The Monday Morning Paradiddle

I hope you all had a nice weekend wherever you are. Here's a few things cooking around the Four on the Floor offices these days:

- Check out this incredible recording of Philly Joe Jones giving a clinic at Rutgers University:

https://soundcloud.com/tedsirota/sets/philly-joe-jones-rutgers

This one has been making the rounds for awhile now but thank you to Chicago's Ted Sirota for posting this on-line.

- A great deal has been written about the late, great Mulgrew Miller since his recent passing. Jazz writer Ted Panken was nice enough to pull out several articles and interviews from his archives worth checking out:

http://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2013/05/29/mulgrew-miller-r-i-p-1955-2013-a-downbeat-article-and-several-interviews/

- Courtesy of drumshow1.com here's an interview with Berklee jazz drumming professor Yoron Israel:

http://www.drumshow1.com/featuredvideo.cfm

- I recently returned from Ireland with a box set of some very happening music from Jackie McLean. Here's a great documentary on Jackie and his music entitled "Jackie McLean on Mars":



- I've really been digging the Charles Lloyd album "Sangam" that features Lloyd with the team of rhythm masters Eric Harland and Zakir Hussain. Here's a concert in its entirety to check out!



- Drummer Steve Fidyk writes regular columns for Modern Drummer and posts accompanying videos demonstrating his exercises. Here's an interesting one worth pondering in which he discusses how to apply clave rhythms and phrasing in the context of Jazz timekeeping:



- What am I listening to these days?

Duke Ellington "Money Jungle" - Max Roach (drums)

Terri Lyne Carrington "Money Jungle: Provocative in Blue" - Terri Lyne Carrington (drums)

John Coltrane "Live at the Village Vanguard" - Elvin Jones (drums)

John Coltrane "Africa Brass" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Barry Elmes "Red Shift" - Barry Elmes (drums)

Cannonball Adderley "Nancy Wilson & Cannonball Adderley" - Louis Hayes (drums)

- When the masters speak, we listen! Here's Victor Lewis recollecting on the legacy of a couple of important Jazz drummers:





- I have an exciting gig coming up this Thursday in Calgary with a pretty decent group of musicians. We'll be playing a mix of my original tunes and some of my favourite standards. Please come on by and say hello.

The Jon McCaslin Quartet Plays the Kawa Espresso Bar

Thursday, June 13 8:30pm

Kawa Espresso Bar
1333 8th Street SW
Calgary, AB

Featuring:

Jon McCaslin - Drums
Mark DeJong - Alto Saxophone
Carsten Rubeling - Trombone
Steve Shepard - Bass

Happy Birthday Al Harewood

You have no idea how happy this photo made me.

During the mid 1990s my drum teacher at McGill, Chris McCann, introduced me to the exceptional drumming of Mr. Al Harewood (if you haven't heard Stanley Turrentine's "Up at Minton's" RUN, don't walk to the nearest iTunes store lol and pick this one up!) I had the pleasure of interviewing Al over the phone over the course of three days for a project I was writing for Kevin Dean's performance practice course. I've got hours of our conversations together on cassette somewhere. He was very gracious with sharing his life experience and flattered that I was even interested in what he did.

Last I heard, Al had been spending most of his time in Barbados and according to vocalist Cici Duke was a highly respected elder musician on the island. I wasn't even sure if Al was even with us anymore. So I'm thrilled to see that Mr. Al Harewood (or "Mr. Tip" as he is known in jazz drumming circles) recently celebrated his 90th birthday in the company of the world's greatest jazz drummers at a party held at Don Sickler's loft.

Happy Birthday Mr. Harewood! (and thank you Billy Drummond for posting this photo via the Facebook.)

Ed Shaughnessy Drum Clinic Handouts

As I promised last week, here are several handouts and exercises from a drum clinic with Ed Shaughnessy. If memory serves, I think I picked these up from a workshop he gave in Banff around 1992-1993 or from a Bands of America drumline competition circa. 1994 (?)

Anyways, as you can see, there is a lot of good and very practical information to practice here...

There is also a nice article on Shaughnessy's career over at Jazz Profiles:

http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.ca/2013/05/ed-shaughnessy-and-joys-of-jazz-drumming.html


Thanks Ed!

Thank You Mulgrew

After hearing some rumblings and rumours over the past few days, it was confirmed this morning that jazz piano great Mulgrew Miller passed away due to complications from a recent stroke.

