FOUR ON THE FLOOR

TED Talk with Jojo Mayer: The Distance Between 0 and 1

2012-02-02T09:00:00.002-05:00

Another TED Talk today featuring Jojo Mayer and his concepts on rhythm:

Dave Holland - Solo

2012-02-01T09:00:00.001-05:00

For my friends of the bass clef persuasion, here's Dave Holland performing a couple solo renditions of Mr. P.C. and Goodbye Pork Pie Hat:

Dafnis Prieto Masterclass

2012-01-31T09:00:00.006-05:00

Cuban-born drummer Dafnis Prieto is a force. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to study with him for two weeks during the winter of 2010 while participating in a workshop at the Banff Centre and work with him on a daily basis. Prieto's intimate understanding of Afro-Cuban rhythms and his application of them to modern musical contexts is unbelievable. And of course his technique and coordination combined with a forward thinking view of music makes him, as far as I'm concerned, one of the great innovators of our time.

Here he is demonstrating some of his techniques from a masterclass:

And here's a more extensive interview with Dafnis where he talks about his art and craft:

I've posted these ones before, but here are a few good examples of Dafnis Prieto in action courtesy of the LP Percussion company:

And this little clave bit is from Prieto's session at PASIC 2008.

This...is...ridiculous!

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

2012-01-30T09:00:00.005-05:00

As per usual, here's a collection of interesting things for you to check out today:

- The Banff Centre has a long-standing tradition of exceptional Jazz programs, going back to the early 70s. A lot of incredible music has been created in the mountains over the years and I've been very fortunate to have participated in numerous workshops there over the years.

Dave Douglas, the long-time director of the Banff Jazz & Creative Music Workshop (who incidentally will be stepping down after this coming year), offers some inspiring thoughts on the importance of attending and participating in workshops such as this over at his blog Greenleaf Music.

You can learn more about the Banff Centre at:

www.banffcentre.ca

- My good friend Matt Wilson is poised to release another album with his band Arts & Crafts entitled "An Attitude for Gratitude":

Here's a couple of great interviews with Wilson courtesy of Jason Crane over at the The Jazz Session:

http://thejazzsession.com/2012/01/23/the-jazz-session-340-matt-wilson/

- What am I listening to these days?

Aaron Goldberg Trio "Yes!" - Ali Jackson Jr. (drums)

Susie Ibarra "Drum Sketches" - Susie Ibarra (drums & percussion)

Jim McNeely "Group Therapy" - John Hollenbeck (drums)

Keith Jarrett "Ruta & Daitya" - Jack DeJohnette (drums & percussion)

Brian Blade & Fellowship "Perceptual" - Brian Blade (drums)

Morgan Childs Quintet "Time" - Morgan Childs (drums)

- Thanks to Peter Hum over at jazzblog.ca who turned me on to Aaron Goldberg's album "Yes!" It features some really outstanding playing from Ali Jackson Jr. on drums. Here's a clip of that trio from a hit at Dizzy's in New York City last fall:

- Speaking of piano trios, here's a couple of fine concerts featuring some great trio playing:

Jeff Hamilton/John Clayton/Monty Alexander

Benny Green/Ben Wolfe/Carl Allen

I'm looking forward to this exciting hit on Tuesday.

The Jeff McGregor Trio + 1

Featuring:

Jeff McGregor - Alto Saxophone
Simon Fisk - Bass
Jon McCaslin - Drums

with special guest: Jim Brenan - Tenor Saxophone

Tuesday, January 31

Kawa Espresso Bar
1333 8th St SW
Calgary, AB

8:00pm

No Cover

- Congratulations and all the best to the CBC's Katie Malloch, the host of the program "Tonic", who recently announced her retirement from the airwaves. Peter Hum over at jazzblog.ca wrote a very nice piece over here and Paul Wells offers his thoughts on his blog at macleans.ca here.

I can't stress enough about how indebted I am to Katie and to CBC Radio in general. Much of my early exposure to Jazz music and, most importantly, Canadian Jazz music came from tuning into Katie's program "Jazz Beat", Ross Porter's "After Hours" and Margaret Poitou's show "Easy Street" (that one goes back 20 years!) Let's hope that the CBC continues its support of Canadian Jazz and Jazz music in the wider scope. I never had the opportunity to record a session in Montreal for "Jazz Beat" but Katie very kindly played tracks from my first album "McCallum's Island" on her show quite frequently after it was first released.

I have no idea what her plans are post-CBC, but let's hope that Katie perhaps might consider other avenues to express her passion for Jazz music in Canada (how about joining the ranks of Canada's Jazz bloggers?)

I'm very proud to have had Katie as a spokesperson and advocate for Jazz music in Canada. Thank you Katie for a job well done all these years. Your passion and enthusiasm for the music always shine. Jazz in Canada is certainly at a better place because of you!

- Finally, courtesy of Adam Nussbaum, here is Alex Riel's dog playing the drums!

(dig the nice set of Gretsch drums...that pooch obviously has nice taste in drums)

Hey Ted, get your guys on this!

Brian Blade & The Fellowship

2012-01-27T09:00:00.010-05:00

Here's a nice one to finish the week off, a couple of fine sets featuring Brian Blade and his Fellowship band from a recent show at Yoshi's in San Fransisco:

The chemistry that this band plays with is really something else. If I'm not mistaken, Blade has basically kept the personnel of this band together since the late 90s. That's impressive! One might imagine that a record company or a club owner or whom ever might be inclined to have Blade put together an all-star band of sorts. But I really respect the fact that Brian continues to develop his music with his crew despite the fact that they might not all be as high profile names as some of the other artists that Blade often accompanies as a sideman. I really respect that. The music always comes first with this guy and he and his band are musically in it for the long haul. These guys can all really play.

In the July 2008 issue of Modern Drummer, Ken Micallef asked Blade about this and his choice of musicians for his band. He replied: "It's hard for me to see it any other way. We're friends, we've known each other for so long. But when I write, these are the people that I hear. I hear their voices. I want my emotions and my heart to be wrapped up in that, otherwise I can't take stock. I want Fellowship to develop over as long period of time as possible."

I actually remember listening to his first album as a leader at a listening booth at the HMV on the corner of Peel and St. Catherines in Montreal shortly after it was first released in the late 90s. Brian had begun to gain some recognition for his work with Joshua Redman's band and with Kenny Garrett (as well as with Joni Mitchell and work with Daniel Lanois). He was definitely known for his intense energy and style of aggressive drumming (incidentally, I distinctly remember hearing a killer bootleg tape from the Montreal Jazz Festival featuring Brian with Kenny Garrett and Pat Metheny, playing on a program of John Coltrane's music, that bassist Sage Reynolds had given me. That shoddy tape recording really changed my perspective on things!) Anyways, for a "drummer's" record Blade's approach with the Fellowship really shattered any preconceptions I may have had at the time as to what a drummer-led band was all about. It's not really all about featuring the drums in every tune, building compositions around drum solos or crazy, mathematical odd meter vamps...instead this band is about a dedicated group dynamic and strong, through-composed textural and mood-based compositions that take a group effort in order to fully develop properly. What really knocks me out is their attention to space, pacing and dynamics that only the most mature of musicians with an open set of ears can tackle with such grace, flow and musicality.

Lately I've been revisiting the self-titled Fellowship album (1999) and the the follow-up "Perceptual" (2000) recently. The more recent Fellowship recording "Season of Changes" (2008) is on my to-do list as are his collaborations with guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel ("Friendly Travellers") and several trio recordings he recorded with pianist Edward Simon and bassist John Patitucci.

With regards to Brian Blade's unique style of drumming: I'm paraphrasing here but I read somewhere awhile ago in regards to a lesson that Ed Soph gave to a rather high-profile and accomplished drummer who was fascinated with Brian Blade's drumming but could not figure out how to capture that same spirit, energy and dynamic in his own playing. Ed replied (and I'm paraphrasing here of course!) something to the degree of:

"Well you have to understand that when Brian comes to play he is like a big empty vessel just waiting to be filled up by the music that surrounds him. You, on the other hand, when you come to play your "vessel" is already filled up and ready to be emptied!"

This all makes perfect sense and sums it up nicely as I sit here writing this and listen to the album "New Directions in Music: Live at Massey Hall" that features Brian Blade with Roy Hargrove, Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock and John Patitucci. His sense of dynamic flow is impeccable.

The guy is all ears, all the time!

I just have to wonder out loud here: what does Brian Blade practice on the drums when he's at home these days? Rudiments? Wilcoxon? Syncopation exercises? Ride Cymbal technique? Playing along with recordings? Levon Helm backbeat grooves? Of course I'm being a bit tongue-in-cheek-here, but I am genuinely curious. For what it's worth...I know from a personal experience (crashing on his piano players couch once!) that Brian spends a lot of time playing the guitar...but that story is for another blog post, another time.

If you go back and listen to his earlier recordings from the early to mid 90s I hear a strong influence of Elvin and Tony in his playing but with a distinctive New Orleans looseness (incidentally Brian was a student of Johnny Vidacovich at one point). However, as he's developed over the years he really plays with such an open phrasing that it's almost like you can't define what he does in terms of licks or patterns...there is a certain "organic" quality about his drumming and phrasing that somehow defies strict definition from a "drumistic" standpoint (take a good look at his now infamous solo from Joshua Redman's "Jazz Crimes" to see what I mean...)

Wayne Shorter offers some interesting perspective on this from that same Modern Drummer article I mentioned above: "Brian places importance on the kind of storytelling that takes you away from the technique of the drums. Brian is like Sonship Theus and Eric Gravatt, these kinds of drummers who aren't stuck in method books...Brian is like a painter. He is youthful. Every day is the first moment. He doesn't sound like he's working on something today that he was doing two months ago."

Hard to argue with that! Lessons to be learned, indeed...

Here's another favorite of mine that features Brian Blade with Kenny Barron and Kiyoshi Kitagawa:

btw-Andrew Hare recently commented on Brian Blade's drumming as well over at his blog The Melodic Drummer. Check it out.

Peter Erskine on DW Drums

2012-01-26T09:00:00.001-05:00

Peter Erskine always has nice taste in drums and cymbals. Here he is today playing and demonstrating his beautiful DW Jazz series drums:

"You can take 'em uptown or you can take 'em downtown!"

Chris Potter Plays Tune Up

2012-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:00

Not a drum post today but this one is for all my saxophone playing friends out there...well, and everybody, really!

There was also a bootleg of Potter performing a solo version of "All The Things You Are" similar to this making the rounds awhile ago. I'm impressed with Potter's ability to make complete music by himself and you never stop "hearing the tune" while he improvises a solo like this, even when he's really stretching with the time and harmony. While on the drums we aren't playing an instrument that is organized the same way melodically or harmonically, I think there is still a real lesson to be learned here. We should all be able to improvise and "play the tune" and execute our ideas with a certain clarity, organization and overall musicality that allows the listener to understand and hear the larger melodic/harmonic structures at play.

Up Close with Jack DeJohnette

2012-01-24T09:00:00.003-05:00

Dig this: from the recent 2012 NEA Jazz Master's awards concert, here's some nice up close, behind the scenes footage of the Master Jack DeJohnette performing Ornette Coleman's composition "When Will The Blues Leave?" with the likes of Sheila Jordan, Ron Carter and my old buddy Jimmy Owens (from my days in the Betty Carter Jazz Ahead program in Washington, D.C.):

Watching this clip is a great opportunity to check out Jack's approach to timekeeping. In particular, take special note of Jack's right hand. This is a GREAT lesson in ride cymbal playing! He is quite relaxed and if you'll notice he hardly moves his arm/hand at all but yet the beat is strong, clear and has definite intensity to it.

Thanks for the lesson Jack!

Motian Sickness - The Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah

2012-01-23T09:00:00.009-05:00

I was very excited to get a copy of Jeff Cosgrove's latest CD "Motian Sickness - This Music of Paul Motian: For the Love of Sarah" awhile ago and it's a great album. Jeff has recorded a collection of Paul Motian's music in a very uncommon strings + drums instrument combination. But it really works for me and Jeff has put together a very creative and musical take on Motian's unique compositions. I've enjoyed listening to these tracks very much lately.

I was intrigued with this project and Jeff was nice enough to answer a few questions about his recording journey and relationship with the late Paul Motian.

What was the inspiration for this project?

"It honestly came from wanting to do something different. When I first heard Paul's record Conception Vessel, the music changed what I though a compositional/percussionist approach to jazz could be. At the time of hearing that record, I was playing a lot of standards with various musicians in trio settings and at jam sessions. I found myself restless in the music. I want to strive to have my playing with equal parts jazz drummer and percussionist and didn't feel like I could get that with the situations I was in. Motian's music really the most exciting vehicle for me to experiment with - he was approaching his music and standards from a very melodic/compositional point of view that really opened my eyes. I would practice to his records and one day I just knew I wanted to make a record of Paul's compositions."

What in particular attracted you so much to Motian's music?

"The emotional connection to the music and the effect of the musical space are the cornerstone of what attracts me to Motian's music. I love to hear the sound decay in the melodies, it is hauntingly beautiful in some of the compositions, like Conception Vessel or Arabesque but can also be frantic and misshapen like in Mumbo Jumbo or The Storyteller. The music has an elastic quality to it that creates a lot of illusions toward total freedom. The reality is that the compositions and improvisations are always rooted in Paul's melody. They are emotional, flexible pieces that come from Paul which produce beautiful music."

On speaking and communicating with Paul Motian:

"Well about getting to talk to Paul, it is kind of a funny story. I didn't know Paul but had spoken to him on the phone a few times and met him a few times through out the beginning of the Motian Sickness project. It all started when I was talking with pianist Frank Kimbrough after he had recorded his Play record with Motian in early 2006. I wanted to find out all about playing with Paul, as I'm a huge fan of Frank and Paul. I mentioned the idea I had to record Paul's music and he thought it was a great idea. He gave me Motian's number and took me about a year to work up the courage to call. Frank set my expectations low that Paul would call back, but Paul called back the next day. We talked on the phone initially for about 30 minutes about the idea for the music. He was genuinely interested to hear his music expressed through the mandolin/fiddle/bass/drums. Paul was hilarious on the phone, he really made it easy to talk to one of my hero's - one of my top five favorites actually. He was very humble about his compositions. When I told him the band name, he laughed so hard that he dropped the phone."

"Throughout the three and a half years of working on the project, Paul sent me about 30 scores in two batches. The first batch were twelve of his favorites, which included Conception Vessel, Mumbo Jumbo, For the Love of Sarah, The Storyteller, and Arabesque. The second batch were tunes that I requested. It is amazing to have the lead sheets in his hand writing and notations. He would tell me, "the phrase is the most important thing...I don't care how the cats play the time, but the phrase is everything." Those were definitely inspiring words."

"I would see him at the Vangaurd and I talked to him on the phone a few more times before he passed away which was amazing. Each time I would see him at the Vanguard, I would introduce myself and he would always say..."it's great to see you but man, this is a long way from West Virginia!"

The instrumentation you chose is definitely not a common one. How did you come up with the unique idea to record an album of all string instruments and drums?

"I live in an area (Eastern West Virginia) where there is a lot of bluegrass music. The warmth of that sound is really attractive to me. I had always wanted to play freer jazz with that warm sound. Over the last ten years, I have ended up collecting all of Paul's record as a leader. Throughout studying his music and playing, I just had a feeling that the warmth of sound that a mandolin, fiddle, and bass would bring out the illusive elements of Motian's music. It has such a folkloric quality to it and is so flexible to interpretation, much like bluegrass."

