Well, these are interesting times indeed. Hope you are all coping with the recent developments of our crazy world and taking the necessary precautions to keep yourself and your loved ones safe and healthy.
In the meantime, I am home, like many others, and trying to make the best of the situation. Between trying to maintain a sense of normalcy and routine around the house (and somehow trying be a productive jazz drummer between practicing, writing some new music and generally trying to keep a positive connection with the on-line community) I will continue blogging as frequently as possible for the foreseeable future. I hope that whatever I can share with you might help ease the tension and give us something to enjoy, contemplate and inspire us to keep on going...
I would love to hear from you. Please drop me a line at: fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments or feedback.
Anyhow, here it is, from the desks of Four on the Floor world headquarters (freshly sanitized I might add...) here's what we've got for you this Monday morning:
- Roy Haynes is the hippest, the coolest and the baddest dude in the universe. He recently turned 95 years young (!) and was featured in this Take Five series from WBGO.
Ted Panken also offers an article and four interviews with Roy Haynes from his archives on his blog Today is the Question (thank you Ted!)
- An older one from 2010 but because he's got a cool, brand new book coming out on post-bop jazz drumming published by Hudson Music, here's the great Mike Clark interviewed on George Colligan's awesome but sadly dormant blog Jazz Truth.
- A feature on Joe Morello and the infamous Gretsch Drum Night at Birdland from Jazz Profiles
- Discussions in Percussion podcast interviews Charles Ruggiero
- Johnathan Blake interviewed by the Drummer's Resource Podcast
(also check out Blake's great drumming on Kenny Barron's latest trio record with Dave Holland!)
- Looking for something to practice? Jay Ware offers this Spotify compilation playlist of drummerless albums to play-a-long with via the Facebook (thanks Jay!) There is lots of great music here to practice with so plug in your headphones and hit the shed!
*Ed Stalling also offered this fine list of drummerless piano trio records to play-a-long with as well (thanks Ed!)
Brushes! Brushes! Brushes!
- Speaking of playlists, Toronto's Nick Fraser also offers this Spotify compilation of great brush recordings to check out (thanks Nick!)
- Stanton Moore on his favourite brush recordings via JazzTimes Magazine
- And of course our friend Ted Warren never disappoints when he offers us one of his many clever and inventive brush patterns over at his blog Trap'd.
These are always really amazing and, in my opinion, really expanding the vocabulary and possibilities of modern brush playing.
- Here's Dan Weiss (one the hardest working drummers you'll ever find...) interviewed over at the Drumeo Gab podcast...and a short clip of Weiss jamming in a basketball court (awesome!):
- Todd Bishop over at his fine and always informative blog Cruiseship Drummer (there's never a lack of good things to learn, .pdf's and loops to download and exercises to practice here!) shares this interview with the ever wise Billy Hart from Modern Drummer magazine circa. 1994
- John Riley and Zildjian's Paul Francis talk about and demonstrate Joe Morello's ride cymbal, used on the iconic Dave Brubeck recording Take Five. Not only do they talk about what makes this cymbal unique, they also demonstrate a replication (clone?) of this special cymbal. Impressive!
- Jeff Hamilton on his Mapex Black Panther drums:
- And...Brian Blade on his Canopus drums!
- A brief but older clip of Terry Clarke with the Toshiko Akiyoshi big band:
- Jason Tiemann interviewed by Neon Jazz on the heels of his latest release, T-Man:
- Another excerpt from Jason Marsalis' solo drum performance last December with a "meditation" for mallets:
- The Terence Blanchard/Donald Harrison Quintet was a very important band that, in my opinion, really epitomized the 1980s straight-ahead jazz sound. Surprisingly, not enough people are aware of this important group.
Here's this smoking band in action with the great Carl Allen at the helm:
- What am I listening to these days?
(well, given the circumstances...alot actually!)
Kenny Clarke, Andrew Cyrille, Milford Graves & Famoudou Don Moye "Pieces of Time"
Dave Holland Sextet "Pass it On" - Eric Harland (drums)
Chad Taylor "Myths & Morals" - Chad Taylor (drums)
Joe Farnsworth "My Heroes" - Joe Farnsworth (drums)
Milt Jackson "Mostly Duke" - Mickey Roker (drums)
Hank Jones "The Essence" - Billy Higgins (drums)
P.J. Perry "Worth Waiting For" - Victor Lewis (drums)
The Redline Trio "Redline Trio featuring Steve Hudson" - Jeff Sulima (drums)
Dennis Kwok "Winward Bound" - Jacob Wutzke (drums)
- And today's Final Word goes to Mr.Rogers:
"All of us, at some time or another, need help...that's one of the things that connects us as neighbours. In our own way, each one of us is a giver and a receiver."
- Fred Rogers
(thanks to Mark Micklethwaite for sharing this via the Facebook)
Be safe everyone!
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