I'm starting up a monthly in-person drum workshop series on the topic of all things related to jazz drumming. These group sessions will only accommodate a limited number of students.
These monthly workshops and group sessions will address such topics as time keeping, ride cymbal techniques, comping, independence & coordination, snare drum rudiments, brush playing, soloing, jazz drumming history and more!
Saturday afternoons 1 -3 pm
October 15 - November 20 - December 17
Theatre 1308
1308 Edmonton Trail NE
$40 per session
Space is limited!
The first session will be held on Saturday, October 15th 1-3pm.
I'm about to take a short break from blogging these days and heading out on the road shortly with Calgary's Decidedly Jazz Danceworks' production of Family of Jazz.
If you are in the Calgary area please check us out this week September 22nd and 23rd www.decidedlyjazz.com or if you are in Toronto we'll be performing as part of the Fall For Dance North festival on September 30th and October 1st-2nd www.ffdn.com
See you soon Toronto!
In the meantime here's plenty of interesting things to check out:
2) Dafnis Prieto on the creative process and his new album Cantar from Jazz.FM 91
3) Ronan Guilfoyle interviews Jamey Haddad for his podcast The Art & Science of Time:
4) Thomas Wendt continues with his Jazz Drumming Essentials for The Drum Candy Podcast:
...an interview with the Jazz Maniac Kenny Washington:
...and this interview with the great Andy Watson:
Keep up the great work Thomas!
5) Aldo Mazza interviews Terri Lyne Carrington and John Riley:
6) Han Bennink plays a solo improvisation at the Bishopsgate Institute in London:
7) UNT professor Quincy Davis continues with his always incredible and informative Q-Tips series on YouTube including a guest appearance by the one and only Geoff Clapp!
8) Drum Channel's Lombardi Live! interviews the great Harold Jones:
9) Dr. Jazz Talks Samo Salamon interviews Bill Goodwin:
10) Pianist Emmet Cohen features Lenny White on "Joshua":
...and Joe Saylor on "After You've Gone":
11) Classic Jeff "Tain" Watts with Kenny Kirkland:
12) Some ferocious drumming from Cindy Blackman recorded at the 2020 Drumeo Festival:
13) Time to Connect podcast features Kendrick Scott and Johnathan Blake:
14) Pause and Effect: a duet between drummer Drori Mondlak and vibraphonist David Friedman:
15) Congratulations to Billy Drummond and his band Freedom of Ideas on their latest release Valse Sinistre with features from:
I was on the road for most of the month of August driving across northern Saskatchewan but made a point of spending daily time on my drum pad and, among other things, trying to think up some new ways to practice and reinvent some older materials (while also focusing on the Marvin Smitty Smith rudiment ritual).
This particular exercise and concept was inspired by Todd Bishop's great exercises that he consistently shares over at his wonderful blog Cruiseship Drummer and some clever Stick Control exercises that John Riley showed me last year when I was studying with him.
Syncopated Stick Control
George Lawrence Stone's seminal text Stick Control is an important study for any serious student of the drums. However, while it's great for many things (ie. developing fluency with different stickings, etc.) it doesn't go very deep in terms of actual syncopated rhythmic variations. So here's a very quick and easy way to add a little syncopated spice into your pot of stick control chili.
Here are a few variations to mess around with :
*Start with Pages 5-7 of Stick Control*
1) Whenever a double Right is written (ie. RR) omit the first R and replace it with a rest
For example a single paradiddle would transform like this:
RLRR LRLL RLRR LRLL would play like this: RL-R LRLL RL-R LRLL
* - = indicates a rest! *
Similarly, a triple paradiddle would play like this:
RLRL RLRR LRLR LRLL= RLRL RL-R LRLR LRLL
2) Now do the same as above but apply this to the Left hand instead
3) Apply this "omission" rule to both the Right and Left hands:
ie. RLRR LRLL RLRR LRLL = RL-R LR-L RL-R LR-L
4) Now what happens if you have three or more hands in succession?
If you have three or more hands in a row, leave out the 3rd 8th note (using the same combinations as described above)
For example, here'a few variations:
RRRR LLLL RRRR LLLL = RR-R LLLL RR-R LLLL
RRRR LLLL RRRR LLLL = RRRR LL-L RRRR LL-L
or
RRRR LLLL RRRR LLLL = RR-R LL-L RR-R LL-L
5) Another quick variation that presents some interesting combinations is to leave out the 1st and/or 5th eighth notes of each line. Invariably some interesting and, more importantly, practical patterns that you can use will emerge.
I've also taken a few lessons with George Marsh (author of Inner Drumming) lately and he pointed out something quite profound that I think applies to the concepts I've described above.
As you explore each syncopated line (essentially by taking away notes and adding rests) listen to the unique rhythms that emerge from both the right and left hands individually. To make the individual rhythms even more obvious, place your right hand on the cymbal with the left hand on the snare drum and observe the individual rhythms that emerge. George Marsh describes this as rhythmic awareness.
More on this later as things are about to get really busy again. Once I have an opportunity to elaborate more I'll share some four-way coordinated independence applications, using these Syncopated Stick Control variations that I came up with.
Some burning footage of the great jazz drummer and 2023 NEA Jazz Master Louis Hayes, in action here with Freddie Hubbard, Don Braden and Benny Green circa. 1991:
One of the beauties of social media is the rare pieces of jazz history that occasionally pop up. Here's a scan of a 1966 Downbeat article and interview written by Mike Hennessy on Elvin Jones (incidentally, Hennessy was also the author of the book Klook: The Story of Kenny Clarke).
I hope you all had a nice summer wherever you are. Regular blogging has now resumed here at Four on the Floor now that September is upon us and we are back to school and back into a routine.
I've been sitting on this one for awhile now and excited to share this video through the official Four on the Floor YouTube channel.
Here's some incredible and rare footage of Kenny Clarke and his colleague Dante Agostini in a sort of after-hours drum battle, filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival circa. 1969:
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.