"I started to set up a couple rehearsals of the music with very traditional bluegrass musicians, I could tell right away that the music was perfect for the interpretation. The guys I was working with in the rehearsals were not use to the flexibility and give that the melodies had regarding time. It was definitely strangely beautiful though. I had to find the right players that understood the subtle nature of freer music and the warmth of bluegrass."

"First I approached mandolin player Jamie Masefield, which was introduced by a friend who manages the Discover Jazz Festival in Burlington Vermont. Jamie was playing at the festival in June of 2010 and my family and I were there for vacation and we met after his set. I knew Jamie was very comfortable in bluegrass and is an amazing jazz player - his Jazz Mandolin Project is a very, very cool band. He was definitely hesitant about it as he was largely unfamiliar with Motian as a composer. After sending him the tunes, he was definitely interested but still not sure he could fit in. When we talked about where I was coming from with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sound, he was hooked."

"With bass, John Hebert was really the guy that I wanted. I had never met him but I really dug his playing with Fred Hersch, Andrew Hill and so many others. His sound is so big and inviting. John had just played on my friend Noah Preminger's record so I called Noah and got in touch with John. From the outset, John was into it, super helpful and very encouraging. He helped me get the studio time together and when the original fiddle player was unable to make the recording, John suggested Mat."

"I knew of Mat and his playing with Motian. The first time I went to see Motian, Mat was in the band. He just has such a natural sound and really can do so much with it. Mat understands improvised music but very understanding of the sound of classical and bluegrass. Mat was very cool and interested when we talked for the first time. He wanted to do the record and it just seemed so effortless. Plus, he is just such a laid back guy which is so important for me. He was also encouraging when I talked about this being my first record."

"The guys were amazing from a musical and personal standpoint. The three and a half year time getting to the studio was worth it to have these guys on it. I couldn't have asked for more from these fine musicians and am so grateful to have been able to work with them."

On the recording process:

"In true Motian fashion, there was not going to be an rehearsal based on everyone's schedule. We recorded in New York in the first week of February in between two major snow and ice storms. John was coming in from Germany from a tour, I was coming up from West Virginia, Jamie was coming from Vermont, it had the potential to be disaster. When we walked into the studio, it was the first time we had all seen each other. The first notes we recorded were Arabesque, the one and only take of that tune. I knew we had a record that we could all be proud of. The communication was great. Everyone had ideas for the tunes, we arranged everything in between takes. It just really seemed meant to be. We talked, joked and played some great music together. I was so fortunate to be able to make this music with musicians of such a high level."

"This project has been a dream come true. It had frustrating moments with all the fits and starts with trying to get it all together but it certainly paid off. I was really, really fortunate to have all the support from my wife who would not let me give up. She knew it was important for me and I can't thank her enough for it...the record is named for her. This record was a testament to believing in something and it will come true. Additionally, Paul did get to hear the record before he passed away which I was able to get a lot of closure on this project."

As you can see here, Downbeat magazine also offered a very positive review of this album:

If you are interested in listening to this fine album, you can pick it up here:

iTunes (with two bonus tunes)

Amazon

CD Baby

John Riley in Clinic

2012-01-20T09:00:00.002-05:00

This is just a short one, shot on somebody's iPhone (probably!), but I was fascinated by John's explanation of how he uses different inversions of double strokes between the snare and bass drum while playing time with the ride cymbal to develop further vocabulary for comping:

I like his ideas of dealing with permutations of the double strokes, varying the speed (eighth notes to triplets) and then also leaving notes out. It's a simple enough concept but combined with some imagination and creativity those patterns should give one enough ideas to develop over a lifetime!

Ralph Peterson Jr. Plays

2012-01-19T09:00:00.004-05:00

Another bad ass drum solo from Ralph Peterson Jr. today:

Ralph has also got an excellent new instructional DVD out and, after now owning and viewing it myself, I highly recommend it for anyone seriously interested in studying the art of Jazz drumming. There is a lot of serious information and great playing packed into this DVD!

Here's a great sample from this DVD of Peterson explaining and demonstrating his craft:

(I really dig those blue sparkle drums Ralph!)

You've probably noticed the advertisement/link on my blog for Jazzheaven.com at the side of this page. Run (don't walk!) and go to that website NOW to find an amazing collection of Jazz instructional videos. I'll be featuring an interview with the mastermind behind these excellent productions, Falk Willis, in the near future. Stay tuned.

Dennis' Bass

2012-01-18T09:00:00.003-05:00

Another post today for my friends of the bass clef persuasion, here's a very moving piece and a tribute to bassist Dennis Irwin, a marvelous musician who left us way too early:

I had always admired Dennis' playing, having heard him on recordings with the likes of John Scofield, Joe Lovano, the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and on a ton of dates on the Criss Cross label (how I found those particular albums is for another future post...) He always struck me as the ultimate sideman, someone that people loved to play with and who musicians obviously knew they could always depend on to play their music. If you saw his name on a gig or an album you always knew that he would get the job done with taste, musicality and professionalism. A great role model for any rhythm section player, I think.

I was fortunate to spend some time hanging out with Dennis and play with him in 2004 while I was spending time in New York City on a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. I was studying with drummer Matt Wilson at the time and he introduced me to Dennis while I was following around Matt's band "Arts & Crafts" while they were touring the five boroughs, performing school concerts as part of the Jazz at Lincoln Center outreach program.

Dennis was a very warm person and graciously invited me to his loft for a couple days to play together and talk about music. We also had a mutual friend in Montreal bassist Brian Hurley (whom I had played with extensively) so we got along pretty quickly. Dennis and I played a lot of quarter notes together (among other things!) and I learned a lot from his tales of playing with all the world's greatest Jazz drummers (Art Blakey, Bill Stewart, John Riley, Idris Muhammad, Kenny Washington, Mel Lewis, Lewis Nash - you name it!) Dennis and I was also shared a few laughs following his gigs on Monday evenings with the Village Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and he graciously invited me to sit in with Pete Malaverni's trio at the Sweet Basil one night (and let me tell you, it was very hard to play following the swinging' drumming of Leroy Williams!) It was a great lesson and experience that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Here's a clip featuring Dennis Irwin with the Joe Lovano Nonet to enjoy courtesy of Bret Primack, "The Jazz Video Guy":

And finally a performance of Matt Wilsons "Arts & Crafts" band featuring Dennis on the Monk tune "We See":

Art Taylor & Johnny Griffin

2012-01-17T09:00:00.003-05:00

"Oh you better watch out, Mr. A.T. knows who's been naughty and nice..."

Here's another great one of Art Taylor teaming up with Johnny Griffin from a French television broadcast:

Art Taylor was an impeccable timekeeper, comper and overall great accompanist. Watching his left hand in that last clip is a lesson in itself. No wonder he was in such high demand as a sideman back in the day. His playing always struck me as a great combination of Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones and Art Blakey although done in a very personal and creative way.

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

2012-01-16T11:21:00.007-05:00

Good morning everybody and happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Let's all take a moment to reflect on the meaning of King's important message that still resonates today.

Here's a few things of interest worth checking out today:

-Props to Rubim DeToledo and his crew that performed music from Mile Davis' "Bitches Brew" and "In A Silent Way" over the weekend at the Beatniq Jazz & Social Club. Rubim, along with Jim Brenan, Bob Tildesley, Ralf Buschmeyer, Chris Andrew, Tyler Hornby and Raul Gomez Tabera really nailed it and they all sounded great.

-Following the recent death of saxophonist and composer Sam Rivers, NPR's A Blog Supreme published this very thoughtful article about some of the important lessons that Rivers has taught us:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2012/01/06/144333414/what-i-learned-from-sam-rivers

-Drummer Rakalam Bob Moses gives us this personal and inspiring article on his relationship and mentorship with the great Edgar Bateman:

http://jazztimes.com/articles/27196-edgar-bateman

-I came across this footage of Terry Clarke performing with a chamber string-ensemble:

About 2/3 through the clip Clarke plays a very cool brush solo on his signature Ayotte drums (with a single 10" mounted tom)

-Billy Drummond is one of my favorite all-time contemporary drummers. Not the greatest footage, but here he is with pianist Renee Rosnes on Thelonious Monk's "Four in One":

I heard Rosnes and Drummond play together several times over the years as a trio with a variety of bass players and it was always killing!

-What am I listening to these days?

Dana Hall "Into the Light" - Dana Hall (drums)

Dave Holland Octet "Pathways" - Nate Smith (drums), Steve Nelson (vibraphone)

Shelly Manne & Friends "My Fair Lady" - Shelly Manne (drums)

Dave Liebman "We Three" - Adam Nussbaum (drums)

John Coltrane "Dear Old Stockholm" - Roy Haynes (drums)

Eric Harland "Voyager" - Eric Harland (drums)

-Have you seen this old footage of Greg Hutchinson warming up in the studio?

Damn!

-Here's a couple of classic pieces to watch and reflect on...here is Elvin Jones performing with the John Coltrane Quartet on the pieces "Afro Blue" and the moving "Alabama" from Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual television series:

-Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - "On the Importance of Jazz"

"God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create, and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many
different situations.

Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

This is triumphant music.

Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these."

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - Opening Address to the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival

(thank you to Kenan Foley who sent me this important message this morning)

Blue Note - The Story of Modern Jazz

2012-01-13T09:00:00.001-05:00

The Blue Note record label is undeniably one of the greatest Jazz record labels of all time. Here's a very informative documentary on the story of the people who made it happen:

Tony Meets Art!

2012-01-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

Today's post features a meeting of drummers of epic proportions!

This French concert, featured in its entirety, features the great Art Blakey and Tony Williams working together, backed up by Stanley Clarke on bass and a group of percussionists:

In particular check out their version of Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" which I quite enjoyed. This is a great example of two great jazz drummers from different generations making interesting music together. I did the math and Art is about 53 years old in this footage while Tony is around 27...almost half the age of Blakey!

Blakey was obviously a big fan of drummers playing together and gave us several albums on the Blue Note label that featured bands with multiple drummers and percussionists. We don't see jazz drummers collaborate like this very often (although Joe Lovano's "US FIVE" project comes to mind as does Joshua Redman's double trio) but it's certainly an interesting sonic texture worth exploring.

NEA Jazz Master 2012 - Jack DeJohnette

2012-01-11T09:00:00.003-05:00

Congratulations Jack!

And here's Jack and Roy Haynes engaging in a friendly "tap off" following the NEA Jazz Master's luncheon:

Haynes!

Jeff Coffin & Bob Moses Clinic

2012-01-10T09:00:00.002-05:00

Saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Coffin is one my favorite contemporary musicians these days. I really admire his sense of creativity and fearless attitude when it comes to improvisation and blurring the lines between styles in an interesting and musical way. With him, anything goes and he certainly has the technique, the knowledge and an open mind that allows him to do so. His playing with Bela Fleck a year ago in Calgary was a personal highlight for me so naturally I was excited to come across this clinic footage of Coffin playing along with the great Rakalam Bob Moses:

Steve Gadd with Stevie Wonder

2012-01-09T09:00:00.002-05:00

Today the two Steve's show us how it's done (unfortunately the footage ends before Stephen Harper joins in to take the stage...)

Special thanks to Jayson Brinkworth who pointed this one out to me via the Facebook.

And here's a couple of other good ones of Steve Gadd, courtesy of Solon McDade, performing some drum & percussion duets using some classic grooves along with percussionist Ralph MacDonald:

Ari Hoenig Plays Billie's Bounce

2012-01-06T09:00:00.001-05:00

Well...back to the drawing board!

Monk in Belgium

2012-01-05T09:00:00.002-05:00

I've posted a portion of this concert featuring Thelonious Monk and his quartet from a date in Belgium before, but the entire concert has emerged and it's incredible so here it is:

Dig the fine drumming from Frankie Dunlop and the nice solo drum feature that Dunlop plays about half-way through the concert (I posted that one before...it's great!)

Does anybody know if it was common for Monk to have his drummers's play stand-alone solo pieces like that? (very Max Roach influenced I'd say)

Klook Is The Man!

2012-01-04T09:00:00.001-05:00

Footage of Kenny Clarke is fairly rare so I was pretty excited to see this one pop up recently.

Here's Kenneth Spearman Clarke, commonly known as "Klook" (and later known as Liaqat Ali Salaam), playing with J.J.Johnson, Sonny Stitt and Howard McGhee from a televised 1964 tribute to Charlie Parker on "My Little Suede Shoes":

Has anybody seen the rest of this program???

Notice how Klook is only using one ride cymbal in that clip and that's all he needs! Sometimes it's a nice challenge to show up at a gig with just one cymbal and to try and make it work (besides that's one less cymbal and stand to carry around, haha!)

And of course, Kenny's immaculate cymbal beat speaks for itself. As far as I'm concerned, we are still trying to chase after that one!

Roy Haynes Trio

2012-01-03T09:00:00.002-05:00

We are so lucky to have Roy Haynes around these days! The man is a literal walking piece of Jazz history who's career spans over 70 years. I distinctly remember when I first heard Roy Haynes on the album Question & Answer with Pat Metheny and Dave Holland about 20 years ago and I've never turned back since! His playing is a source of inspiration for me every time I hear him play.

Here's some great concert footage from the Netherlands in 2009 with Roy Haynes joined by John Patitucci on bass and David Kikoski on piano:

The Monday Morning Paradiddle 2012 Edition

2012-01-02T09:00:00.002-05:00

And...we're back!

It's been a busy and exciting few weeks and I had a nice holiday break but I'm happy to be back in the saddle here and ready to get Four on The Floor rolling for 2012. Look for more blog posts, lessons, interviews and more interesting things to come in the year ahead. Thank you for your continued support.

Here's a few things that have been making the rounds around the office lately here over the past few weeks:

- Special thanks to the kind folks in Regina with the YQR Creative Arts Association who produced a great concert that I participated in last Wednesday that featured Andy King on trumpet, Donny Kennedy on alto saxophone, Kelly Jefferson on tenor saxophone, Jeff McLeod on piano and Joel Kerr on bass along with myself on drums. The music was outstanding, we played to an enthusiastic and standing-room only full crowd at the Exchange and the hang was great (with special thanks to Tumblers/Western Pizza, Bonzinni's, Bushwakker's and John Styles!) This was sort of a reunion/homecoming type of concert as I don't get to play with these fine musicians nearly as much as I used to back in the day. But we certainly make it count when we do get together to play! I think we set the bar pretty high this year and hopefully this particular configuration will do some more performing and recording in the future.

- Pianist George Colligan over at his great blog Jazz Truth has a great interview with Jack DeJohnette that was recently done while Colligan was touring Europe with DeJohnette's band:

http://jazztruth.blogspot.com/2011/12/jack-dejohnette-interview.html

- Speaking of interviews, follow these links to see a series of video interviews with Jeff Hamilton where he discusses various aspects of his drumming and his influences:

http://www.snapshotsfoundation.com/articles/88-jeff-hamilton-interview

- I've posted this clip before but this concert has recently popped up in it's entirety (thanks to Chad Anderson who shared this with me) Here's an epic concert and drum battle that features an all-star line up of Art Blakey, Sunny Murray, Elvin Jones and Max Roach!