I was very sad to hear this. Miller has long been one of my favourite contemporary jazz pianists whether as a leader of one of his own trios, his band Wingspan or as a sideman with the jazz world's greats including the likes of Art Blakey, Woody Shaw, Tony Williams and many, many others (by one of his estimations he's appeared on over 500 albums!) I've always really been drawn to his unique style that combines an incredible command of a modern bebop and modal jazz language with a soulful, bluesy feeling and an absolute crushing rhythmic sensibility. Oh yeah, he always SWUNG with integrity and conviction. Always.

I consider myself very fortunate to have performed with Mr. Miller during a week-long tour last March with saxophonist Fraser Calhoun's quartet. Each performance, each set, each tune and each solo were lessons in jazz, life and music, one after another.

Mulgrew was a real gentlemen and he played his ass off night after night. He was very complimentary to my drumming and appreciated the fact that I had done my homework and checked out his tunes. Needless to say I was a bit nervous as this man had played with ALL the great jazz drummers of our time and represents a direct link to Art Blakey and Tony Williams. However, while he didn't say much he certainly put me at ease with his soulful and friendly demeanour.

One of the biggest lessons I learned from my brief time with Mulgrew was when he personally recounted how nervous and anxious he himself was shortly after joining Tony William's quintet during the 1980s. Miller described this as being a "Herbie" complex and was anxious due to the fact that he, for some reason, felt that he had to play like Herbie Hancock, since he was now playing with Tony Williams!

Miller described how he was put to ease after visiting the neighbourhood in Chicago where Herbie grew up and, upon that, realized that Hancock played the way he did because of where and how he was brought up. Comparing this to his own upbringing, Mulgrew (who grew up under different circumstances in the southern United States) quickly realized that we are who are and that we should embrace those things that make us unique, take pride in them and make them a part of who we are rather than trying to play someone else's life experience.

"At the end of the day you can only be yourself and you owe it to the world to let everyone know it."

Here's some footage of Mulgrew with his trio (featuring Rodney Green on drums) on Charlie Parker's "Relaxin' at the Camarillo":



There are also many very touching tributes to Miller to be found on the web (in addition to the dozen's of tributes pouring in on the Facebook).

Here's Peter Hum's well written piece at the Ottawa Citizen:

http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2013/05/29/rip-mulgrew-miller/

And a piece from NPR's A Blog Supreme:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2013/05/29/187118036/jazz-pianist-and-pedagogue-mulgrew-miller-dies

You can also listen to a full set of Mulgrew's trio on NPR Jazzset here: http://www.npr.org/event/music/166237914/mulgrew-miller-trio-on-jazzset?sc=tw&cc=share

And finally Nate Chinen at the New York Times chimes in:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/30/arts/music/mulgrew-miller-jazz-pianist-dies-at-57.html?_r=1&

Thank you Mulgrew.

Ed Shaughnessy

It was with great sadness that I learned of Ed Shaughnessy's passing this past weekend. Ed was one of the great big band drummers of our time who was probably best known as the driving force behind the Tonight Show band for 30 years in addition to have played and recorded with many of the world's jazz greats.

I first met Ed at a Bands of America marching band competition in Indianapolis while I was still in high school and I always made a point of talking to him when I ran into him at a PASIC or IAJE convention. He was always very nice and made a point of showing a genuine interest in what it was I was doing as a drummer. I only met Ed a handful of times but we kept in touch via email over the years and he was kind enough to offer me some amazing stories of his experiences growing up in 1940s New York and chasing the greats along 52nd Street, hanging out with the likes of Big Sid Catlett, Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich and how he survived some blistering up tempos, playing Cherokee and such, sitting in with Bud Powell, Don Byas and others. He also sent me a very nice note a few years ago as he was apparently an avid reader of this blog and encouraged me "to keep up great work kid!"

Ed's granddaughter was thoughtful enough to put together a nice little interview with her grandfather before he passed away:



I also recently received the following from John Riley who was nice enough to share his own personal correspondences with Shaughnessy.

This is a selected discography of what Ed considered to be his favourite recordings that he played on:

As you can see from above Ed had a very diverse recording career with a wide array of artists (man, he recorded with Charlie Parker!!!)

And here is a very thoughtful thank you note that Ed sent John. I think this really sums up the warm spirit that Ed was and also reveals a hint of the importance of the musicality that he himself valued and brought to the bandstand.

I also attended many of Ed's clinics over the years and still have those handouts around here somewhere, full of some very useful and practical information. I will make a point of scanning those and sharing them here later this week once I catch up a bit. Things have very busy of late as I personally just returned from Edmonton where I spent an incredible weekend playing with pianist Dave Braid and his brass quintet project at the Yardbird Suite. I don't use the term "Musical Genius" very lightly but I would certainly put David Braid into that category....I also had the good fortune of subbing for Matt Wilson last week with Oran Etkin's Timbalooloo project at the Calgary International Children's Festival with Wycliffe Gordon, Charenee Wade and bassist Linda Oh. Needless to say it's been a good few months of MUSIC for me although certainly busy ones at that! Anyways, I'll get those handouts scanned....I'm sure Ed would have liked for people to see and get something out of them.

Thank you Ed for your great music and I'm sure the band is swinging wherever you are now!

Billy Higgins on Dexter Gordon

When the master speaks...we LISTEN !!!

Lewis Nash MVP

I posted some footage of Lewis Nash a few weeks ago. Here is more from his visit to Boston, a clinic and masterclass from the Berklee College of Music to enjoy:

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Well, I'm back in the saddle here after nearly a month-and-a-half on the road. Thank you to all the musicians in Saskatchewan, Montreal and Ireland that made the last few weeks so memorable.

Here's a few things making the rounds over here at the Four on The Floor offices these days:

- Thanks to Phil Dwyer who hipped me to this inspiring clip of the John Coltrane Quartet from a date in Antibes, France circa. 1965 featuring Elvin Jones:



I need to find this entire DVD...

- Speaking of Coltrane, CBC Radio's Tapestry recently featured a radio program on John Coltrane and the spiritual aspects of his music:

http://www.cbc.ca/tapestry/2013/05/09/a-love-supreme-god-in-the-music-of-john-coltrane/

Thank you to my main man in Toronto, Bob McLaren for sending this one my way. If you ever have the opportunity to hear Bob play drums with Pat LaBarbera and Kirk McDonald's annual Coltrane Birthday Celebration at the Rex in Toronto, I would highly recommend it. Bob makes mountains move from behind the drums when playing this music.

- And speaking of CBC Radio....here's another great program to check out dealing with the science of rhythm entitled "The Heart of the Beat":

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2013/04/22/the-heart-of-the-beat/

- What am I listening to these days?

Hank Jones "Blusette" - Alan Dawson (drums)

Thad Jones & Mel Lewis "Quartet" - Mel Lewis (drums)

Kiyoshi Kitagawa "Prayer" & "Ancestry" - Brian Blade (drums)

Ronan Guilfoyle's Linga Franca "Exit" - Tom Rainey (drums)

Bobby Hutcherson/Harold Land "Blow Up" - Joe Chambers (drums)

- From Toronto guitarist Reg Schwager, dig this crazy drumming from Dutch Free Jazz improvisor Han Bennink:



Han is known for being able to drum and coax a rhythm out of pretty much anything. In this case his instrument is pretty conventional however in this one he shows that you don't even need a drum throne to play the drums and that a simple piano bench will do! I've even seen him sit on the floor, if necessary...

- Looking for some things to practice? These days the interweb has no lack of great resources to check out and inspire one to head back to the woodshed. I have a few personal favorites that I consistently check out to give me some ideas:

Drummer Justin Varnes has a great website here with a lot of great information. He is also posting a weekly jazz drumming lesson on youtube.com called "52 Licks" featuring patterns from all the great jazz drummers, old and new. This is a very ambitious project but so far I'd say he's been doing a great job of breaking down some very useful information.

Here's a taste of Varnes' work, breaking down a Max Roach pattern:



Busy Montreal drummer Rich Irwin has also started his own lesson site over here. I've known Rich since my McGill days and Rich has always been a great drummer with a great pair of hands. It's really nice to see him scoring some major gigs these days and getting some name recognition.

I also found this site featuring some lessons from Dan Weiss and Brian Floody over here. Dan's concepts are important, unique and will leave you dizzy (!) It was also nice to see some great drumming from Brian as well. When I was traveling to New York on a regular basis about ten years ago I used to used run into Brian all the time either at Small's, Drummer's World, on the subway or even on the street's of Manhattan. He has no idea who I am but I always dug listening to him play!

Toronto drummer Max Senitt often posts some unique lessons on his website over here when not on the road with Alex Cuba. Max has some great things to offer as well, most notably some tricky variations on various Afro-Cuban patterns and half-time shuffle grooves.

And to top it off, this guy has compiled a TON of exercises from the method of Alan Dawson. See you in ten years...haha

But seriously, he's also posted some great recordings of Max Roach performing solo at the New England Conservatory of Music circa. 1982:

http://alandawson.org/basics/detail.php?id=1025

- To finish off today's column I leave you with this quote passed to me from my good friend, saxophonist Mark DeJong via bassist John Clayton:

"Take care of the music and the music will take care of you!"
- Dizzy Gillespie

Oh yeah, one other thing...

GO LEAFS!!!

Billy Hart (aka Jabali)

Today's post features the BRILLIANT drumming and musicianship of Billy Hart, a real living jazz drumming legend in my humble opinion:





Furthermore, here's an interesting radio interview with this great musician:
http://archive.org/details/TheJabaliBillyHartInterview

Jeff Hamilton & Matt Wilson Drum Battle Redux

I posted this one awhile ago but this drum conversation between Matt Wilson and Jeff Hamilton recently resurfaced from another angle...and worth re-posting in my opinion:

Dafnis Prieto's Little Drums

I thought this one was cute, cool and bizarre all at the same time!

Yoron Israel on Brushes

I spent some time studying with Berklee's Yoron Israel while I was touring with the show Barrage in 2004. We spent some extended time performing in Boston so I spent my days hanging around Berklee and the various drum shops in the neighborhood (in fact I even bought a very nice 22" K Constantinople ride cymbal there that I still use today...)

Yoron introduced me to Alan Dawson's Rudiment Ritual and emphasized being able to play it with the brushes as well. As you can see from this performance, Israel definitely practices what he preaches!



Dig the variety of strokes and sounds that Yoron is able to get out just a pair of brushes and a snare drum. Well, back to the woodshed!

Christian McBride Trio with Ulysses Owens Jr.

Some fine piano trio drumming today from Ulysses Owens Jr. with the Christian McBride Trio:

Nash at Berklee

Here's a great way to start off the week...Lewis Nash featured in a concert at the Berklee College of Music on the Thad Jones burner "Ain't Nothing New" with some great tenor playing from Bill Pierce:



Hey if you are in the Montreal area come and check out my quintet this coming Friday evening at Cafe Resonance! I'm really excited to be reunited with these fine Montreal musicians, all of whom I played with extensively during my ten years living on the island. Montreal holds a special place for me as this is where I spent my formative years learning to play Jazz.

The Jon McCaslin Quintet Plays Cafe Resonance

Friday, April 26 - 9:00pm

Cafe Resonance
5175A Avenue Du Parc
Montreal, QC

Featuring:

Jon McCaslin - Drums, Cymbals & Compositions
Andy King - Trumpet
Allan McLean - Tenor
Kenny Bibace - Guitar
Dave Watts - Bass

Ralph Peterson Interview

Thanks to the kind people over at Vic Firth, here's a series of interviews with Ralph Peterson Jr. to check out:

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

And....we're back.

Sorry for the relatively infrequent posting recently. I've been on the go lately and going a few different directions these days...Anyways, regular posting will now resume (hopefully!) and thanks for all your kind messages.

I recently spent some time in Ireland and had a chance to connect with the Guilfoyle brothers, Ronan and Conor, who, in addition to being two of Ireland's finest Jazz artists, also happen to be two really nice guys. We shared more than a few laughs together to say the least!

Ronan is an exceptional bassist and the author of the acclaimed book "Creative Rhythmic Concepts" and this text comes highly recommended (in fact, NYC tenor saxophonist Donny McCaslin recently cited Ronan's text as something he himself was personally currently studying during a recent masterclass at Mount Royal University in Calgary...)

In addition to being a world-class bassist and author Ronan is also quite an articulate blogger and writes some very insightful articles and commentary over at his blog Mostly Music http://ronanguil.blogspot.ca

I read his blog regularly and find his writing always to be quite informative but in particular check out his excellent recent interview with Steve Coleman. The students at the Newpark Music School in Dublin are very lucky to have Ronan as their teacher!

His brother Conor is also a very accomplished drummer, busy educator and he regularly posts some great lessons on his website and via youtube.com. Here is one of Conor's on-line lessons demonstrating how to improvise a snare drum solo using Alan Dawson's Rudiment Ritual as a source for vocabulary:



Conor is also the author of two very fine drum books entitled "Rhythmic Reading for Drummers" and "Odd Meter Clave for Drumset". Check out more of Conor's music at his website: http://www.conorguilfoyle.com

- Who am I listening to these days?

Being on the road recently has afforded me the opportunity to do a lot of listening while driving, flying, waiting in airports, hanging around hotel rooms, etc. Here's a few things that have inspired me lately:

Wynton Marsalis "Black Codes from the Underground" - Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums)

Jason Marsalis "In A World of Mallets" - Jason Marsalis (vibraphone), David Potter (drums)

Jeff "Tain" Watts "MegaWatts" - Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums)

Duke Ellington "Ellington Plays the Music of Mary Poppins" - Sam Woodyard (drums)

Fly "Year of the Snake" - Jeff Ballard (drums)

Milford Graves "Grand Unification" - Milford Graves (drums & percussion)

- Speaking of the one & the only Jeff "Tain" Watts (!) here's a nice one of Mr. Watts in action at the 55 Bar with Oz Noy on guitar and John Patitucci on bass playing "If I Were a Bell":




- Drummer Johnathan Blake never ceases to impress me and here he is playing a very impassioned solo with Kenny Barron:




- I've got an exciting concert coming up on Saturday, April 20 with my jazz orchestra, the Calgary Creative Arts Ensemble:

We'll be featuring our special guest, the great Brad Turner on trumpet from Vancouver on a program of music by iconic Canadian Jazz composer Kenny Wheeler. If you are in Calgary, don't miss this show!

The Calgary Creative Arts Ensemble Plays the Music of Kenny Wheeler Featuring Special Guest: Brad Turner on Trumpet

Saturday, April 20
7:30pm

Central United Church
131 7th Avenue SW
Calgary, AB

Adults: $20/$25 Door
Students/Seniors: $10/$15 Door

Advance Tickets Available at:

http://calgarycreativeartsensemble.eventbrite.ca/

Brush Lesson with Greg Hutchinson

What better way to learn how to play the brushes than hanging out with Greg Hutchinson....on a sunny beach!

Drum & Bass: Jeff Ballard and Larry Grenadier

The connection between the drummer and bass player of any ensemble is obviously the core and heartbeat of any band. If the drummer and bassist aren't hooking up or have a cooperative understanding when they play together, the music doesn't even stand a chance!

Here's Jeff Ballard and Larry Grenadier, the backbone of the Brad Mehldau trio, demonstrating how they work together and, as such, show the incredible bond these two have when playing together.





I've been on the road for the past few weeks....regular posting will resume shortly!

Klook & Lucky Thompson

Still on the road here these days but here's a good one to keep you occupied for awhile until I return:



Thanks to noted Canadian Jazz author and former Globe & Mail columnist Mark Miller who was nice enough to share this one with me.

Yes indeed, Klook IS the man!!!

Fraser Calhoun Quartet featuring Mulgrew Miller

I'm going to be busy and on the go for the next few weeks here so blogging will lighten up considerably for awhile. But I wanted to let you all know about a big show of mine coming up this Saturday night. I'm thrilled to be playing with saxophonist Fraser Calhoun's quartet featuring one of my favorite jazz pianists of all time, the great Mulgrew Miller on piano.

In case you are not familiar with Miller's career he is literally an icon of the contemporary jazz language and someone who really exemplifies a modern extension of all the great jazz piano greats. I'm really honored and thrilled to have the opportunity to share the bandstand with him for several dates over the course of the next week here in Calgary and then in Edmonton. Mulgrew has played with the likes of Art Blakey, Tony Williams, Woody Shaw and countless other jazz greats over the years. Hope to see you all there!


Fraser Calhoun Quartet Featuring Mulgrew Miller

Saturday, March 16 2013 8:00pm (7:30pm door)

River Park Church
3818 14 A Street SW
Calgary, AB

Tickets: $25 Advance/$30 at the Door
Students: $20 Advance/$25 at the Door
Advance tickets available at:  http://frasercalhoun.eventbrite.com/

Featuring:

Fraser Calhoun - Alto Saxophone
Mulgrew Miller - Piano
Rubim De Toledo - Bass 
Jon McCaslin - Drums

Find this event on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/events/347081822064498/?fref=ts

In case you aren't familiar with Mulgrew's work, here he is with drummer Tony Williams to check out:

Greg Hutchinson - Two Bass Hit

I heard this fine band featuring Greg Hutchinson on drums during the late set at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in New York City following a performance of pianist Bill Charlap's trio featuring Kenny Washington on drums during the spring of 2011. It was a good night for drums, to say the least!

Here's some smoking footage of Greg unleashing with guitarist Yotam Silberstein's Quartet from a recent hit at Small's on John Lewis' classic drum feature "Two Bass Hit":

Carl Allen on Brushes

From 20 years ago, here's a nice brush feature with Carl Allen on drums joined by Benny Green (piano) and Ben Wolfe (bass):



Dig the slick back sticking work that Allen throws into his solo (maybe that should be called "Back brushing?). I learned how to do that back in my high-school drumline days but never really considered it a part of my drum set vocabulary until I saw Carl use this years later. Why not? Although, whenever I pull a stunt like this I usually drop one of my sticks!

Interview with Joe LaBarbera

I first met Joe LaBarbera during the summer of 1997 at the Banff Centre for the Arts and most recently reconnected with him via interviews I've conducted towards my doctoral dissertation. Some friends and I also brought Joe to Calgary last fall and was fortunate to spend some time studying and hanging out with him then. He is a really wonderful human being, a fantastic drummer and an incredible teacher.

Here's an interview with Joe in advance of a performance with his brother's big band at the Rochester International Jazz Festival:



Joe also recently released an album featuring his quintet entitled "Sixth Sense" and here's an edition of this band from a recent performance on the West Coast:



Dig the drum solo (sorry it gets cut off!) and big sound he gets out of the instrument.

Now one thing that has also really struck me is how loose Joe looks when he plays. Watching Joe play has always reminded me to keep a relaxed and proper posture, remember to breath and, most importantly, not be afraid to let the arms stretch out a bit and contribute to the overall stroke. One could easily get carried away with using the arms but the way Joe does it, it combines grace with practicality and, overall, translates into a huge, warm sound on the drums with a beautiful sense of flow.

So with these things in mind, I decided to ask Joe myself via e.mail about his thoughts with regards to how he physically plays the drums. Of course, Joe was nice enough to accommodate my request and offered these words of wisdom:

"Many people have commented on the relaxed motion I use when playing. My wife mentioned it to me recently in connection with a friend who is very active and physically fit but who is experiencing several problems involving arm, leg and foot pains. She went on to say that at 65 years of age I am still able to perform because I use relaxation to good advantage in my performance. I’m sure there is some plain old good luck involved here with the gene pool since both my parents lived to well into their 90’s with only the usual aches and pains. But over the years in my role as an educator I have given serious thought to posture, limb motion and set up of the kit and am on constant lookout for my students to help them avoid developing any bad habits. I think often of Buddy Rich who was plagued by back problems in his later years. Perhaps it was genetic or perhaps sitting as high as he did and playing down on the set with his back arched played a significant role."

"For myself, I have always strived for a fluid sound with a controlled attack so that I could be dynamically expressive with the drums. People who have never seen me play will often comment on the flow they hear in my drumming which is the same thing that others experience when they see me. Years ago when I was with Chuck Mangione, we shared the stage with Chick Corea and Return to Forever. After the gig Chick commented that I looked a Gazelle when I played!"

"I have never formally studied Moeller Technique but what I have learned is the value of a preparation stroke followed by a down stroke. When I am teaching new students how to play the ride cymbal I have them use an accent and rebound motion with exaggerated height and quarter notes only. The accent is on 2 and 4 and the up stroke on 1 and 3. Gradually we will introduce the dotted eighth/sixteenth or “ride” pattern. As the tempo increases the motion becomes more condensed but it is still there. This allows me to play up tempos for extended periods of time without tiring but it takes time and some serious practice to get it. I continue this approach when we work on the pads as well and am quick to comment when I see a student trying to generate all the power from the just the wrists. Maybe you have seen drummers who keep their arms locked when playing the ride cymbal and on the drums as well. Of course it is possible to play this way but it has never appealed to me."

"In a nutshell, I was trying to get a sound and a feel that I was hearing and my technique evolved to meet my needs. Hope this helps."

- Joe LaBarbera, February 2013

Lewis Nash - A View From Above

Welcome back everybody and I hope you all had a nice weekend. I was hoping to get a "Monday Morning Paradiddle" together this morning but things are on the go over here...

So in the meantime, from a recent Art Blakey tribute concert featuring an all-star lineup, here's some nice footage of Lewis Nash paying tribute to the great Art Blakey:

Max Roach en France

Thanks to my European correspondent David Grebil who posted this one via youtube.com, here's the great Max Roach with both Stanley and Tommy Turrentine for you to enjoy:



Max Roach!

Sonny Payne Rolls Again!

Somebody recently asked me about developing roll technique and vocabulary around the drums. Mr. Payne certainly had something to say about that!

Max Roach Quintet Featuring Booker Little

It's Friday folks...and here's some rare footage of the Max Roach Quintet featuring Booker Little on trumpet along with George Coleman on tenor and Ray Draper on tuba to enjoy:



This particular edition of Max Roach's band has long been a big influence on me for sometime. I spent quite a bit of time during the later years of my undergrad degree at McGill transcribing Max's playing on the album "Deeds, Not Words". I dig the use of the tuba as the third voice, particularly in a three-horn configuration with no piano in sight. It's still a rare occurrence by today's standards.

I think Max had a bit of an affinity for the tuba and brass instruments in general. At one point Max even had a short-lived group during the late 90s called "The So What Brass" that featured him with a brass quintet (much like Dave Douglas' current Brass Ectasy project). Unfortunately there is only one recording of this band that I know of it's only one track featured on an album that features Max with a Symphony orchestra. I myself have had an interest in leading a brass quintet + drums project like this for some time.

I think that the piano-less configurations that Max played with in general post-Clifford Brown really allowed him to open a bit more in terms of his comping. His albums "Max Roach + 4" and "Max Roach + 4 Plays Charlie Parker" are also a couple of albums that I've really learned a lot from and Kenny Washington suggested that I really check out these recordings, in particular, for Max's comping vocabulary while playing up tempos.

Michel Lambert Solo Drums

Today's post features a great Canadian drummer from Quebec, the creative Michel Lambert. Here's Michel letting it all hang out in a solo drum set from Montreal's very hip and newest Jazz venue, Cafe Resonance:



I was fortunate to study with Lambert during the last year of my Master's degree at McGill University in 2002. He really encouraged me to "loosen up" my style and approach. We spent a lot of time working on the snare drum (mostly playing rolls) with the goal of getting me to play with a bigger/looser stroke and sound. Michel is a very engaging and free spirit when it comes to improvisation on the drums but, ironically, he was also one of the most technical drum teachers that I've ever worked with.

Check out these drum duets from Michel's website featuring himself with the likes of Hans Bennink, Rakalam Bob Moses, Montreal's John Heward and Daniel Humair:

http://www.michellambert.com/projects/drumduets/index.html

Michel also lived and worked in Toronto for a number of years and played quite extensively with bassist Dave Young's band. The album "Fables" featuring Lambert with the Dave Young/Phil Quartet has always been a favourite.

Hutch Grooves

Here's a fun one to get our Monday off to a good start, the hard-swinging Greg Hutchinson demonstrating a few different swinging tempos:

Brian Blade Fellowship @ The Vanguard

To finish off "Brian Blade Week" over here at Four on the Floor, here's some clandestine home footage of Blade's Fellowship ensemble from a performance at the famed Village Vanguard brought to us by a very brave concertgoer (no pictures or video please!!!)

Brian Blade - Drums & Guitar

Since this is now my self-proclaimed "Brian Blade Week" here at Four on the Floor, I thought I would feature today the dynamic duet of Blade and guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel. I posted some of their recorded work on Monday but here's a nice live clip to chew on:



I really appreciate Brian's joyful spirit when he plays the drums and the diverse influences he blends together while still grounded in the Jazz tradition. The open texture of the drums/guitar combination offers some really nice space for both of these accomplished musicians to play off of each other.

I haven't checked this one out but look forward to hearing this album that they put out a couple of years ago:

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

A few people have inquired as to what I've been up to lately and where I can be heard in the next couple of months. So here's a few interesting gigs of mine to take note of:

January 25 - Calgary Creative Arts Ensemble Big Band featuring Ralph Bowen presented by the National Music Centre's Summit Jazz Series

February 3 - Big Band Clinic @ The University of Calgary

February 5 - Ralf Buschmeyer  Trio hosts the Wine-Oh's Jazz Jam Session

February 6 - Carsten Rubeling Quartet @ The Cliff Bungalow Jazz Series

February 8 - The Yardbird Suite (Edmonton) with The Brenan Brothers

February 16 - The Invertigo Trio with Jim Brenan and Rubim de Toledo host the Broken City Jazz Jam 3-6pm

March 15 - Brad Shigeta Swing Band

March 16 - Fraser Calhoun Quartet featuring Mulgrew Miller @ Riverside Church

March 17 - Fraser Calhoun Quartet featuring Mulgrew Miller @ The Yardbird Suite (Edmonton)

March 18 - Fraser Calhoun Quartet featuring Mulgrew Miller @ Grant MacEwan University (Edmonton)

March 19 - Fraser Calhoun Quartet featuring Mulgrew Miller @ The Ironwood Stage & Grill

March 20 - 22 - Optimist Band Festival (Regina, SK)

March 23 - Guest Artist with the Regina Jazz Orchestra (Regina, SK)

Please drop by and say hello!

Here's a few things that have been making the rounds lately around the Four on the Floor offices. Enjoy!

- Brian Blade is indeed one of our generations most influential Jazz drummers (and for good reason!)  His work as a leader with his Fellowship ensemble and as sideman with the Wayne Shorter Quartet are two examples of why Brian has been leading the charge over the past ten or so years.

I've really been enjoying his duo work with guitarist Wolfgang Muthspiel and this track is a good example of the interesting music this drums/guitar duet is capable of:



And if you like that, here's another bass and drums duet featuring Blade with bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa from his album "Prayer" on Sonny Rollins' "Oleo":



More interesting Brian Blade clips coming this week...

- Drummer Marcus Gilmore, who also happens to be the grandson of Jazz great Roy Haynes (!), has been making quite an impression lately. Here's a nice article on Gilmore courtesy of NPR's A Blog Supreme:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2013/02/06/171249897/when-your-grandfather-is-the-greatest-living-jazz-drummer

- Lewis Nash was recently in Calgary with the Monterey Jazz Festival On Tour and it was incredible. Nash has always been a favorite of mine. Here's a couple quick ones of Lewis in action from the same recent tour:





- Pianist Benny Green was also on that bill and, as far as I was concerned, really stole the show (and that's saying a lot considering how well everybody played!)

Here's another clip of Benny Green and his trio featuring Kenny Washington on drums:



Dig the very explicit accents that Kenny displays during his drum solo. Time for me to revisit my Wilcoxin snare drum solos, me thinks!

And here's a nice interview with Green talking about his days as a Jazz Messenger, mentored by the great Art Blakey:



- What am I listening to these days?

Mulgrew Miller Trio "Live at the Kennedy Center" - Rodney Green (drums)

Danny Grissett "Form" - Kendrick Scott (drums)

JJ Johnson & Stan Getz "Live at the Opera House" - Connie Kay (drums)

Oscar Peterson Trio "West Side Story" - Ed Thigpen (drums)

Jim Hall "Live!" - Terry Clarke (drums)

- Carl Allen recently gave an excellent masterclass at this year's edition of the JEN Conference in Atlanta on his approach to playing the ride cymbal. Here's a highlight of his session courtesy of Bret Primack, the "Jazz Video Guy":



- My good friend and fellow McGill alumni Rich Irwin recently launched his own on-line drumming school:

http://virtualdrumschool.com/

More on Rich and this exciting project coming soon!

- New Orleans drummer Herlin Riley is always a pleasure to listen to. His modern approach of dealing with New Orleans Second Line music and infectiousness groove always inspires me:



I've been checking out this album of Riley's lately too and enjoy not only his unique playing but interesting compositions as well:

- Special thanks to Chad Anderson who hipped me this special one (audio only!) of Max Roach:



- And finally, to finish off today's extensive Monday Morning Paradiddle, here's a little Tony Williams that has inspired me of late and should provide more than enough "fuel to the fire" to motivate me in the old woodshed this week!

Ignacio Berroa "Cascara"

I was going to post a drum lesson today that I've been working on but it's been a really busy week between nightly gigs and other commitments. So instead I give you today somebody else's drum lesson (!) featuring the great Cuban jazz drummer Ignacio Berroa demonstrating a couple of his own concepts courtesy of the nice people over at Latin Percussion:





And here's a clip of Ignacio with his trio putting these ideas into action:

Herbie Hancock 4tet with Billy Higgins

Thanks to Chad Anderson who sent me this full-length concert featuring Herbie Hancock, Ron Carter, George Coleman and the great Billy Higgins on drums:



Than you Chad (in more ways than one!)

Chick Corea & Roy Haynes - Now He Sings, Now He Sobs

Hope you all had a nice weekend. Was there a football game going on something? Sorry, I'm not into four-down football...Go Riders!

Here's one to get the week started featuring a reunion trio of sorts with Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous and Roy Haynes on drums:

Ari Hoenig & Edmar Castaneda

I've posted some clips of these two before but I dig this music so much, here's some more of a great duet featuring drummer Ari Hoenig and Columbian harpist Edmar Castaneda to enjoy over the coming weekend: