, this one from Joe Dixon with some worthy advice to consider (via Ted Warren):
And these inspiring words from the renowned Canadian painter Ted Godwin:
"An artist's career can accelerate only if they begin with the premise that they are real professionals, "not the Sunday afternoon variety". So the first thing you have to do is set a space aside where you make art and only art, and sanctify it with art. Let music fill and activate the space."
- Ted Godwin from A Handbook for Working Artists
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