- Holidays are always good times to catch up on one's listening. Here's a few things that I've been checking out lately:

Wayne Shorter "The Soothsayer" - Tony Williams, drums

Wayne Shorter "Night Dreamer" - Elvin Jones, drums

Sonny Rollins "Way Out West" - Shelly Manne, drums

Warren Wolf "Warren Wolf" (self-titled) - Warren Wolf, vibraphone & Greg Hutchinson, drums

Mike LeDonne "Common Ground" - Kenny Washington, drums

Dexter Gordon "A Night in Copenhagen" - Art Taylor, drums

Michael Spiro "Bata Ketu" - various, percussion & vocals

Matt Wilson "Xmas Tree-O" - Matt Wilson, drums

- 2012 looks to be a busy and action packed year with lots of exciting projects coming up and on the go. Here's a plug for my first gig of the year and it looks to be a good one:

OCTAGONE

Featuring:

Andre Wickenheiser - Trumpet
Mark DeJong - Alto Saxophone
Jim Brenan - Tenor Saxophone
Carsten Rubeling - Trombone
Sarah Matheson - Baritone Saxophone
Michelle Gregoire - Piano
Rubim DeToledo - Bass
Jon McCaslin -Drums

Appearing at the Beatniq Jazz & Social Club

811 - 1st Street SW
Calgary, AB

Friday, January 6 2012

9:00pm

www.beatniq.com

This fun band made its debut last May as part of the new Summit Jazz Series which is being coordinated by some fearless and forward-thinking local Calgary Jazz artists in conjunction with the Cantos Music Foundation. Inspired by many of the great medium-sized Jazz ensembles such as the Joe Lovano Nonet, Rob McConnell's Tentet, The Birth of The Cool and Art Pepper + 11, this band will feature a program of hard swinging numbers that features great ensemble writing and a line-up that features many of Calgary's finest Jazz improvisors. Check it out!

Happy Holidays from Four on The Floor

2011-12-25T09:00:00.001-05:00

Elvin Jones with Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman and Gene Perla

2011-12-22T11:54:00.003-05:00

Santa Claus came early this year! I was trying to take an extended break from blogging to attend to some other "doctoral" activities in my life these days, but someone posted this amazing clip on the Facebook and it was too good to pass up and not share with you all. Merry xmas!

Here's the seminal band of Elvin Jones with Dave Liebman, Steve Grossman and Gene Perla from a French television broadcast:

This band and, in particular, the album "Live at the Lighthouse" was very influential music to me as a student during the mid 90s in Montreal. I had a band with tenor players Al McLean and Sean Craig with Paul Shrofel on piano and Sage Reynolds on bass called "The Jazz Assault" (!) in which we attempted to perform all the music from that particular album and pay tribute to that great band. It was a great experience and any sense or feeling of musical hesitation was strictly forbidden! This was easily one of the most intense bands I've ever played in. In fact, after one of our performances at the Upstairs Jazz club one of our teachers (who shall remain nameless) remarked: "I feel like I've been raped by eighth-notes!" At the time we wore that as a badge of pride but now, I'm not so sure...haha.

So I'll be watching this clip a few times over the next few weeks....and if you are looking for some related Elvin Jones vocabulary to practice on the drums, head over to Ted Warren's blog Trap'd for a nice lesson on some classic Elvin triplet phrases.

Thanks again for stopping by and see you all in the New Year!

The YQR Jazz All-Stars

2011-12-19T09:00:00.002-05:00

The YQR Creative Arts Association Presents:

"A Jazzy Holiday Gathering"

Featuring Jeff McLeod & The YQR Jazz All-Stars

with:

Jeff McLeod - Piano
Andy King - Trumpet
Donny Kennedy - Alto Saxophone
Kelly Jefferson - Tenor Saxophone
Joel Kerr - Bass
Jonathan McCaslin - Drums

Wednesday, December 28th 2011

7:30pm

Appearing at:

The Exchange
2431 8th Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan

Tickets $20/$10 students (available at the door)

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

2011-12-12T18:42:00.006-05:00

Seasons greetings everybody!

Well it's been busy around these parts these days with the holidays fast approaching and the usual flurry of Christmas gigs with very talented musicians. Plus we've had some serious snow here in Calgary over the past few days so I've had to dust off my shovel and get back into that routine.

However, still time to share some interesting things that have come across my desk here at Four on The Floor lately:

-Thanks to Jay Hoggard who hipped me to these awesome Tony Williams drum solos via the Facebook:

I think of Tony now every time I play my newly refinished Premier drum set that I recently had redone in that classic TW Yellow finish. Hey, why not?

So here's the story on that. A couple of months ago I sent Rene Audette of Billy Blast Drums some Gretsch Catalina Maple toms (that I found used on Kijiji) and my 20" Premier XPK bass drum that came from the first drum set that I bought with my own money as a kid 20 years ago (!) That Premier kit has been my work horse kit since the early 90s and I've played hundreds of gigs on it from coast to coast in every style imaginable. I still have the toms as well but they were rewrapped in a slick red sparkle wrap by Ed Peck over at EPEK Percussion a couple of years ago.

Rene did an exceptional job of removing the existing finish on the Gretsch toms and the wrap from the Premier bass drum. He does great work for a great price and I highly recommend him if you are looking for any work to be done on your existing drums or for some reasonably priced custom drums.

I took these photos with my iPhone so unfortunately they don't do the finish of the drums much justice but you get the idea:

You'll notice that there are Premier badges on the toms. Yes, I cheated and put Premier badges on Gretsch toms. I just decided to do that for continuities sake. I think they look pretty good.

Here's a before and after comparison photo of the bass drum shell:

And here are the shells after I took them out of the box once they arrived in the mail:

They look a bit more "blonde" than they do yellow in these photos (!) but as you can see, Tony clearly approves : )

-I've really been digging the many videos on Allen Herman's youtube.com channel lately: http://www.youtube.com/user/ChicWebb?feature=watch

I was first introduced to Allen's fine drumming from his participation in Billy's Martin excellent drumumentary "Life on Drums" (Allen was Billy's first drum teacher). Allen demonstrates some great examples of snare drumming in his videos with lots of information and concepts passed on from his teacher, Joe Morello.

-Interested in some holiday cheer? Thanks to Carolyn Kellogg via Ted Giola via Peter Hum at jazzblog.ca here is Charles Mingus' favorite egg nog recipe: http://carolynkellogg.tumblr.com/post/13976963626/charles-mingus-eggnog-recipe

"Charles Mingus Egg Nog Recipe"

* Separate one egg for one person. Each person gets an egg.
* Two sugars for each egg, each person.
* One shot of rum, one shot of brandy per person.
* Put all the yolks into one big pan, with some milk.
* That’s where the 151 proof rum goes. Put it in gradually or it’ll burn the eggs,
* OK. The whites are separate and the cream is separate.
* In another pot— depending on how many people— put in one shot of each, rum and brandy.
(This is after you whip your whites and your cream.)
* Pour it over the top of the milk and yolks.
* One teaspoon of sugar. Brandy and rum.
* Actually you mix it all together.
* Yes, a lot of nutmeg. Fresh nutmeg. And stir it up.
* You don’t need ice cream unless you’ve got people coming and you need to keep it cold.
Vanilla ice cream. You can use eggnog. I use vanilla ice cream.
* Right, taste for flavor. Bourbon? I use Jamaica Rum in there. Jamaican Rums. Or I’ll put rye in it. Scotch. It depends.
See, it depends on how drunk I get while I’m tasting it!
-Charles Mingus

-Here's some footage of the great Al Foster to check out with Dave Holland on bass and Joe Henderson on tenor saxophone on Billy Strayhorn's "Take the A Train":

Love those Paistes!

-For all my bass playing friends out there who happen to read my blog, check this guy out !

-And finally, special thanks to John Riley who forwarded me the MOST amazing Buddy Rich bootleg site you will ever come across: http://www.mikejamesjazz.com/br_clips.html#unique_index

There are some serious gems in there including the infamous Buddy Rich "Look Ma, no hands!" double bass drum solos. The Sammy Kaye compilation of Buddy's introductions and monologues on the microphone from his short-lived nightclub "Buddy's Place" are worth it on there own!

I'm going to be taking a break from blogging here at Four On The Floor for the next while. After all, I need some time to shovel snow, make Egg Nog and and bake some festive cookies.

Thanks again for your continued support, drive safe everyone and see you in 2012!

Brian Blade with The Chick Corea Trio

2011-12-09T09:00:00.003-05:00

I'm loving all these clandestine close-up drum videos that pop up on youtube.com from time to time. It's like sitting over your favorite drummer's shoulder to catch all their slick moves (although I'm not sure how those drummers feel about this!)

Here's Brian Blade in some swinging trio footage with Chick Corea on a Thelonious Monk composition:

Matt Wilson says "Thank You"

2011-12-08T09:00:00.000-05:00

Thank YOU Matt !!!

The Calgary Scene - Kodi Hutchinson

2011-12-07T20:06:00.002-05:00

Today's Calgary Scene column features Kodi Hutchinson, one of Calgary's busiest bass players. Kodi was one of the first Calgary musicians that I played with after I had left the stage production of "Barrage" in 2006 and I'm lucky to have had the opportunity to play with him often in various rhythm sections over the years. Kodi is a very talented musician who always brings a wealth of experience to the bandstand.

1) Can you tell us about your musical background? How did you learn to play Jazz?

I think I started music like most kids. When I was in grade 3 growing up in Calgary, my parents started me in piano privately. At the time I was a pretty hyperactive child, and ended up not endearing myself to my piano teacher. She suggested to my parents that I find something that was more suited to me. It was a short lived start in music.

When I reached grade 6, I ended up at new elementary school which had an orchestra program. I saw the double bass in the corner, and thought, I have to play that! Unfortunately, even though I let the teacher know I wanted to play the bass, she said there was a taller boy in the class, and I would have to play cello. I wasn’t a big fan of the instrument. It had a terrible set-up, with the strings constantly cutting into my fingers. However, I carried the cello home and practiced as I was instructed. I do remember clearly my very first ever concert at the school on the cello. After all my practicing and dragging this strange object around all year, the concert was a study in stage fright! I was so nervous, I don’t think I played a single note! I just wiggled my fingers with everyone else, looking terrified around the crowd. I look back on that now with a smile, considering very little makes me nervous on stage any more. I definitely try and keep those early experiences in mind when I deal with students nowadays. I find it helps to remember what they might be going through when they pick up the instrument!

Junior high school began, and my family moved to a new neighbourhood right around the start of the school year. Because of the move, I showed up at my new school 3 days late for school. When I got to band later that week, I was handed a Euphonium. It was the only instrument nobody had chosen, and now it was all mine. Although I had never heard of the instrument, I took to it immediately, and ended up playing it all the way through to University. While I was in band, there was a double bass sitting in an instrument cupboard. I started trying to play it at lunch times. I remember teaching myself to play ‘Stand by me’ by ear. I’m still amazed I could play the bass. It was so badly set up I could get my entire forearm between the strings and the finger board. I had a great junior high band teacher named Bob George. He was an excitable man who loved what he did, and got all of his students excited about music. I would say he was probably the first person to get me thinking about being a musician, and he was a great teacher who I think put me on the right path!

One day in grade nine, Mr. George mentioned to the concert band that his electric bass player had quit jazz band. He asked if anyone in the band had any experience playing a string instrument. My hand shot up! “I would love to play bass”, I said! He said I would have to get lessons. “No Problem!” Was my response. To this day my mother remembers how much I bugged her to get lessons. She explained to me that she finally had to give in, because I had never been so committed to pestering her about anything so much in my life. She found me a great teacher who really made me work on technique. I was also slightly obsessive about the instrument, and played for hours every day. My family got used to not being allowed to go on holiday unless my bass was in the car with us.

For high school, my family had moved again, I moved to my sister’s high school, Western Canada High School. The school had a great band program run by a very intense band teacher named Mike Klazek. I played in every ensemble whether it was on Euphonium or bass. The school had great bass players, including my fellow classmate, Jeremy Coates, who is now an amazing 6-string electric bassist in Alberta. It was very competitive trying to get to play in the band with him. I would say Jeremy and I pushed each other as players during those years. I think I have counted 18 different professional musicians that came from my high school graduating class, including recent Emmy award winner Dave Pierce. I would say the great musicians at my school probably pushed me to be able to become a professional musician. Also during high school, I was probably playing between 4 to 6 hours a day. I was also going to jazz camps, and studying and playing with whoever I could. Every Friday after school, my music friends would head over to Jeremy’s house, and we would play jazz together from our Real Books. I was being exposed by my bass teacher John Hyde to players like Ray Brown, Jaco Pastorius, Ron Carter and Paul Chambers. My mother was also great, buying me jazz albums from those artists because she knew how excited about music I was.

In grade 12, I started playing the upright bass. Finally I was playing the instrument that I was so excited about all the way back in grade six! To get my technique together, John sent me to see a bassist from the Calgary Philharmonic named Sheila Garrett. It was with her I started studying the mechanics of the instrument for the next 3 years.

Due to my late start on double bass, I wasn’t able to apply to music programs on the instrument. I went to the University of Calgary studying history and business. However, I played in every band I could in the school including the UofC Red Band. I also joined the Calgary Youth Orchestra. To this day, most of the music students I went to school with, think I have a music degree since I was around the faculty so much and playing in so many different groups. I actually graduated with a business degree, which is a surprise to most of them!

While in University, I went to lots of jazz jams, and would check out any jazz concert I could. I was that kid who would ask anyone who was coming through town for a lesson. Somehow, that put me in the radar of the people running the Banff Centre Jazz Programs. Every year they’d have a bassist who couldn’t make the program. I started getting invites to go there for the summer jazz program. That is where I really started learning jazz getting to study with great bassists like Don Thompson, Ray Drummond, Johannes Weidmuller, etc.. I have been in the jazz program there a number of times over the years. I have also travelled to play with Hugh Fraser’s Big Band workshops in Calgary, Banff, Edmonton, and Vancouver. It was a great education getting to play with world class musicians like Silde Hampton and Maria Schneider. I also spent 3 years as the house bassist at the Kaos Jazz and Blues club. I was playing with musicians travelling through Calgary on a regular basis, getting ‘schooled’.

Although that’s how I started to learn jazz, I’m still learning. I still grab lessons when I can, and check out as much new music as possible. I try to learn as well from the musicians I play with. Right now I’m on a Canada council study grant where I’m studying with a number of teachers in New York. I intend to try and keep learning about jazz my entire life. For me, the day I stop trying to learn is the day I should do something else with my life.

2) Who are your musical influences and why?

My main influences I think are my band teachers and other private teachers growing up. I had some great teachers including Sheila Garret, John Hyde, Ken Coffey, Dale James, and Hugh Fraser. All great musicians, and such giving teachers!

My first influences on upright bass would be Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Paul Chambers and Charlie Haden. I love how Ray Brown and Ron Carter create their walking bass lines, and the attack they put on their notes. As someone who came to double bass a bit later than most, I really like Paul Chambers ability to play such melodic bebop lines in a very confined range of the bass. As for Charlie Haden, his is a tone and sound that I have always strived for. His ability to play such simple phrases that are so melodic is amazing, as is his ability to play with time and play over the bar lines as a soloist. He is a study in beauty and minimalism.

As for electric bassists, I was a Jaco fan from the first time I heard him. I probably spent most of my High School and University years trying to transcribe his solos and grooves. I am also a big fan of John Pattitucci. He is an all-around great musician on both electric and upright bass. He really plays like a horn player as a soloist on both instruments.

My influences change as I get older, but those are the players I really first started checking out.

3) Name your top 5 favourite albums and how they have influenced you.

I’m sure like most musicians, my list of favourite albums changes over the years, so I thought I would put a list together of albums that influenced me most early on with some albums that I am really into right now in no particular order. I tried to keep the list to 5 albums, but it was so hard, I ended up with 7. Otherwise, I have recently been checking out artists like Gerald Clayton, Taylor Eigsti, Brad Mehldau, Maria Schneider, Aaron Parks, Christian McBride, Seamus Blake, Donny McCaslin, Matt Penman, Esperanza Spalding, and the SF Jazz Collective to name a few:

Quartet West – "Haunted Heart" (1992)

This was the first album I did a transcription for upright bass. The track was ‘Hello My Lovely’. It was my first real complete look at playing the melody, solo, and walking lines for an entire song on upright. I really love the simplicity of Charlie Haden’s solo and how wide and beautiful his tone is. He pushes and pulls the time in a way that really grabs your attention.

Charlie is the master of playing minimalist solos. He seems to play half as many notes as any other bassist, but in the end, they are always the ones you wish you would have played. All of Charlie’s albums are always so melodic, even when he is playing free. He has been a huge influence how I write music. I am a strong believer in finding beautiful melodies because of his writing and soloing style. Some other great albums featuring him are ‘Nocturne’, and ‘Beyond the Missouri Sky’.

Paul Chambers – "Bass on Top" (1957)

Paul Chambers is definitely one of my favourite bassists alongside Charlie Haden. His time feel is always so even, and his solos are very melodic, emulating horn phrasing. I really got into ‘You’d be so nice to come home to’ from this album. Recorded while Paul Chambers was at the height of his ability and notoriety, this track has it all. Paul is playing the intro and melody, then kicks into a great solo right out of the gate. After that, he creates some great swinging bass lines that really flow. For a long time I tried to emulate Paul’s time feel and bass line structure. He also showed to me, that a double bassist could be a main melodic instrument, if placed in the right setting.

Ron Carter – "Standard Bearers" (1978)

This was the very first album I ever owned of a double bassist as a leader. When I think of it, this very well might be my first jazz album I ever owned. I believe my mother bought it for me. She was very keen on trying to find music for me to listen to when I was starting jazz band in high school. The recording itself is not the best. It was recorded during the 1970’s explosion of double bassists using pick-ups, so the bass sounds a bit processed. Ron Carter plays melodies and solos on piccolo double bass, while Buster Williams plays walking bass on the tracks. There are lots of tuning issues and such on the album, but it had heart. As far as influence goes, I just was fascinated with the album and learned some of the melodies and walking lines on electric bass. It was my first time trying to read chord charts and lead sheets along with an album.

Unlike today when we have so much access to music, this was the first album I really got to explore. This was in large part due to the fact, that for quite awhile, it was the only recording I had to listen to in the pre-digital age. I spent hundreds of hours listening to these tracks. This album led me to Ron Carter’s work with other artists such as Miles Davis. That is where I started to listen to more seminal albums with Ron on them.

Jaco Pastorius – "Live in New York Vol. 2" (Released 1992)

This was my very first CD I ever owned. Once again given to me by my mother. She really had some great luck with finding music for me.

Although like most bassists, I spent a great deal of time transcribing music from Jaco’s self-titled album and his work with Weather Report, this album spoke to me more than the rest. It was interesting hearing Jaco in a live setting playing a mix of his music as well as very well known pop tunes of the day. It showed me another side of Jaco and made me think of what type of music was viable for jazz. Not just standards and originals. It is a fun album which has its ups and downs, but that is probably why it influenced me so much when I first heard it. I really enjoyed hearing great players live with blemishes and all. It made me realize how ‘human’ music can be, and still be great.

Chris Thiele – "Not All Who Wander Are" (2001)

I spent a number of years touring in Celtic, bluegrass and world music in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. From my travels and the musicians I got to work with, I started to discover the world of New Grass. These blue grass musicians blew me away with the amount of influences they were bringing into their music. New Grass showed me bassists like Edgar Meyer, Victor Wooten, and Byron House. Although I had met Edgar through my double bass teacher Shelia Garrett in University, it wasn’t until I was more immersed in that world that I started to truly discover his range as a musician. I was also a fan of the band Nickel Creek, so I bought a solo album by their front man, vocalist / mandolinist; Chris Thiele. This album has both Edgar Meyer and Byron House on it. Edgar is so amazing on tracks such as ‘From Sinai to Canaan’. His classical technique on the bow, mixed with his ability to solo and create beautiful moods and melodies, just makes this already great album amazing. This album really has influenced my playing in genres outside of the jazz idiom.

Avishai Cohen – "Gently Disturbed" (2008)

This album has been a huge influence as of late for me. I first heard Avishai in the late 1990’s with Chick Corea and then on his album ‘Adama’. He was fascinating to me even then. This album is an amazing display of what the bass can do within a compositional framework. Although a jazz album, it is classically influenced while utilizing modern grooves, and odd-meters. It is one of my favourite albums of all time. This album I think will show itself as a major influence in my writing over the next few years. I think I have listened to ‘The ever evolving etude’ more times than I can count. This album demonstrates what a true artist on the instrument can accomplish.

Oscar Peterson – "We Get Requests" (1964)

I attended a great workshop with bassist John Clayton when I was in University. He has the ability to play like any jazz bass player you care to name. This is due to the large amount of transcriptions he has done for bass. When the clinic was over, this was one of the albums he recommended. Although not an album for bass solos, Ray Brown’s walking lines make it worth the listen. This is an album that I keep going back to throughout my career.

4) What sort of things are you practicing or developing musically these days?

At the time I am writing this, I am on a Alberta Create Development Initiative (ACDI) Grant to study in New York. So I’m definitely in study mode musically right now.

I really wanted to find some teachers that would help me work on a range of things. Currently I am studying with Jay Anderson (Double Bass), Garry Dial (Theory), and more recently Chris Tarry (Electric Bass).

I am working with Jay on a better understanding of my movement, soloing, and lines on double bass. Right now I am really focusing on trying to work through making longer bass lines harmonically which are more melodic.

With Garry, he is really making me go back to basics for theory and helping me work through exercises that make theory more automatic in my hands. He teaches the Charlie Banacos method. It is really great for me as a bassist. It has been helping my ability to function on chords much more quickly, and to better understand harmony. I know it will help me both as a player and composer over time.

With Chris I am working on melodic techniques and electric bass issues. Chris has a very strong melodic approach and has great ways to explore that.

5) What interesting projects do you have on the go at the moment? (gigs, recordings, etc.)

Right now I am working quite a bit with drummer and band leader Karl Schwonik. I have been on 2 of his albums; ‘Visions from the farm’, and ‘1+4’ featuring Remi Bolduc (Both WCMA nominated). I have 2 tours scheduled with Karl for the upcoming winter. I also teach at his summer jazz camps for the Wetaskiwin Jazz Society each year. This coming summer we will be working with New York percussionist Rogerio Boccato at the camp. We will also be recording an album with Rogerio on it. Very exciting.

I am also recording a new trio album next year with my own group ‘The Hutchinson Andrew Trio’. It will be our third album, and we will be recording in New York. The album will feature a very special guest that I’ll keep under wraps for now, but we’re all very excited. Chris Andrew and I will be writing music for it over the next couple of months.

I am also excited to be a part of a concert featuring Maria Schneider this coming winter with the Calgary Jazz Orchestra. I just saw her live in New York, and I study with her bassist Jay. I played for her at the Banff Centre Jazz Workshop in 2007. This will be my second time playing for her. It should be great. I love every chance I get to work with world class musicians like Maria.

6) As a sideman you have played with a great variety of artists and genres over the years. Can you tell us about your experiences and some of the lessons you have learned from playing with these musicians?

Being located in Alberta has afforded me some great opportunities as a musician that I might not otherwise have had living in some other places. We have some great musicians travelling through that local musicians get to play with, as well as some great musicians living here.

Nearing the end of my time at University, I was made the house bassist at Calgary’s first jazz club KAOS. I spent 3 years playing with a number of great musicians coming through town. It was a great proving ground that really forced me to get aspects of my playing together, and exposed me to what musicians in different parts of the world were doing. It also gave me an idea of the expectations put on players to succeed at a higher level.

I have also been part of the Banff Centre for the Arts Jazz Programs numerous times. I would honestly say, Banff was the closest thing for me to going to music school. The format of the program is more intense than any music program I have had access to. It’s probably part of the reason that it is so popular amongst up and coming players in Jazz.

As far as specific artist lessons, there are a few that come to mind. The most important was being able to play with jazz great, Slide Hampton (trombone) for an entire week in 1998. It was part of a Hugh Fraser Big Band workshop in Edmonton. Slide at the time was 65 years old, and a recognized Jazz Master who had played in Dizzy Gillespie’s band. Every day we rehearsed new music with him and the big band. For the shows we would play a set up front of quartet music, then get into the big band sets.

Slide just played amazing each night. We were all in awe of him. But the funny thing was he just kept saying how he needed to go practice to keep up with us, and how blessed he was to get to play with us. He was so supportive. I was blown away. Here was one of the recognized greats on his instrument, and he needed to practice, and was honoured to play with us!? It struck me how music is about life-long learning, no matter how good you are. It also showed me the importance of being graceful to others in music and in life. I really strive to approach music and life like Slide does. I want to keep his attitude of trying to evolve as a musician in whatever way I can for my entire career. Music is about growth to me, both as a player, and as a person.

I also had a number of lessons playing in other Hugh Fraser workshops and bands. He really was a huge influence on me as a person and a musician. A number of times I have been on stage with artists in small groups alongside him such as PJ Perry, Don Thompson, and Julian Priester just to name a few. Many times they have called a song on stage at a concert that I didn’t know. As in the jazz tradition, they played the song anyway, and I had to adapt and play the song as best as I could. It really showed me how to keep my ears open, and play simply to make the music sound good. Hugh definitely taught me that in the end it’s just music. No-one gets hurt. I learned to be relaxed in stressful situations, and adapt quickly by listening.

In the end, the overall lessons I have learned are to keep a positive attitude about music, and towards people. Also, always keep moving forward and learning. Be adaptable, creative, humble, and flexible. And finally realize that what we do for a living is amazing.

Being a musician can be a struggle, but in the end, it’s the only thing I want to be!

7) Favourite place to eat in Calgary?

Such a fun question since I’m kind of a foodie! So many Choices. Right now I am a fan of the ‘Home Tasting Room’ in Calgary. A great open concept kitchen with a tasting menu. Bring your wallet and some friends!

George Coleman 8tet with Billy Higgins

2011-12-06T15:00:00.000-05:00

Listening to Billy Higgins play the drums and learning to appreciate his masterful sense of accompaniment is a must for any serious student of the instrument. He always seems to know exactly what to play and how to make whomever he plays with sound their very best. Plus, his joyful groove and ever present smile always seem to create the perfect environment on the bandstand for everyone else to play with. It's no wonder that he was in such high demand as a sideman over the years. His playing, to me, represents the true essence of being a Jazz drummer and I find tremendous inspiration whenever I hear him play.

Here's an example of Higgins' exceptional playing with tenor saxophonist George Coleman's octet:

After a few informative and inspiring recent emails exchanged between myself and my friend Chad Anderson, he pointed me in the direction of this recording of Higgins playing drums with John Coltrane to check out and muse over:

Chad told me how when he studied with Alvin Fielder back in the day that this was THE recording to check out and absorb, especially in terms of Billy's approach to his ride cymbal beat and how his snare and bass drum figures blended in with the cymbal so perfectly. Thanks Chad !

Peter Erskine Plays

2011-12-05T12:13:00.004-05:00

Today's post features a Peter Erskine drum workshop thanks to the The Drum Brother. Peter is a great teacher and I always enjoy his teachings and ability to articulate his concepts and ideas:

And finally, courtesy of the nice people over at Evans Drumheads here is a very important conceptual drum lesson on comping that I've been practicing lately and found to be very useful:

Friday with Farnsworth

2011-12-02T09:00:00.001-05:00

Joe Farnsworth is one of my favorite contemporary Hard Bop Jazz drummers around these days. His hard-driving swing, timeless respect for the tradition and impeccable chops always make him an exciting drummer to watch. Many times I've sat at the bar at Smoke in New York and come away impressed and inspired by his playing.

In fact, on my first album "McCallum's Island" the track "Finding Farnsworth" (based on the changes to Cherokee) was inspired by Farnsworth's hard swinging style and great playing on his album "Beautiful Friendship":

Here is a series of clips of Farnsworth doing his thing using a very minimalist drum set without any toms, floor tom or extra cymbals. Notice how effectively he uses his vocabulary and really makes the drums "speak" while using both sticks and brushes regardless of his less-is-more set-up:

I think it's always good practice to sometimes leave the toms and extra cymbals at home and really focus on the basics...You'd be surprised as to how hard that really is! You'll also notice that Farnsworth's command of his rudimental vocabulary and use of accents within his phrases really allow him to come up with some interesting ideas, so we don't really miss those tom toms at all, I think.

For a taste of Joe playing with a band (and another fine example of how a good drummer can really "drive the bus"!) here is Joe from a hit last year at the Cellar in Vancouver with the group "One For all" on the Dizzy Gillespie/Chano Pozo tune "Manteca" demonstrating his fine Afro-Cuban chops as well:

Victor Lewis with Kenny Barron

2011-12-01T09:00:00.005-05:00

Unfortunately I wasn't able to travel to Toronto recently to catch Victor Lewis with Ryan Oliver's group (it was all over Facebook so I gather that it was indeed pretty amazing (!) and Ted Warren even gave it a glowing mention over at his blog Trap'd) However, thanks to the gods over at youtube.com the rest of us can still enjoy this one of Victor laying it down with pianist Kenny Barron's trio joined by Kiyoshi Kitagawa on bass:

Also, speaking of Ted and his fine blog Trap'd, thanks to Ted Warren for sharing this incredible clip in tribute to the great Paul Motian:

This is one of my particularly favorite groups that Motian led and the fact that they are playing one of my favorite Thelonious Monk tunes in the greatest Jazz club in the world is an added bonus as well! I've been messing around with Monk's "Misterioso" for awhile now on the vibraphone. Maybe if I'm nice Ted will let me play it with him on piano someday! ; )

Ed Thigpen on Brushes & A Lesson with Kenny Washington

2011-11-30T09:00:00.003-05:00

More superb examples of brush playing brought to us today by the Master himself, Ed Thigpen:

These musical selections are excerpts from Thigpen's brush video "The Essence of Brushes" (also featuring Ron Carter on bass!) that was filmed as a companion to his instructional book "The Sound of Brushes". Thigpen's brush work with the Oscar Peterson Trio has always been a huge influence on me but I actually distinctly remember the first time that I saw this partiuclar video during the early 90s. One day I walked into the Long & McQuade store in Regina, Saskatchewan to purchase a pair of sticks or something and my good friend/store manager/local bassist Peter Dyksman pulled me aside, pointed to a monitor set up in the middle of the store and said: "Jon, now check THIS out!" So we ended up standing there and watching this video in its entirety right there in the middle of the sales floor! That moment really had a profound impact on me. Up to that point I had heard great drummers play the brushes, but this was the first time I had SEEN a great drummer play the brushes.

Incidently, I recently spent some quality time with Kenny Washington last week while he was in Calgary performing and teaching with baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan and Ray Drummond on bass. In addition to a Sunday afternoon performance the band also spent four days giving workshops to some very lucky high school and university students.

Fortunately I was able to spend some considerable one-on-one time with Mr. Washington during his visit. When the topic of our lessons turned to his approach to brush playing, Kenny really stressed the importance of listening to great drummers play the brushes in order to get that distinctive SOUND ingrained in one's ear, thus influencing the conceptual and technical approach that you are aiming for.

While pointing to his forehead Washington commented: "You have to get the sound in the old dome, ya see?"

Specifically, these are the albums that Kenny described to me as being MUST have brush recordings to check out:

Hutch!

2011-11-29T09:00:00.001-05:00

Thanks to kind people over at Vic Firth here's a fun segment that also features some up-close performance footage of Greg Hutchinson, a man and his drumsticks:

Off To The Side with Matt Wilson

2011-11-28T09:00:00.001-05:00

I can't think of a better way to start off this week than with a virtual up-close, in-performance drum lesson with Matt Wilson, seen here from a Boston performance with saxophonist Noah Preminger's Group on the classic Thelonious Monk composition "Four In One":

Matt is always an inspiration to watch and listen to play. He plays with a real sense of joyful purpose that permeates every musical situation he finds himself in. His highly groovy and often melodic and in-the-moment approach to playing jazz music really resonates with me and I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to study with him back in 2004 on a study project sponsored by the Canada Council for the Arts. Matt also plays with a really beautiful sound, a dynamic sense of flow, impeccable phrasing and he always seems to know exactly how much space to leave. Fortunately I have all my extensive lessons with Matt recorded and I often find myself going back to those recordings for renewal and inspiration. In many ways I like to think of Matt as the modern Billy Higgins of our time, someone who's joyful and exuberant spirit never fails to lift the bandstand and embrace the music around him at all times.

I actually just spent the weekend playing a ton Monk tunes myself (including this one) at the Beatniq Jazz & Social Club in Calgary with Toronto guitarist Alex Goodman who was nice enough to grace us with his presence and his music after having completed an extended residency at the Banff Centre. He's sounding pretty good these days, to say the least!

The Calgary Scene - Tricia Edwards

2011-11-25T09:00:00.003-05:00

It's been awhile since I've featured any Calgary musicians in my Calgary Scene column but I'm happy to be back at it today and feature the very talented and hard-working pianist Tricia Edwards.

Tricia Edwards is a Calgary area pianist. She was the recipient of the 2009 Richard Harold Cowie scholarship, given by the Calgary Musician’s Association and C-Jazz. She released her debut jazz CD “Joyspring” in March 2009. The Tricia Edwards Quartet performed as part of Calgary’s 2009 Jazz Festival and she also played as part of the 2010 Sylvan Lake Jazz Festival with vocalist Deanne Matley. Her most recent public performance was November 12, 2011 with the Latin jazz project “Quinteto Alegria” at the Beat Niq Jazz and Social Club. Tricia earned both Masters and Bachelors degrees in classical piano performance at theUniversity of Alberta. She then spent the next several years performing solo and chamber music, teaching and working as a free-lance accompanist in Edmonton, the Middle East, and Calgary. She was on faculty at both the Alberta College and Mount Royal College Conservatories.In the fall of 2003, she began studying jazz piano and bass. She now works primarily as a jazz and salsa pianist, playing with Quinteto Alegria, the Wednesday Night Big Band, Calgary Jazzwinds, Orquesta Latin Combo, and Tropicalgary, plays solo piano regularly at the Delta Bow Valley lounge, as well as freelancing with many local groups and musicians.

1) Can you tell us about your musical background?
How did you learn to play jazz?

I came to jazz by happy accident. I have spent most of my musical life in the classical realm. I started piano lessons in grade school, moved through the Royal Conservatory exam system and went on to do Bachelorʼs and Masterʼs degrees in piano performance at the University of Alberta. Right after graduating I moved with my husband to the Middle East for a couple of years and there had amazing opportunities to play with local and visiting musicians from all over the world, as well as teaching. After coming back to Canada, I taught at both Alberta College and Mount Royal College Conservatory and worked as a free-lance accompanist.

In 2003 I was preparing for a solo recital after a hiatus from playing, and...this story is such a cliché Iʼm embarrassed to tell it...I did too much too soon and ended up with tendinitis. So after taking some time off and still in the process of recovering, I started taking jazz lessons with Derek Stoll, on a lark, really. I hadnʼt tried improvisation before, but Derek is an inspiring teacher. I was instantly completely hooked. Since then I have taken lessons with local players, attended the Mount Royal College summer jazz camp, the Jamey Aebersold summer jazz program and this summer I went to New York for lessons and lots of listening. Also jam sessions and gigs often have the potential to be free lessons, and I am grateful for the generosity and support of the local musical community.

2) Who are your musical influences and why?

I did my Masterʼs degree with a great Canadian classical pianist, Stéphane Lemelin, and I have to say that even though Iʼm doing something very different now and itʼs many years later, I can still hear his voice in my head! And his playing is a standard I aspire to.Francois Bourrassaʼs quartet was one of the first jazz events I attended. I still go every time heʼs here and listen to his CDʼs regularly.

I love Bill Evans!

I remember one of my lessons with Derek Stoll - he played a montuno with a left hand tumbao (ok, I had really lived in a tiny musical bubble up to this point) and I remember it grabbing my brain. So I started listening to Latin jazz. Chucho Valdes, Michel Camilo, Rubalcaba, Danilo Perez - all favourites.

3) Name your top 5 favourite albums and how they have influenced you.

Top five is impossible, but hereʼs five that come quickly to mind. The only jazz album I owned up until about 7 years ago was Kind of Blue. Those tunes were floating around in my head before I understood anything. Anything by Bill Evans. Chucho Valdes, New Conceptions, Mstislav Rostropovich and the Bach solo cello suites. I keep coming back to this one. Right now Iʼm listening to Danilo Perez' "Central Avenue" and really enjoying it.

4) What sort of things are you practicing or developing musically these days?

My lessons in New York this summer (with Peter Zak and Michael Weiss) made me think about voicings more carefully than I had been. Itʼs like a big puzzle and I can sit for hours trying to figure things out. Also, transcribing wasnʼt a part of my training and it took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out what the fuss was about. Now Iʼm trying to exercise that (weak!) musical muscle because I realize itʼs key. Also I was fortunate enough to get involved in the salsa scene in Calgary recently, so
Iʼve been working really hard at that. And then by extension, figuring out how that can feed into jazz.

5) What interesting projects do you have on the go at the moment?

Iʼm involved in a new Latin jazz quintet project, Quinteto Alegría. So much fun!

6) You are in a unique position by having such extensive training as a classical pianist that also plays jazz music. How would you describe how your classical training has influenced your jazz training and vice versa?

OK, so I havenʼt figured this out yet. Is it cheesily quoting “Fũr Elise” in my solos? (Yes, guilty.) Or just letting the subconscious stew of all past musical experiences come out how they will? I will keep you posted. And when I play classical music now, I now have a greater appreciation for and insight into the composerʼs mind.

7) Favourite place to eat in Calgary?

Una Pizza on 17th has amazing gluten-free pizzas.

The Rhythm Project

2011-11-24T09:00:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Michele Moss from the Department of Dance at the University of Calgary who brought this incredible story to my attention:

"C'est le rhythme...TOUS les choses c'est le rhythme!"

Alan Dawson 3/8 Phrasing

2011-11-23T09:00:00.003-05:00

Several years ago while I was still living in Montreal, I had the opportunity to teach an older drum student who had lived in Boston during the 1960s. During his time in Boston, while he was studying mathematics and computer engineering at MIT, he studied with the legendary and influential drum teacher, Alan Dawson. I think that I actually learned as much from my student as he did from me!

One interesting concept that he passed on to me was Alan Dawson's "3/8 figure":

Basically this phrase consists of dotted-quarter notes played continuously in 4/4 time and resolves after three bars. Alan would often use this phrase in the context of both soloing and timekeeping to generate interesting, over-the-bar-line ideas that flow very nicely.

Try the following exercises to start:

-Play the Jazz ride cymbal pattern and play the 3/8 pattern against it using different limbs and combinations thereof (snare, bass drum, hihat, etc.)

-Playing the pattern with accents on the snare drum, fill-in the missing eighth-notes and embellish the phrase with different rudiments (Dawson was big on the rudiments through his "Rudiment Ritual")

Remember, you don't necessarily have to start this phrase on the downbeat (!) and you can actually use any one of those three bars as your starting point.

The key, however, is to play this phrase in creative ways while still doing so in the context of four and eight bar phrases. It can get tricky if you're not careful!

Here's a few great clips of Alan Dawson with Sonny Rollins. If you listen carefully this phrase pops up several times:

For more insight into Alan Dawson's method, I would highly recommend this book by John Ramsay:

Thank You Paul

2011-11-22T10:35:00.003-05:00

Paul Motian 1931-2011

John Riley Plays Tenor Madness

2011-11-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Some footage today of John Riley performing Sonny Rollins' "Tenor Madness" from a recent drum set improvisation clinic at the PASIC 2011 conference in Indianapolis:

Here's another close up angle of the same solo (also some additional footage of Billy Martin and Joe McCarthy in this one):

Nice blue drums John!

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

2011-11-21T09:00:00.006-05:00

-Thanks to all the staff, students and volunteers at the University of Saskatchewan where I spent the past week adjudicating and working with student groups at the annual Unifest music festival. It was very cold in Saskatoon last week but there was much great music to be made. Keep up the great work everyone!

-I spent Sunday afternoon watching and learning from the master Kenny Washington at Calgary's Ironwood Stage & Grill in a show that also featured baritone saxophonist Gary Smulyan and bassist Ray Drummond. This fine trio is currently touring Western Canada with dates in Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.

Thanks to local drummer and educator John DeWaal who was nice enough to set Kenny up with his vintage 1970s Gretsch kit:

Watching and listening to Kenny Washington is always a lesson in itself.

-During a conversation with Kenny after the show our conversation turned to the weather (it's too cold here!), Recordland (Calgary's premier used record store which happened to be across the street), cymbals and the art of playing Charlie Wilcoxin snare drum solos (get those accents UP there). Kenny handed me a book and asked me if I had checked out this interesting one by Dominick Cuccia:

http://www.amazon.com/Beat-Different-Drummer-Not-So-Traditional-Rudimental/dp/1574630326/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1

Dominick has a website of his own that features some of his rudimental snare drumming knowledge:

http://www.dreadeddrummer.com/

-Here's a few new blogs to check out that I've been enjoying lately:

Bassist Rubim DeToledo - Mount Royal Bass blog
http://mountroyalbass.com/

Andrew Hare - The Melodic Drummer
http://haredrums.blogspot.com/

-Finally, if you are in the need of a little inspiration to get your week off to a fresh start, here's an archived radio interview with Lewis Nash to take a listen to: http://archive.kjzz.org/music/interviews/2007/nashview

Up Close With Roy Haynes

2011-11-19T09:00:00.001-05:00

Here's a clip with some nice angles and close up footage of the great Roy Haynes in action, the hippest man in the universe:

And here's a nice interview with Haynes and his neighbor Matt Wilson from last year's Litchfield Jazz Festival (Armando Slice wasn't available, I guess...)

Clayton Cameron Drum Clinic

2011-11-18T09:00:00.001-05:00

Drummer Clayton Cameron is generally known for his impeccable brush technique but of course he also plays great with sticks too (!) Here's Clayton demonstrating his approach to soloing from a performance at the Chicago Drum Show (and for awhile with two sticks in each hand with a nod to the showmanship of the great Louis Bellson):

Swinging with Half-Note Triplets

2011-11-17T09:00:00.003-05:00

Today's drum lesson deals with using different permutations of half-note triplets as the basis for developing Jazz vocabulary and phrasing ideas on the drums.

Several years ago I attended a drum clinic with drummer Carl Allen, who is now the artistic director of the Jazz program at Juilliard and a very fine Jazz drummer and educator in his own right. Carl talked at length about the "Power of Three", his concept that illustrated the importance of feeling groupings of three in different ways while playing Jazz drums in the context of being a soloist and accompanist (whether that meant smaller combinations of triplets or larger groupings and subdivisions).

Based on that idea I've been messing around the idea of dealing with larger groupings of triplets lately, in particular the use of half-note triplets starting on different parts of the beat within the bar.

Here are the three variations of a half-note triplet in 4/4 time:

- In a timekeeping context I'll play the ride cymbal rhythm and then mess around with voicing these different rhythms around the drum set and splitting them up between the hands and the feet.

- In a soloing context I will improvise triplets around drums and accent those half-note triplet phrases within those phrases.

I like playing these rhythms because they take a bit longer to resolve evenly within a bar and, I think, allow my comping to open up and breath a bit. Often drummers, when they are comping, sometimes try to cram in all their ideas into a bar and the result is a very dense and unmusical sound. I've found that working with longer rhythms as a framework helps avoid this.

Explosive Drums

2011-11-16T09:00:00.003-05:00

Someone recently posted these audio clips of the long out-of-print LP "Explosive Drums" that featured many of the greatest swing drummers of all time including the likes of Jo Jones, Panama Francis, Michael Silva, J.C. Heard, Ed Thigpen and Cozy Cole and Oliver Jackson.

It's nice to see and hear Oliver Jackson included in this compilation. Incidentally, Oliver was Ali Jackson Jr.'s uncle (Ali currently holds the drum chair with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Centre orchestra).

I recently had a great conversation with Montreal guitarist Greg Clayton while visiting Montreal last month. Greg has been around the Montreal scene for a long time and has also hosted the late-night jam sessions held during the Montreal Jazz Festival many times over the years. Greg has many great stories about all the legendary musicians that would come down to hang out and sit in with the house band night after night. In particular, Greg has many amazing tales about all the heavy drummers that would come and play (it's a long list!) Interestingly enough, Greg told me that the one guy who really lifted the band to another level when he played and really stood out from the others was, in fact, none other than Oliver "Bops" Jackson. And considering who else Greg and his band had the pleasure of playing with during those jam sessions, that's saying a lot!

Brian Blade Up Close

2011-11-15T09:00:00.001-05:00

A few shots here from a strategically placed camera of Brian Blade playing with Chick Corea and the "Five Peace Band" from a recent performance at the Bluenote:

I've sat at that the exact same table at the Bluenote over the years. For me it was always the perfect vantage point to check out the likes of Elvin Jones, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Jeff "Tain" Watts, Lewis Nash, Jeff Ballard and others...

Ed Soph Brush Lessons

2011-11-14T09:00:00.003-05:00

Thanks to the kind people over at Evans Drumheads, here's UNT Professor Ed Soph demonstrating some very important brush patterns and concepts:

I should also note that if you are looking for some other great and very creative brush patterns to practice, check out Ted Warren's brush lessons (all performed on a well-worn phone book!) over at his blog Trap'd.

Billy Martin @ PASIC 2011

2011-11-12T17:59:00.004-05:00

I didn't make it to Indianapolis for this year's edition of PASIC : ( but here is a brief clip showing some of Billy Martin's "Life on Drums" clinic that took place last Thursday:

For those of you who did make it, I hope you had a great time and see you next year in Austin, Texas!

Lest We Forget

2011-11-11T09:00:00.002-05:00

5 Beat Groupings

2011-11-10T09:00:00.006-05:00

I recently spent some time taking a lesson with John Riley. While discussing my questions about the often deceptive rhythmic approaches, cadences and phrasing of such drummers as Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Jack DeJohnette and Jeff "Tain" Watts, John suggested to me that "often things that we think are random are often not and are planned out, although perhaps executed in unexpected ways."

As an example John had me take a look at his transcription of Jack DeJohnette's performance on the ECM album "Pictures" which is featured in John's excellent book "Beyond Bop Drumming". John pointed out a certain eight bar phrase that upon my first glance seemed to be highly syncopated, complicated and definitely random! However, upon further dissection the phrase actually turned out to be a series of five beat phrases broken up between the snare drum, hihat and bass drum and played against the ride cymbal pattern. However, each time this five beat phrase was repeated Jack would change the phrase just slightly (whether that meant orchestrating certain notes on different instruments or adding/deleting a note here or there). The end lesson being, of course, is that while this all sounded abstract (and perhaps random!) Jack obviously had worked some serious stuff out ahead of time and was able to manipulate it in an unexpected manner. Very hip.

Since five note phrases in the context of a 4/4 groove are definitely on the oblique side of things, I decided to come up with some of my own ideas and practice them.

Please refer back to my previous lesson "Another Comping Exercise" for the nuts and bolts of today's lesson:

http://jonmccaslinjazzdrummer.blogspot.com/2010/08/another-comping-exercise.html

So taking that concept of using the stickings from Stick Control in conjunction with some syncopated rhythms to come up with some practical and interesting comping patterns, I've been messing around with these two five beat phrases in 4/4 time:

The first one starts on the beat:

The second variation starts on the off-beat:

Both phrases involve playing eight consecutive eighth-notes followed by a quarter note rest (the second variation is just a displaced version of the first) to give you a five beat phrase that is repeated five times over the course of five bars of 4/4.

-Perhaps to get comfortable with playing five beat cycles over 4/4, try playing the phrase on the snare drum first using a RLRL RLRL sticking while also playing your hihat on beats 2 & 4.

-Then play the Jazz ride cymbal beat with your right hand and the hihat on beats 2 & 4 and play those first two variations with the left hand on the snare drum.

These two primer exercises should get you comfortable with feeling five beat phrases over the barline in 4/4.

The idea is that you use Stick Control-like patterns (with R= Bass Drum and L=Snare Drum...thank you Alan Dawson!) in conjunction with these rhythmic phrases while playing the ride cymbal rhythm and the hihat on 2&4.

So RLRR LRLL using the first example would look like this:

Starting on the off-beat, this five beat phrase using a RLRR LRLL sticking would look like this:

*Please note that I haven't notated the ride cymbal and hihat parts. You'll have to work those out on your own!

Here's a few stickings to get you started that work well with this one:

RLRL RLRL

LRLR LRLR

RRLL RRLL

LLRR LLRR

RLRR LRLL

LRLL RLRR

RRLR LLRL

LLRL RRLR

RLLR LRRL

LRRL RLLR

RLRL LRLR

LRLR RLRL

Of course you can use patterns from Stick Control or come up with your own and be creative.

Also experiment with replacing the bass drum parts with the hihat. If you straighten out the eighth notes and play it faster and play the hihat on all four beats then Tony Williams-like patterns will emerge...

Just remember: Take it slow and make it swing!

Dan Weiss Solos...and Takes His Time!

2011-11-09T09:00:00.004-05:00

I really enjoyed this one of Dan Weiss soloing, playing at the 55 Bar with alto saxophonist Dave Binney (Is that my old Montreal comrade Zack Lober on bass??? Nice one Zack ; )

Dig how Weiss really takes his time with this one. This solo is a real lesson in musical patience. He's not afraid to take his time and let his ideas unfold as they may, not forcing anything.

Baby Dodds "Talking and Drum Solos"

2011-11-08T09:00:00.001-05:00

My former drum teacher Chris McCann first gave me a cassette copy of this 1946 recording of Warren "Baby" Dodds entitled "Talking & Drum Solos". This is a very important resource and a tremendous insight into the method, techniques and style of arguably Jazz drumming's first great innovator:

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

2011-11-07T09:00:00.003-05:00

Another busy week ahead for myself and other Jazz fans here in Calgary as Francois Bourassa, Frank Lozano, Pierre Tanguay and Michael Donato present a Bill Evans tribute on Monday evening as part of the University of Calgary's Monday Night Jazz Series at the Beatniq, Herbie Hancock takes the stage with the Calgary Philharmonic on Wednesday while Ernesto Cervini's group featuring saxophonist Joel Frahm and bassist/cellist Andrew Downing's music for silent film project both appear at the Beatniq and Cantos respectively, both on Thursday evening. Chicago drummer Dana Hall is also in town this week giving some workshops at Mount Royal University so there is definitely lots of great Jazz music to check out that I'm all looking forward to. If these don't all add up to a healthy local Jazz scene, I'm not sure what does...

A few things making the rounds here at Four on The Floor world headquarters these days:

- Courtesy of Adam Nussbaum, here's a nice segment featuring Jo Jones and Gene Krupa from the documentary "Born to Swing":

Check out the height of Jones' brushes in the last portion of that clip. Damn!

- Also, another one courtesy of Adam, here's a 1972 WKCR radio interview with Elvin Jones worth listening to:

http://ia700209.us.archive.org/0/items/ElvinJonesTribute1972InterviewWKCRBronxNY/ElvinJonesTribute1972InterviewWKCRBronxNY.wma?cnt=0

Hear the master speak!

- Drummer and educator John Riley appears on the new Modern Drummer Festival DVD, soon to be released. Here's a trailer featuring some of John's workshop:

From a previous PASIC clinic, here's an example of John's fine teaching (in case you weren't already aware!):

- Thanks to Peter Hum over at Jazzblog.ca who also brought to my attention that John Riley will be giving a virtual masterclass through the National Art Centre in Ottawa on Tuesday, November 8th from 12-2pm EST.

This masterclass will be live-streamed here:

http://live.nac-cna.ca/

John is a great teacher and educator so make sure to tune in and check it out!

- Here's some nice up close footage of swinger Willie Jones III in action:

- Courtesy of Ted Warren over his blog Trap'd, here's Seattle based drummer Steve Korn explaining a very clever rudiment:

If you break it down, it's sort of like an extended version of a Swiss Army Triplet. I'm going to spend some time messing around with this one. The way Steve plays it in that clip, it has a very Tony-ish vibe about it...

Have a great week everybody!

Armando Slice on Matt Wilson

2011-11-04T23:15:00.000-04:00

Investigative journalism at its best!

The Trio

2011-11-03T16:12:00.004-04:00

Inspired by my friend Patrick Boyle's recent trip to Seattle to hear Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock and Jack DeJohnette play, I decided to post this one today:

Jack and those guys never cease to inspire me. The musical connection between those three is really something else. And of course Jack always let's it all hang out...there is never a moment of hesitation or doubt. He really HEARS everything and his ideas just flow out of him like a fine bottle of maple syrup...(c'mon, this IS a blog written by Canadian Jazz drummer after all. Y'a dig, eh?)

I also mentioned to my friend Patrick: "Make sure you COUGH really loud during the piano intros...but not the drum solos...haha".

I'm sure that would have gone over well... ; )

Ed Thigpen Trio

2011-11-02T09:00:00.001-04:00

Ed Thigpen has always been a favorite drummer of mine. I was first exposed to his fine and swinging playing on Oscar Peterson's album "Night Train" and he also inspired me to pick up a pair of brushes.

Here's some interesting footage of Thigpen in a different kind of trio featuring tubist Bob Stewart and Arthur Blythe on alto saxophone:

Tain Stomps

2011-11-01T09:00:00.001-04:00

I really enjoyed this clip today of Jeff "Tain" Watts playing (and stretching!) in a trio setting along with his longtime collaborator Branford Marsalis playing on "Stompin' at the Savoy":

Most people recognize the tremendous influence of Elvin Jones and Tony Williams on Jeff's playing but after reading several interviews with him I was surprised and impressed to learn about how much Frankie Dunlop and Sam Woodyard have also influenced his concept over the years. He has obviously checked a lot of cats out and I think the above clip really illustrates that. A nice reminder that we should always be doing our homework and always checking out the tradition!

And, of course, I don't think I can name another drummer who used a Sabian Rocktagon cymbal so eloquently !

The Monday Morning Paradiddle - Halloween Edition

2011-10-31T20:03:00.007-04:00

Happy Halloween everyone!
Things have really been on the go lately.
Much to report...

-Thanks to everyone who came out to hear bassist Rubim DeToledo's octet project last Thursday and Friday nights at the Cantos Music Foundation. Both evenings featured Rubim's original compositions, arrangements of some great standards and some Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music which also featured accompaniment by some very talented dancers and visual projection artists. Rubim worked really hard to put together this complicated and multi-faceted project and he is a very accomplished composer (I've also been fortunate to have worked with him in a variety of group's including last springs Decidedly Jazz Danceworks production of "Wilds"). He sure kept us on our toes with his tunes, in particular the opener "Maidens" which, for the most part, featured a groove that, as best I could tell (!) featured a challenging yet melodic groove in 27/8 (!) Fortunately we convinced Rubim to let us play the solo section in a comfortable 6/8 instead : )

-I made my way down to the Beatniq Jazz & Social Club on Saturday evening to hear Vancouver saxophonist and club owner Cory Weeds joined by Oliver Gannon on guitar, fellow Canadian Jazz drummer and blogger Jesse Cahill on drums and their special guest from New York City, Mike LeDonne on B3 Hammond organ. The band played music by the great Hank Mobley and swung mightily and seriously from the first note. I really dug the fact that aside from the technical mastery that all these fine musicians demonstrated, they were not afraid to SWING and really dig into the groove. Fortunately these guys recorded their shows in Edmonton at the Yardbird Suite so I'm looking forward to hearing the results of that release on the CellarLive record label once it comes out in the coming months.

Mike LeDonne has always been a favorite musician of mine and I always make a point to catch him at Smoke whenever I'm in New York. His groove and overall creative mastery of the Jazz language is always a joy to listen to.

Here's a few nice ones of LeDonne backing up Milt Jackson with the legendary Mickey Roker on drums:

His piano trio album "Common Ground" with Kenny Washington on drums and Dennis Irwin on bass has been making the rounds on my car's CD player for quite some time now and is highly recommended (in particular dig KWash's impeccable brush work!)

- Here's a couple fun clips of Winard Harper to check out. Winard is a great drummer and someone who I've long admired but perhaps we don't hear about enough these days.

- I apologize for not posting more drum lessons on a more regular or frequent basis but I promise to try and get more on the ball in that regards. When guys like Ted Warren are posting such amazing lessons over at his blog Trap'd it's hard to keep up with that ! I really appreciate the kind words and requests for more lesson posts though. I'm really glad that so many people have found my "Elvin Jones" exercises and such so useful (in fact, Joe LaBarbera suggested to me that some of them lie very well on the brushes....so I would take his advice and do that!)

- If you are in Calgary this week don't forget to check out The Invertigo Trio with myself on drums, Jim Brenan on tenor saxophone and Rubim DeToledo on bass (see the post below for details)

The Invertigo Trio

2011-10-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

Here's an upcoming show that I'm quite excited about this week. Jim Brenan, Rubim de Toldeo and myself have been playing together as a trio for a couple years now and we are looking forward to recording together in the next while. It's a really fun band and we're trying to incorporate many different approaches and types of tunes within the saxophone trio format.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The Cliff Bungalow-Mission Jazz Series Presents:

THE INVERTIGO TRIO

FEATURING:

JIM BRENAN – TENOR SAXOPHONE

RUBIM DeTOLEDO – BASS

JON McCASLIN – DRUMS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2nd 2011   8:00pm

THE CLIFF BUNGALOW MISSION COMMUNITY CENTRE

2201 CLIFF STREET SW

$15

INFO: 403.650.7695        www.cliffbungalowmission.com

The Invertigo Trio is the latest collaboration between Calgary jazz artists Jim Brenan on tenor saxophone, Rubim DeToledo on bass and Jon McCaslin on drums. Evoking the sounds of the classic jazz saxophone trios of the 1960s and beyond, these accomplished artists have come together to present an evening of introspective and hard swinging music inspired by such artists as Joe Henderson, Wayne Shorter, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane. The groups repertoire will focus on jazz standards and contemporary compositions drawn from the classic jazz era as well as pieces written and arranged specifically for this trio.

ABOUT THE CLIFF BUNGALOW-MISSION JAZZ SERIES:

After an exciting start the CBM Jazz concert series is now in its third season. Organized by local jazz enthusiast, saxophonist and composer Jan Mulder, the monthly series of concerts features some of Calgary's best jazz musicians and ensembles and provides an ideal opportunity to spend a relaxing evening. The concerts are conducted in the quiet listening and family friendly environment of the Cliff Bungalow-Mission community hall and take place on the first Wednesday of every month. Each 2 hour performance starts at 8 pm so everybody can get a good night sleep and be rested the next morning. Coffee, tea, and beverages are served. There is a $15 cover fee for each event. Tickets are sold at the door. Call 403-650-7695 for more info.

Up Close with Greg Hutchinson

2011-10-29T09:00:00.002-04:00

Sit back and enjoy a drum lesson with Greg Hutchinson on the drums:

Ali Jackson Jr. Solos

2011-10-28T09:00:00.002-04:00

Another clip to follow up my previous post of Ali's trio from a recent performance at Dizzy's in NYC. Here's Ali Jackson Jr. unleashing on the composition "Flow", a piece based on John Coltrane's tune "Giant Steps":

More Bill Stewart with John Scofield

2011-10-27T09:00:00.002-04:00

Some great footage here of Bill Stewart with his longtime musical companion John Scofield on guitar:

Allison Miller Plays Odd Meters

2011-10-26T09:00:00.000-04:00

A quick one today of drummer Allison Miller demonstrating how to play in 13/8 from a recent clinic appearance:

Sonny Payne 1962

2011-10-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Dig this!

Interview with Jesse Cahill

2011-10-24T20:58:00.003-04:00

Today's post features an interview with my fellow Canadian Jazz drummer and blogger Jesse Cahill. Jesse is currently doing great things out in Vancouver, teaching at Vancouver Island University and is touring at the moment with a Hank Mobley tribute project featuring Cory Weeds on tenor saxophone, Oliver Gannon on guitar and NYC organist Mike LeDonne. I'm really looking forward to their show at the Beatniq on Saturday evening and I thought it would be nice to ask Jesse a few questions in advance of their performance.

I've known Jesse since 1995 when I first started my undergraduate degree at McGill University in Montreal. Jesse and I split the drum chair in one of the big bands for a couple of years and also shared a practice space for awhile. Even back then Jesse was an absolute monster on the drums and I always really admired his tremendous sense of swing and understanding of the tradition of Jazz drumming (he has checked out ALOT of recordings over the years). And of course Jesse's brush technique was always something to behold.

Jesse was nice enough to take a few moments out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions here at Four on The Floor:

1) Can you tell us about your musical background? How did you learn to play Jazz?

Both of my parents played music when I was a kid so there was always something on the record player or banjos and guitars being played. Mostly growing up I listened to R&B and rock n roll: Chuck Berry, early Stones, the Coasters, Paul Butterfield and blue grass too as that's what my dad played. I got a snare drum when I was 12 and borrowed a drum set from my high school the following year. I found jazz music almost right away mostly from listening to the CBC and going to see concerts in Victoria. My Aunt took me to see Wynton's Majesty of the Blues tour and that was pretty much it.

I learned (and am still learning!) to play jazz by listening to records and trying to copy what I heard. It sounds cliche but that's really what I did. I met a few older musicians and they told me that's what they did so I just started going to the public library and taking out as many records as I could: MJQ, Miles Davis, Cannonball, Bud Powell, Larry Young, Dexter Gordon etc. At some point I got it in my head that I was good enough to go to the local jam session. I probably sucked but I got to sit in for a tune or two every week. A few guys I took lessons with in town let me come down to there gigs and sit in after I bugged them enough. I must have been a total pain in the ass!

When I was 18 I got to take some lessons with Keith Copeland and that really changed everything. He showed me how to practice jazz drums and gave me a great list of recordings to check out. That was huge! Then I went to Montreal to go to McGill and that's a whole other story. I loved it in Montreal and had many great teachers and friends to make music with.

2) Who are your musical influences and why?

Like most musicians I probably have more influences than I can actually list but I love jazz music! Soul music too. Music is a visceral thing for me so I've always been drawn to the greasier side of things. I love the sound of the Jazz Messengers, especially the live records, that energy is very inspiring. Or a musician like Bud Powell who put so much of himself into every note. I'm a huge fan of southern soul, anything on Stax records. That Memphis sound is amazing.

3) Who are some of your favorite drummers and why?

This changes constantly so here's two lists:

All time: Elvin Jones, Billy Higgins, Kenny Clarke, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones

Today: Ben Dixon, Billy James, Lex Humphries, Mel Lewis, Billy Higgins

4) Name your top 5 favorite albums (or more!) and how they have influenced you:

Again this changes all the time, there's so many great records and I've been influenced by a lot of different things so in no particular order here's five of my favourite records:

Art Blakey Quintet: "A Night at Birdland" - These sides, to me, are the essence of jazz music. It's swinging, has endless energy and the band plays with reckless abandon from start to finish.

Barry Harris: "At the Jazz Workshop" - Cookin! This is as close to perfect as I think it could get.

John Coltrane: "Live at the Village Vangaurd" - I love Elvin's brush playing on Softly and would say that Spiritual has been a blue print for me for playing in 3/4.

Larry Young: "Unity" (and all of the other Blue Note dates he did with Elvin) - This was the first organ record I ever owned.

Dexter Gordon: "Go" - The first Higgins record I ever heard. This was how I always wanted to play. I'm still trying….

4) What sort of things are you practicing or developing musically these days?

Lately I've been spending a lot of time on trying to be a better ensemble player, do a better job playing arrangements and what not. I spend a fair bit of time every day playing snare drum, playing rudiments and such, playing some brushes, playing some time with the metronome and playing along to a recording or two. I like to work on tempos, in particular the ones I don't get to play very much (warp speed and slow ballads are the worst if you aren't doing it all the time). I also like to learn new feels. Lately I've been trying to get a good boogaloo together.

5) What interesting projects do you have on the go at the moment? (gigs, recordings, etc.)

I'm on the road with The Cory Weeds/Mike LeDonne quartet at the moment. I have my organ band in it's two forms, big band and quintet. I'm playing with Harold Mabern and Eric Alexander in a few weeks and Cory Weeds' Quartet CD launch. So I guess right now it's mostly spang-shang-a-lang just the way I like.

6) How has writing your blog changed your approach to teaching and or/playing the drums?

It's forced me to put my own shit under the microscope a lot more than I have in the past (I've watched way more video of myself than ever before). And then of course there's trying to write in complete sentences.

7) Favorite place to eat? (while at home or on the road?)

My favourite place to eat at home is in my house! On the road I just try to keep a good 3 to 1 healthy to greasy meal ratio.

Ali Jackson Jr. Trio

2011-10-22T18:16:00.002-04:00

Jazz at Lincoln Center/Wynton Marsalis drummer Ali Jackson Jr. just finished a week-long stint at Dizzy's in NYC with his trio featuring Omer Avital on bass and Aaron Goldberg on piano. Ali is always an exciting drummer to watch and listen to.

Here's someone's iPhone or camera footage to give you a sample (although I hope this trio records an album soon!):

The Calgary Scene - Michelle Grégoire

2011-10-20T09:50:00.004-04:00

The Calgary Scene column is back and today we feature pianist and composer Michelle Grégoire who has just recently moved to Calgary from Winnipeg.

Grégoire's music appears regularly on XM Radio and Galaxie satellite jazz programs and made several top ten lists on programs all over North America. She has toured across Canada with her quintet and was recently featured at the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, the Prairie Scene Festival, the Port Hope All-Canadian Jazz Festival and more. An active freelance musician since 1984, Michelle Grégoire maintains a solid reputation as a sideperson and band leader having appeared with visiting artists to Winnipeg such as Dee Dee Bridgewater, Peter Appleyard, and the Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation. In June 2009, Grégoire's quintet opened for the Branford Marsalis Quartet at the Jazz Winnipeg Festival and in June 2010 the group was recorded by CBC Radio's Concerts on Demand. Grégoire has been a guest performer and composer with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and has worked regularly with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra since its inception in 1997. Grégoire holds two jazz degrees from St. Francis Xavier University (1988, 1990), a Master of Music degree in Jazz Studies from the Florida State University (1993). She has attended the Hugh Fraser Jazz Orchestra Residency in Banff where she worked with Maria Schneider in 2002 and Kenny Wheeler in 2004. Grégoire has also studied privately with world-renowned composer Bob Brookmeyer.

1) Can you tell us about your musical background? How did you learn to play Jazz?

I started playing music at a very young age (4 or 5 years old) and because I learned through the Yamaha Music program I was exposed to improvisation early on. I remember learning chords and improvising on a blues when I was 7 or 8 years old. We learned all kinds of popular songs and jazz tunes. I think I played Night Train for a competition once. I became more serious about jazz as a young adult. I thought it was an important part of developing as a professional musician and I wanted to learn to arrange and compose more seriously. I was actively performing with many groups and started out mainly exploring fusion and funk. Eventually it all led to studies in jazz at the university level at St Francis Xavier University in 1986.

2) Who are your musical influences and why?

I always find this type of question difficult to answer. Man...music has been in my life since day one...but some of my strongest influences might have been the musicians I work with on a regular basis, or peers. I have always been lucky in that I get to play with a lot of different people who inspire me to keep growing. That's how I learned music after all, in a group lesson playing along with a really good player/teacher and other kids. The teachers I have had in the past have had a strong influence on me and some of these were the greats I used to listen to on record when I was developing myself as a composer during my university years: people like Kenny Wheeler or Bob Brookmeyer. And some of my best teachers were names nobody has ever heard of but they influenced me both as an artist and as a person. I am inspired by the music if the person is somebody I have respect for and vice versa. Music is just a reflection of the person.

3) Name your top 5 favorite albums and how they have influenced you.

Wow again tough to answer. I hope I never narrow it down to just five. But off the top of my head:

"Night Train" by Oscar Peterson - love of swing, groove, blues, technique, tone, everything. One of my first favorite records, and it may be the one that made me really love jazz.

Any Gordon Lightfoot record - what? Yes, mom had all his records and I probably heard them day in and day out from the womb up till age 6 or so. I am sure he's why I have melody seriously ingrained in every cell. Even my most complicated melodies can be sung. Thanks Gordon.

"Standards Vol. 1" by the Keith Jarrett Trio - inspired playing, interaction, melody, space, uncomplicated.

Mel Lewis Orchestra playing the music of Bob Brookmeyer - there are a couple of significant recordings breaking all the limitations of form and development in jazz orchestra writing. LOVE it. It inspired me to go much much further, to look for what I could do with the music.

"Deer Wan" by Kenny Wheeler - I listened to it every night for almost two years. Phrasing, tone, compositional strength, melody, group interaction, breaking boundaries...wow. so much to say. It made me want to be a contributor in every way, not just a player who could play something. It opened up my ears to new harmonic ideas and so much more.

4) What sort of things are you practicing or developing musically these days?

I still spend most of my "work" time writing or transcribing or collecting and developing ideas. I am finishing a commission for the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra which will be played in February or March 2012.

I also have really taken to the idea of returning to the organ. I did a session on the B3 with Ralf Bushmeyer and John Riley recently. Organ is actually my first instrument, so it's great to get back into it. I have a lot more work to do yet to keep the chops up and "expand" my brain to more comfortably play solos while walking and what not. It's a fun new diversion.

5) What interesting projects do you have on the go at the moment? (gigs, recordings, etc.)

I just started a trio project (Ascend 3 Trio) with a couple of my favorite players in town, Tyler Hornby on drums and Rubim De Toledo on bass. Tyler approached me about it last summer and I jumped on the idea. I have been wanting to record a piano trio record so I am pretty stoked to do this with these guys. We're all collaborating and contributing to the material. It's a fantastic new project and I can't wait to do more with that.

I am also wanting to record another quintet record - so many great tunes to document and I just love that format. I've enjoyed playing my tunes recently with some Calgary based players mixed in with either some of the Toronto guys who played on the record, or Winnipeg based players I enjoyed working with. It's been great fun and I'd love to document some of the recent tunes and take the music as far as I can take it both musically and geographically!

Also, I am always writing something for big band or playing in one, I really should record an album one of these days. And I certainly plan to expand my writing into more of the chamber orchestra type stuff, or full on orchestra....some type of jazz-orchestrated-large ensemble extravaganza.

And last year I wrote a bunch of stuff for voices and that's still a main interest. Yikes...I have lots of things I want to explore....and that's why I am still doing it!

6) As a composer you’ve written an extensive amount of original works and compositions for your own groups and others. What can you tell us about your philosophy and approach as a Jazz composer?

I definitely still love melody, space, time, great feel. I still want the music to be music because I still love music! So my approach is that it HAS to be musical no matter how crazy it all gets. Form and direction are very important. Where is it all going? I want to work with something inspired...I'll wait forever for the right melody of tid bit to work with. I want things to say something. Even the most outside or loose stuff has to come together for me somehow.

Also I really believe in the idea of doing pre-compositional work. In college it was easy, teachers fed me a bunch of new concepts and I ran with that and wrote a bunch of new music. But now it's on me to create and collect new ideas. So I feel that in order to be satisfied with any new tune or composition, I have to put some time into that aspect of things. It takes more ongoing effort, but I really just want to expand myself and write something truly new for me.

7) You’ve only recently moved to Calgary after spending many years active in the Winnipeg music community.
What prompted your move to Calgary?

The change is very good. I am thrilled to meet new players, be in a bigger town, do new things. I came here because I knew I would be able to work, grow, pay the bills and keep doing my thing. The bonus is the strong jazz scene - great players, good people. I know I will thrive here, and I hope I can give back as much as I am getting here. I certainly do love it here.

Preservation Hall Jazz Band

2011-10-19T11:57:00.001-04:00

On Monday night I had the opportunity to hear the Preservation Hall Jazz Band from New Orleans perform at the Epcor Centre for the Performing Arts in Calgary, AB. It was an impressive and joyful evening of traditional New Orleans Jazz music that brought to mind the legacies of Louis Armstrong, King Oliver and other early Jazz music from the Crescent City.

The band featured the following superb musicians (no sousaphone that night though! oh well...)

• Mark Braud - trumpet
• Charlie Gabriel - clarinet
• Freddie Lonzo - trombone
• Rickie Monie - piano
• Clint Maedgen - tenor saxophone & vocals
• "Little" Joe Lastie, Jr. - drums

It was a great evening all around and featured early American Jazz music played with the authentic sound and feel. You can tell that these musicians have grown up with this music and they play it with a sincerity and real knowledge, appreciation and deep amount of respect for the tradition.

Two real things really stood out for me after hearing them play. I was reminded that:

1) Jazz is fundamentally a folk music...

2) The happy and joyful spirit that these guys play with was a nice reminder that it's okay to have fun while playing Jazz music. Personally, maybe I need to try and smile a bit more myself when I play (*see Billy Higgins!)

For me, the highlight was easily the trumpet playing of Mark Braud. His playing was outstanding and he really nailed it as far as I was concerned.

"Little" Joe Lastie's drumming provided the perfect buoyant support for the band. It was firmly rooted in the style of such early Jazz drummer pioneers such as Warren "Baby" Dodds and Zutty Singleton. I was very impressed and got a real lesson in Second Line drumming and early Jazz drumming styles that rely heavily on using buzz/press roll vocabulary, playing time on the snare drum (or as Baby Dodds referred to it as "digging coal" on his LP "Talking & Drum Solos". Carl Allen gave me a copy of this years ago and it is a must have resource for anyone interested in early forms of Jazz drumming.)

Here's a taste of what the Preservation Hall Jazz band is up to these days:

Jeff Ballard's Trap Kit

2011-10-18T10:55:00.002-04:00

Dig this unique contraption from Jeff Ballard:

Eric Harland with McCoy Tyner & Bobby Hutcherson

2011-10-17T09:00:00.003-04:00

Let's start off the week with a fine rendition of John Coltrane's "Moment's Notice" featuring Eric Harland on drums with McCoy Tyner and my hero Bobby Hutcherson at the vibraphone:

Here's also a few trailers from Eric's new instructional DVD soon to be released from jazzheaven.com:

Make sure to buy this fantastic DVD and others soon to be available from jazzheaven.com. I know this sounds like a commercial (!) but I've been quite impressed from the quality I've seen so far. The Ralph Peterson Jr. clips that are circulating are really good and I was also fortunate to get an advance copy of Ari Hoenig's "Melodic Drumming" DVD earlier this year. There is some serious information in these volumes that no one else has had the foresight to present as of yet, so let's support this great initiative.

Jazz Docs

2011-10-14T09:37:00.002-04:00

I'm taking a break for the weekend. However, in the meantime, here's a few GREAT Jazz documentaries to keep you occupied:

There is something to be said about great documentaries filmed about Jazz musicians and capturing their music and personalities on film. These ones, in particular, are good examples and will hopefully stand the test of time.

In recent times Ken Burns PBS series JAZZ is probably the most significant Jazz doc of our time. It's very good, however I feel that it skipped over certain musicians and didn't devote quite enough attention to certain important aspects of the music that really deserved it. Maybe it was just about 10 episodes too short? But I think it's still worth watching and there is much to be learned, even if it doesn't necessarily tell the entire story.

Having said that, the best recent Jazz documentary that I've come across is Icons Among Us: Jazz In The Present Tense I've blogged about this one before and I think it's an excellent cinematic effort that attempts to show all that is good and currently happening in Jazz music today. Make sure to check it out.

Icons Among Us: Jazz in the Present Tense from John Comerford on Vimeo.

Max Roach and Abdullah Ibrahim

2011-10-13T09:00:00.001-04:00

Some of my favorite Max Roach duet recordings feature him with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Dizzy Gillespie, Mal Waldron, Archie Shepp and Anthony Braxton. As you can probably tell, Max is my favorite drummer and I'm always excited to discover something of his that I've never seen before!

Here's a recent find of Max Roach in a musical dialogue with none other than pianist Abdullah Ibrahim:

I've always admired Max's way of really making the drums "speak". In fact, I've even heard him refer to his melodic style of drumming as being "lyrical" drumming. Max studied composition at the Manhattan School of Music early on in his career and I think he really approaches the drums from an almost compositional perspective. The way he organizes his vocabulary and phrases is always very clear and there is always lots to learn from listening and watching Max play the drums.

Bill Stewart with John Scofield and Mulgrew Miller

2011-10-12T09:00:00.001-04:00

An impressive lineup here featuring Bill Stewart on the drums with John Scofield on guitar, Mulgrew Miller at the piano and Scott Colley on the bass:

Dig the close ups of Bill's impressive cymbals and technique!

Happy Birthday Art Blakey

2011-10-11T19:03:00.005-04:00

Happy birthday to Art Blakey who would have been 92 years old today!

Gigs This Week...

2011-10-11T09:00:00.003-04:00

A few fun gigs on the go this week to tell you about:

The Keith O'Rourke Quintet Plays the Music of Tom Harrell

Friday, October 14th
Saturday, October 15th

The Beatniq Jazz & Social Club
211 - 1st Street SW
Calgary, Alberta

Featuring:

Keith O'Rourke - Tenor Saxophone
Johnny Summers - Trumpet
Michelle Gregoire - Piano
Kodi Hutchinson - Bass
Jon McCaslin - Drums

We'll be playing two nights of music from the pen of composer/trumpet player Tom Harrell. This is really fun music to play but definitely very difficult music and a real challenge!

The Jon McCaslin Trio

Thursday, October 13th

5-7pm

The Sandstone Lounge
The Hyatt Regency
"All That Jazz" Music Series sponsored by the Cantos Music Foundation
700 Centre Street SE
Calgary, Alberta

Featuring:

Jon McCaslin - Drums
Ralf Buschmeyer - Guitar
Dale James - Bass

This is a new project that I'm really quite excited about. Ralf is one of Western Canada's premier guitarists and Dale James is a force! I'm looking forward to this hit and taking the music some interesting directions with these guys.

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

2011-10-10T09:00:00.007-04:00

I'm happy to be spending Thanksgiving in Montreal this year (that's Canadian Thanksgiving, eh?) and it's been great catching up and playing with old friends in my old town after a brief stopover in Toronto last week. I spent the better part of ten years studying and working in Montreal and I owe a lot to the musicians in this town in terms of my own personal musical development and personal journey.

- My wife and I hit the Upstairs Jazz Bar & Grill on Saturday evening to hear trumpeter Kevin Dean and his fine quintet consisting of Janis Steprans on tenor saxophone, Andre White on piano, Alec Walkington on bass and Dave Laing on drums. The band sounded great, as always, on a program of Kevin's brand new compositions that, while impressively steeped in the hard bop tradition of Hank Mobley, Kenny Dorham, Lee Morgan, Barry Harris, Blue Mitchell and Horace Silver, featured everyone very nicely on hard swinging and very cleverly written compositions and arrangements.

- Kevin has a real talent for writing interesting and well thought out melodic compositions that are equally fun to play as they are to listen to. I was lucky to study Jazz composition with Kevin during my McGill days and he always stressed the importance of integrating the arrangement within the composition and this is something that he does very well. I've tried to incorporate that concept in writing my own compositions and I feel that this always provides for memorable compositions and it's a very useful overall composing technique.

- Drummer Dave Laing is one of the nations best on drums. I was fortunate to study with Dave during my undergrad years at McGill and also had the opportunity to watch him in action on a regular basis with many of Montreal's top Jazz artists back in the day. Listening to Dave's hard swinging and driving cymbal beat and hearing his exceptionally clear phrasing on the drums is always inspiring, refreshing and a nice incentive to hit the woodshed once I get home! I also sat in a rehearsal with Joe Sullivan's big band and witnessing Dave's thundering and driving beat reminded me of why his playing has always been one of my favorites.

Here's a little sample of "Scooter" in action:

- Pianist & drummer Andre White has recently resurrected in his long-time website "Jazz View" that features interviews with many of Canada's leading Jazz artists. Dig that here: http://andrewhite.ca/jazzview/newoverview.html
Look for an upcoming interview with Jerry Fuller from Andre's archives. Jerry was certainly one of Canada's influential Jazz drummers during his time.

---------------------

A few things to take note of these days that caught my interest lately:

- Drummer/author/educator Steve Fidyk has an upcoming article in the November issue of Modern Drummer magazine where he discusses some different approaches to dealing with playing the ride cymbal from the perspective of holding the stick using some different fulcrum points. Here's the video portion of this article:

http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2011/09/ride-cymbal-phrasing-how-grip-and-fulcrum-impact-your-sound/#.TpIUCq6KzAg

- Ethan Iverson, pianist with the Bad Plus and blogger over at DO THE MATH, interviews legendary swinger Mickey Roker over here:

http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/interview-with-mickey-roker.html

My fellow Canadian Jazz drummer/bloggers have been busy over at their respective blogs:

- Vancouver-based Jesse Cahill has some great lessons dealing with variations on a common three-note phrase between the hands and feet over here:

http://jessecahill.wordpress.com/

- Ted Warren over at his blog Trap'd has more interesting brush lessons plus an inspiring article about what it really means to play the music at hand with focus, purpose and integrity:

http://trapdted.blogspot.com/

- Ralph Peterson Jr. has a new instructional DVD in the works. I'm really looking forward to checking this out in it's entirety. In the meantime, several excerpts of this video have been posted at drummerworld.com

Check those out here:
http://drummerworld.com/drummers/Ralph_Peterson.html

- Likwise, drummer Eric Harland has a DVD of his own coming out as well and a few previews of those can be checked out here as well:
http://drummerworld.com/drummers/Eric_Harland.html

Dig the "blues" in particular! Wow...

- Speaking of Eric Harland, here he is in a unique duet with trumpeter Avishai Cohen in some ruins:

- Here's some nice up close footage of drummer Billy Hart taking his turn during a performance with "The Cookers":

Just don't take his picture up close with the flash on while he's playing!!!

Modern Jazz Quartet - Rome 1961

2011-10-07T09:00:00.003-04:00

Milt Jackson never ceases to amaze and impress me...

Ed Soph Masterclass

2011-10-06T09:00:00.001-04:00

An impressive masterclass and information from University of North Texas drum set instructor Ed Soph:

My Little Suede Shoes

2011-10-05T21:06:00.001-04:00

Roy Haynes!

Terri Lyne Carrington

2011-10-04T21:00:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posting lately. Been on the road between Toronto and Montreal lately and last weekend was quite busy between gigging with "Barbados First Lady of Jazz", Cici Duke and hosting the Broken City Jazz Jam with Ralf Buschmeyer and Dale James (ummm...why didn't ANY drummers show up to sit in and play??? Thank you to the two very talented young bassists and trombone player who did, however, come to play.)

Anyways...

Some pretty amazing footage here of a very young and talented Terri Lyne Carrington in action from a late 70s children's television series:

Also nice to see her mentors Keith Copeland and Clark Terry also featured in that one.

As you can see, Terri is still playing great today (!) Here she is in a tribute to Roy Haynes:

Jerry Granelli - In The Moment

2011-10-01T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today's post features a documentary on the life and music of drummer Jerry Granelli, directed by Colin Mackenzie:

Jerry and his fine trio with Danny Ore on saxophone and Calgary bassist Simon Fisk will soon be touring Canada during the month of October with performances across the country. Look for an exclusive Four on The Floor interview with Granelli leading up to his Calgary performance in the weeks to come.

Broadview

2011-09-30T09:00:00.003-04:00

I received this recent collaboration between Toronto artists Ted Warren (drums), Mike Murley (tenor saxophone) and Rich Brown (electric bass) in mail the other day courtesy of label manager & recording engineer extraordinaire Steve Bellamy. The band, collectively known as Broadview, recently released their first CD entitled "Two of Clubs" on the Toronto-based record label ADDO Records.

I've known these three musicians and admired their work in different projects over the years but was really excited to hear this collective project come about (and which was recorded live between two different Toronto Jazz venues: The Rex Hotel & Jazz Bar and Chalkers Pub),

Ted grew up in Regina (as did I) but had already moved out East to Toronto via Nova Scotia and Montreal and had long established himself as one of Canada's premier, young creative Jazz voices by the time I met him in the early 90s while he was performing in Regina. In fact, Mike Murley was that gig as well with bassist Jim Vivian in pianist John Stetch's quartet which performed at the Regina Jazz Society. Hard to believe that was almost twenty years ago! I've since heard Ted and Mike play together in a variety of contexts and both never fail to impress.

Ted recently did an interview with The Purple Cabbage, a great Toronto-centric jazz blog. When asked about his new project, Broadview:

"In a nutshell, the initial concept behind Broadview was my desire to get an opportunity to play with Rich and Mike more often. I knew they would sound great in a chordless format and we would have a lot of fun playing together. I generally wrote specifically for the trio. With the chordless trio format, the challenge has been writing and performing music that relies on largely implied harmonies. At any one time, the listener hears the melody note and the bass note, and is required to imagine the notes in between. As a drummer, this is something that I feel I’ve had to work at in a different way, in contrast to the other two [Murley and Brown] who seem to have more of a natural feel for it. That being said, it has been and still is a fun challenge for me, and I’m really enjoying it. The playing, as I expected, has been a great joy from the very first note we played."

Here's some footage of this dynamic trio from a performance recorded earlier this year at the Kingston Public Library:

If only every public library in Canada was hip enough to feature musicians of this caliber in performances such as this. Politicians take note: Now THAT is one good example of how public funding can help support the arts in our communities! Artists of all disciplines need venues and outlets to present their creations AND get paid properly to do it. Using public spaces like libraries and community centres offer ideal opportunities to do this kind of thing. Way to go Kingston.

This Weekend

2011-09-29T09:00:00.002-04:00

A few gigs of note coming up this weekend...

I'll be joining pianist Bruce Pethrick and bassist Brendan Rothwell at the Beatniq Jazz & Social Club on Friday and Saturday evenings, backing up "Barbado's First Lady of Jazz", vocalist Cici Duke for two evenings of standards.

Working with good vocalists is one of my favorite things to do. I consider myself very fortunate to have had the opportunity to work so many great singers over the years including the likes of Pat Steele, Diane Nalini, Johanne Desforges, John Labelle, Johnny Scott, Carol Welsman, Karin Plato, Dione Taylor, Terra Hazelton and Louise Rose. Learning to accompany a vocalist is a real art form in itself and I enjoy the challenge of playing the drums in a way that compliments the voice and the lyric.

I'm also co-hosting the Broken City Jam session on Saturday afternoon from 3-6 pm with guitarist Ralf Buschmeyer and electric bassist extraordinaire Dale James. Be sure to come on out as the BC jam is now only happening the first Saturday of every month.

Shadow Wilson

2011-09-28T09:00:00.002-04:00

I recently had the pleasure of spending some time interviewing Kenny Washington for my ongoing doctoral research project. Kenny has an encyclopedic knowledge of Jazz music and it was a real pleasure to have the opportunity to sit down with this Master drummer.

The name Shadow Wilson came up several times during our discussion and Kenny was more than willing to talk, at length, about this great, unsung Jazz drummer. He pointed me towards this rare clip which features Wilson with the Louis Jordan band:

Now my own knowledge of Shadow Wilson's drumming had come from the Thelonious Monk/John Coltrane Carnegie Hall concert that was only discovered and released a few years ago.

Wilson was obviously a drummer who felt equally home playing in small, progressive groups such as with Monk and Coltrane and then also switching gears to play with the likes of Louis Jordan and the Count Basie Orchestra. In fact, Buddy Rich and many other big band drummers have openly declared on several occasions that Shadow's drum break on Basie's recording of "Queer Street" stands out as one of the greatest drum solo breaks ever recorded. You can check that out here (the brief double-time and syncopated drum break starts around 2:51):

Kenny Washington also recommended to me the following recordings to further check out examples of Shadow Wilson's fine and diverse drumming:

Count Basie - "America's #1 Band"
Thad Jones - "Detroit/New York Junction"
Thelonious Monk/John Coltrane - "At Carnegie Hall"
Fats Navarro/Tadd Dameron - "The Complete Blue Note & Capital Recordings"

Sanford Moeller...Drumming From the Grave!

2011-09-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

Perhaps a little early considering it's not Halloween yet...but here's a very interesting series of clips that Bill Stieger hipped me to (thanks Bill!)

This very clever rudimental drumming enthusiast took the still photo shots from Sanford Moeller's snare drumming method book "The Art of Snare Drumming" (1929) and spliced them together so we can see, for a brief time, what he intended his motions to look like:

Han Bennink Drum Lessons

2011-09-26T02:38:00.003-04:00

More from my favorite swashbuckling dutch improvisor Han Bennink. I think someone gave these little "lessons" to me from notes they jotted down from a Han Bennink drum/music clinic (maybe from the Banff Jazz Workshop?):

Han Bennink's "Things to Practice":

"Play as fast as you can for 5 minutes without repeating yourself."

"Same thing goes for slow, loud, soft and any combination of them."

"Play one piece of your drumkit for 5 minutes and try to keep it interesting and do this until you have played all the pieces."

"Repeat the same beat for 5 minutes and try to keep it interesting."

"Play a crescendo lasting 5 minutes ending as loud as possible."

"Play solid time for 5 minutes, check with metronome before and after, repeat untill your time is really solid."

"Play completely free for 5 minutes, no time is allowed."

"When you think you have become good at these exercises extend them by 5 minutes each. etc".

These exercises should last you a lifetime...

More Han (solo?)

2011-09-25T09:00:00.000-04:00

Just a few more clips to follow up on my last post of Han Bennink, one of drumming's unique improvisors:

Han Bennink Documentary

2011-09-24T09:00:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Toronto guitarist Reg Schwager who recently posted this 1968 Dutch television documentary on drummer Han Bennink on Facebook. It's all in Dutch (!) but plenty to enjoy regardless:

Lewis Nash w/Jim Hall & Don Friedman

2011-09-23T09:00:00.002-04:00

It's Friday here at Four on The Floor and also the first day of Fall so what better way to start the weekend than with some smokin' playing from Lewis Nash with band mates Don Friedman, Jim Hall, Joe Lovano and George Mraz from a Jazz Baltica concert from 2005:

Incidentally, I heard this group in 2000 at the Iridium in New York City without Friedman on the piano. That particular band can be heard on this fine record:

Honestly, when I first saw the lineup on the cover of this album I was expecting some fairly straight-ahead, standard-like playing but I was very pleasantly surprised and inspired to hear some very open and interactive playing instead. Jim Hall is a true visionary and his ability to push his sonic boundaries never ceases to amaze. All around it's a nice reminder that you truly can't judge a "book" by it's cover....Lewis Nash is truly a master who can cover it all ! In particular, check out Nash's solo intro in the above clip at the 20:16 mark - btw if anyone can tell me how to play my bass drum that fast, please let me know!

Rifftide: The Life & Opinions of Papa Jo Jones

2011-09-22T09:00:00.003-04:00

Looks like someone was finally smart enough to write a book about Papa Jo Jones. My copy is in the mail so I can't really tell you anything about it (!) but in the meantime we can enjoy this fine trailer about this important figure in Jazz drumming history:

And here's a few reminders as to why we should all listen to and study Jo Jones in the first place:

Ali Jackson Quartet

2011-09-21T19:19:00.003-04:00

A few today of J@LC drummer Ali Jackson Jr. from a recent hit of his, leading his own group at Dizzy's in New York City, featuring Donald Harrison:

Max Roach - We Insist: Freedom Now Suite

2011-09-20T13:54:00.003-04:00

John Riley recently pointed me towards this incredible footage the other day....ironically found in my very own collection of DVDs (but that's another story!) I first purchased this album while in my teens while searching for what ever Max Roach albums I could get my hands on during a trip to Chicago's legendary Jazz Record Mart. There is a very deep, powerful message in this music. Max is, of course, in fine form in this European television footage (dig those unison quarter notes!) and Abbey Lincoln and Clifford Jordan really shine as well.

Billy Drummond with Dave Liebman

2011-09-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

A few all too short ones today...but here's drummer Billy Drummond on some raw clips taken from the bar (!) at New York's Birdland, performing with saxophonist Dave Liebman, pianist Steve Kuhn and Steve Swallow on bass:

The Regina Jazz Quartet + Vibes

2011-09-16T09:00:00.002-04:00

If you happen to be in the Queen City today, I'll be appearing with the Regina Jazz Quartet (or also known as the RJQ !) on vibraphone this evening at the Regina Jazz Society. We'll be playing a fine selection of standards all night. Please come on by and say hello and enjoy the vibes.

"The RJQ + 1"

Appearing at The Regina Jazz Society
Le Bistro
3850 Hillsdale Avenue
Regina, Saskatchewan

Friday, September 16th

8:00 pm

Featuring:

Jerry Shen - Tenor Saxohone
Ken Jefferson - Piano
Dylan Wiest - Drums
Tim Vuksic - Bass

with special guest Jon McCaslin - vibraphone

www.jazzregina.ca

Andrew Cyrille - Solo Drums

2011-09-14T09:00:00.000-04:00

Here's a drummer that we should definitely pay more attention to:

With special thanks to Jeff Cosgrove who found this one!

Minimal Farnsworth

2011-09-12T09:00:00.000-04:00

It's always a good challenge to practice playing on a minimal and very basic drum set-up. Here Joe Farnsworth demonstrates how it's done with both sticks and brushes:

Art Taylor Rides Again...

2011-09-11T13:13:00.002-04:00

Just a quick one here for the weekend...my attention is soon to be very focused on today's upcoming Saskatchewan Roughriders vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers "Banjo Bowl" rematch.

In any event, here's some GREAT footage of Art Taylor with his frequent partner-in-crime Johnny Griffin: