ASPARAGUS !!!

Another great barbque recipe for asparagus that my mother passed on to me:

Asparagus with Fresh Basil Pesto

1 bunch fresh, local asparagus
olive oil
salt

Pesto
2 handfuls fresh basil (mostly leaves, but a few tender stems is OK)
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1-2 ounces parmessan cheese (you can use a chunk, broken up if you wish)
1-2 tsp red wine vinegar
olive oil, approx 1 cup, or more
salt to taste

Preheat BBQ to high. Meanwhile, clean and trim asparagus. Place in a shallow dish and drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt.Toss to coat well. When BBQ has up to temperature, reduce heat to medium and place asparagus right on the grill or in a grill basket. Grill with the lid down for about 10 minutes, turning regularly, or until asparagus is slightly charred but still tender crisp.

While asparagus is grilling, make the pesto. In a food processor bowl, combine basil leaves, garlic, toasted pine nuts, parmessan cheese, 1 tsp red wine vinegar and about 1/2 cup of olive oil. Process until fairly fine. Add more olive oil, as needed until a paste forms; it should be more wet than dry. Taste and adjust seasonings, adding salt and up to 1 tsp more of red wine vinegar. Transfer to a jar. This recipe will make a lot. To store pesto, cover the paste with olive oil to prevent air from reaching the pesto. Refrigerate. Great as a flavouring for scrambled eggs, brushed on fish after cooking, or even in a salad dressing.

To serve grilled asparagus, toss with 1-2 tbsp of fresh pesto. Top with a few shavings of fresh parmessan cheese (from a block, not a carboard container!). Serve warm or at room temperature.

ADAM NUSSBAUM

Last nights trip to the Calgary Jazz Festival took me to the Gateway Lounge at the SAIT campus where we saw the John Abercrombie Organ Trio featuring Abercrombie on guitar, Gary Versace (B3 organ) and the amazing Adam Nussbaum (drums).

The group performed Abercrombie's original compositions and was an impressive performance, probably the best of all the concerts I've seen so far this week. We were sitting near the back of the room and I was very much taken back by the group's dynamic variations which ranged from a whisper to a roar.

Alot of this was due to the due diligence of master drummer Adam Nussbaum who's loose and Elvin Jones inspired feel propelled the group through one longer set with the utmost discretion and musicality.

Adam has always been a favorite drummer of mine and I was really impressed by his loose feel and energetic approach. It was cool to see him in action and I really dug his loose movement which noticeably translated into such a full, loose and flowing sound on the drums.

Something I plan to work on for sure !



Here's an older video of Adam Nussbaum playing with the Abercrombie trio featuring Dan Wall on organ.



Adam is also a master of the brushes and he demonstrated this several times last night on a couple of ballads and a straight-eighth, latin type of piece.

He recently co-authored an excellent instructional DVD with Steve Smith that deals with the brushes. Here is a brief clip of Nussbaum showing how the brushes are meant to be played !



And another clip of Nussbaum demonstrating a basic and important brush stroke:



And finally, here's a short clip of Nussbaum giving a clinic somewhere in Europe, demonstrating his approach to timekeeping on the drum set. Notice how he exhibits the loose and flowing movement that I mentioned before:




MORE CONCERT REVIEWS:

I have to leave for Edmonton momentarily to play with the Brenan Brothers this evening, but here's a few other gigs I caught this week that got my attention. I'll elaborate more later when I have time:

AMANDA TOSOFF QUARTET
Beatniq Jazz Club
Calgary, AB

I played a fun set with the Brenan Brothers on Friday night at the Beatniq. I stayed afterwards and saw a GREAT band of young musicians from Vancouver lead by the talented pianist Amanda Tosoff. They performed mostly original tunes that were masterfully crafted and full of creative ideas and good melodies (something lacking in today's original jazz music, but that's for another post !). I also really dug the obvious Duke Ellington influence in both her playing and writing. Inspiring to see that young musicians are checking out Duke !

Morgan Childs was playing drums and sounded fantastic. I could relate to his style and obvious influences and I look forward to hearing more of this great drummer in the future. I think he has a CD of his own out there, so I will have to try and pick that up. Swingin' !

Here's a clip of Amanda playing with another great Vancouver-based drummer, Dave Robbins:




Okay, I have to hit the road here but before I leave, I also caught NYC drummer Jerome Jennings with Steve Hudson's Outer Bridges Ensemble and Tyler Hornby sitting in at Calgary's Auburn Saloon earlier this week and they all sounded great.

More later !

Jimmy Cobb !!!

Last evening I had the opportunity to see one of my jazz drumming heroes, Jimmy Cobb and his "Kind of Blue" tribute band at the Calgary Jazz Festival. The group featured an A-list of performers including the legendary Jimmy Cobb on drums, Wallace Roney (trpt), Vincent Herring (alto), Javon Jackson (tenor), John Webber (bass) and Larry Willis (piano).

The group performed all the material from the seminal Miles Davis album "Kind of Blue" (which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary). The band played great and captured the essence the Miles Davis sextet without having to resort to soley recreating the music from the album note for note.

In particular, Vincent Herring on alto saxophone really stood out as did bassist John Webber who, apparently, was a last minute sub for an ill Buster Williams!

Jimmy Cobb swung hard, as usual, and demonstrated a sense of swing and taste that has become his trademark during his past 80 years.

Specifically I was impressed with Cobb's pointed quarter note feel on his left ride cymbal and the occasional crossstick on beat 4, which of course has defined his classic feel. His hook up with the pianist was also a lesson in comping and a text book example of how a drummer and piano player can work together in backing up a soloist.

I was quite lucky as I was sitting in the 2nd row right in front of the drums. As close to a drum lesson with Mr. Cobb as I'll ever get !

Here's some rare footage of Cobb propelling the Miles Davis sextet on the classic tune "So What".



Some of my favorite recordings with Jimmy Cobb include:

Wes Montgomery "Smokin' at the Half Note"

Art Pepper "Gettin' Together"

"Cannonball and Coltrane"
(check out the groove on "Limehouse Blues" Whooooaaaa !!!)

Joe Henderson "Four"
(one of my favorite drum solos EVER is on this album)

Actually, there are just way too many great Jimmy Cobb albums to mention here (!) but those are a few that immediately come to mind.

And of course there are all the great albums he recorded with Miles Davis."Live at Newport" and "Live at the Blackhawk" are a couple that particularly stand out.
(Thanks to LP Jazz columnist Rob Vanstone for turning me onto that one!)

Here's a recording of the blues "Pfrancing" from the album "Someday My Prince Will Come". Dig the way that rhythm section of Cobb, Wynton Kelly (piano) and Paul Chambers (bass) really make this one cook.




Fortunately, Jimmy Cobb has been around a long time but its only been in the last few years that has he stepped out as a leader. I don't believe he recorded an album under his own name until the 1990s !

Here's a couple of more recent clips of Jimmy Cobb swingin' hard.







Thanks to an understanding volunteer at the Calgary Jazz Festival, I was able to sneak backstage after the performance and get Jimmy Cobb to sign one of my ride cymbals.

Our meeting went something like this:

Me: Mr. Cobb, I'd be honored if you'd sign my cymbal.

JC: Hey that's not a bad idea. I should have asked Papa Jo Jones to do that when I used to follow him around !

Hmmm....this is a nice cymbal. Are you sure you want me to get it all dirty with this pen ?

Me: Of course !

JC: Oh okay. Just don't sell it on ebay.

Me: You don't have to worry about that.... : )


Dear Mr. Cobb,

Thank you for a lifetime of great music !

Billy Martin

Last night I had the opportunity to hear the critically acclaimed electro-acoustic groovy jazz trio Medeski, Martin and Wood at the Calgary Jazz Festival.

It was the first time I've seen this trio perform live although I have seen the drummer perform solo concerts in the past. When I stepped into the concert hall I was shocked at the size of John Medeski's setup which included a grand piano hidden among an assortment of keyboards and a B3 organ. Maybe his set-up just seemed large in comparison to drummer Billy Martin's minimalist four-piece drumset and small table of assorted gongs, shakers and metal objects.

The audience sure got it's money's worth as the band played two long sets which each exceded over an hour. The music they performed consisted of extended groove based pieces with much emphasis on atonal soundscapes. While far from being just a "jam band" the group explored a variety of grooves ranging from slick funk, afro-cuban to all out free jazz. I was really impressed by not only the group's deep grooves but their ability to exploit and explore all the sonic possibilities of their instruments. And for John Medeski there was lots to explore ! I especially appreciated his use of a melodica which, as far as I could tell, was pumped through some sort of distortion or effects patch (!) Nice.

In particular I was quite impressed with the drummer Billy Martin. Martin is a great drummer obviously influenced by the great funk drummers such as Bernard Purdie, Clyde Stubblefield and Zigaboo Modeliste. He has a great feel and gets a nice pocket with a light touch.

However, what really knocked me out was Martin's obvious deep connection to Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, West African and Indonesian Gamelan rhythms and how he seamlessly integrates these patterns into his playing. His sense of texture and sound is also quite impressive and he has uncanny ability to orchestrate the music around him perhaps more so like a "percussionist" than a traditional groove-based drum set player. He's very creative and you never quite know what he's going to do next.

In watching Martin play an extended solo to begin the second set, the phrase "MORE COWBELL" (borrowed from the SNL skit with Christopher Walken) came to mind...

Here are a couple of clips showing Billy Martin in action:





For those interested in Martin's approach to coordination and stylistic approaches, check out his fine book "Riddim".



The coordination required for these patterns isn't easy and there is alot of information to be found in this book. The way he wrote out his patterns, using his own notation, is also quite inventive and worth checking out. I'm pretty sure that this book will eventually go down as one of the great drum set instructional books along with Stick Control, The Art of Bop Drumming, etc.

So, if you have a chance to check out Billy Martin or Medeski, Martin and Wood....do it !


STAYED TUNED FOR TOMORROWS POST:

JIMMY COBB !!!

Upcoming Gigs

For anyone who's interested, here's where I'll be appearing for the next while:

Thursday, June 25

Circles Trio with Neil Whitford and Matt Roberts
Medicine Hat Jazz Festival
Wynz Nite Club
8pm

Friday, June 26

The Brenan Brothers
Calgary Jazz Festival
Beatniq Jazz & Social Club
8:30pm

Saturday, June 27

Johnny Summers Trio
Broken City Jam Session
Calgary, AB
3:00pm

Sunday, June 28

The Brenan Brothers
Edmonton International Jazz Festival
Sutton Place Hotel
10:30pm

Monday, July 6

Jack Semple New Organ Trio
Bushwakker Brew Pub
Regina, Saskatchewan
7:30pm

Sunday, July 5 - Saturday, July 11

Prairielands Jazz Workshop
Regina, Saskatchewan

Friday, July 17

Calgary Samba School
Fiestaval Latin Festival
Olympic Plaza
Calgary, AB
4:30pm

Saturday, July 18

Egor Ukoloff Trio
The Deane House @ Fort Calgary
Calgary, AB
7:00pm

Monday, July 20 - Friday, July 24

Calgary Jazz Workshop
St. Francis High School
Calgary, AB

Friday, July 31 - Saturday, August 1

Tribute to the Wynton Marsalis Septet
Beatniq Jazz & Social Club
Calgary, AB
9:00pm

Saturday, August 8

Trio J
w/ Jon McCaslin, Jim Brenan and Rubim DeToledo
Broken City Jam Session
Calgary, AB
3:00pm

Joe Harris - Still Swingin' at 82

Joe Harris is a great jazz drummer who was well known back during the 1940s and 50s during the Bebop era. He played with the seminal Dizzy Gillespie Big Band and all the other Bop heavyweights of the time. I haven't heard much of him, but always enjoyed what I did. I think he might have switched careers at some point (?) However, Joe is still alive and I recently found this clip of him swingin' like mad...at 82 years young !

Let's hope that we all live that long AND sound that good when we reach there !

Here's a clip of Joe Harris from 1947 with the Dizzy Gillespie Big Band playing "Salt Peanuts".



And here's a recent video of Joe laying it down.

Jazz Legend Joe Harris- Drum Solo

Jon Wikan on YouTube

Jon Wikan is a GREAT drummer from New York (orginally from Alaska, I think ?). I used to see him play in Montreal from time to time as he's married to Canadian/New York trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, who's sister is the Montreal-based saxophonist and composer Christine Jensen. Jon also plays drums and cajon in Darcy James Argues' big band "Secret Society" and the group "Nordic Connect".

Jon has posted some nice clips of him demonstrating some basic time keeping techniques on YouTube.

He's also into food and has provided a great step-by-step demonstration of his favorite Pad Thai recipe which I intend on trying this week.

Yeah !!!

Questionnaire Con't

Thanks again to all who replied to my questionnaire.

Here's my answers and recent contributions by one of my favorite drummer's from Toronto, Ted Warren and Montreal's B3 Hammond diva, Vanessa Rodrigues.

JON McCASLIN - Calgary Jazz Drummer & Vibraphonist

1. Melody:

Skylark - Hoagy Carmichael

Au Privave - Charlie Parker

2. Harmonic language:

Herbie Nichols

3. Rhythmic feel:

Charlie Parker
Mulgrew Miller
Donny McCaslin (no relation!)
Jack Semple

4. Classical piece:

Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis - Ralph Vaughn Williams
Ionisation - Edgar Varese
Third Construction - John Cage

5. Jazz album:

Study In Brown - Clifford Brown & Max Roach

6. Book on music:

The Art of Bop Drumming - John Riley

Drum Wisdom - Bob Moses

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Rectangle Man - John Stetch

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your
music would probably be surprised by:

Sting
The Band

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Bob McLaren
Dave Laing
Alan Jones
Dan Skakun


TED WARREN - Toronto Jazz Drummer

1. Melody:

"Nefertiti" - Wayne Shorter

2. Harmonic language:

Wayne Shorter
John Coltrane

3. Rhythmic feel:

Sonny Rollins
Jim Hall
Keith Jarrett

4. Classical piece:

"Firebird Suite" - Stravinsky

5. Jazz album:

"The Straight Horn of Steve Lacy"

6. Book on music: 

"Stick Control" - George Lawrence Stone

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

"Duologue" -David Occhipinti & Mike Murley

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Charles Ives
The Clash

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Sunny Murray
Jerry Fuller
Don Henley


VANESSA RODRIGUES - B3 Hammond (Montreal)

1. Melody:

Danny Boy (Irish trad.) - also, almost any traditional Irish song. They're masters of melody !!!

If it's Magic - Stevie Wonder, from "Songs in the Key of Life"
(notice the similarities between the above two!)

Also, the horn interlude from Sir Duke - also on "Songs in the Key of Life"

2. Harmonic language:

Y Hubo Alguien - from Marc Anthony's "Contra la Corriente"
Dolphin Dance - Herbie Hancock

3. Rhythmic feel:

Brazilian Pagóde (artists include Grupo Revelação and Alexandre Pires) - all the heavy groove of the samba, but also slow & sexy at the same time :)

4. Classical piece:

Adagio for Strings - Samuel Barber
Toccata in F BWV540 for organ - Bach

5. Jazz album:

Play - Chick Corea & Bobby McFerrin
Afro Blue/Impressions - Coltrane Quartet
Carpathian Blues - John Stetch

6. Book on music:

Salsa Guidebook - Rebeca Mauleon

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

Sonny Side Up - Sonny Rollins/Sonny Stitt/Dizzy Gillespie
Too Damn Hot - Dr. Lonnie Smith
Turn it Out - Soulive

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Dave Matthews Band
Ralph Vaughan Williams

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Kjeld Lauritsen
Midori Ono

Jazz Musician Questionnaire

Here are some of the first responses to the questionnaire that I sent out.
There are lots of interesting bits of info here.
Thanks to all that contributed!


PATRICK BOYLE - Nfld/Toronto Trumpet player

1. Melody:

"Dark was the Night, Cold was the Ground" Blind Willie Johnson
"Infant Eyes" Wayne Shorter
"The Harvest" Joe Zawinul

2. Harmonic language:

Kevin Breit
Joe Zawinul
Pat Metheny
Jerry Douglas

3. Rhythmic feel:

Zakir Hussain
Leonard Bernstein
Frank Sinatra
Mike Murley

4. Classical piece:

Mahler: Symphony No. 5.
Debussy: La Mer
Bach: Magnificat

5. Jazz album:

Miles Davis: Live in Tokyo 1964. I enjoy this record more year after year. Sam Rivers and Tony Williams are telepathic!
Dave Douglas: Live at the Jazz Standard
Weather Report: 8:30

6. Book on music:

"Touched by Sound"- John Wyre.

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

"Climbing" - Barry Elmes

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Lawrence Welk. I'm not kidding. I still watch him every chance I get. Great melodies, perfectly matched vibratos, bizarre sets, entertaining in every way. I feel kinda the same way about Liberace.

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Ron Miles.

BILL MAHER - Montreal Trumpeter and Co-Leader of the Altsys Jazz Orchestra

1. Melody:

Something that has wide leaps but is still singable, as in Kenny Wheeler's music.

2. Harmonic language:

Unpredictability, in chord stucture, is and interesting quality. Wayne Shorter is a good compositional example.

3. Rhythmic feel:

I like the flow of the music of Robin Eubanks, Dave Binney, and Dave Holland to name a few. Nice grooves, rarely in 4, but the odd meter doesn't attract attention to itself.

4. Classical piece:

Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring for beautiful melody writing
Respighi's Pine's Of Rome for great brass writing

5. Jazz album:

Dave Holland - Prime Directive
Miles Davis/Gil Evans - Miles Ahead

6. Book on music:

Ron Miller's "Modal Jazz Composition And Harmony"

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

"Milestones" - Miles Davis

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your
music would probably be surprised by:

Randy Brecker

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Tim Hagans

Trent Reschny - Toronto Tenor Saxophonist

1. Melody:

"Night Dreamer" - Wayne shorter

2. Harmonic language:

Herbie Hancock

3. Rhythmic feel:

Michael Brecker

4. Classical piece:

"Romeo and Juliet" - Prokofiev

5. Jazz album:

"Sonny Stitt Sits in with the Oscar Peterson Trio" - Oscar Peterson

6. Book on music:

"Straight Life" by Art Pepper

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

"Soul Station" - Hank Mobley

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Michael Brecker

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Luis Deniz

BRIAN O'KANE - Toronto Trumpet Player

1. Melody:

"If I Should Lose You"

"So In Love"

2. Harmonic language:

Greg Osby
Woody Shaw


3. Rhythmic feel:

Stravinsky- Petrouchka
Count Basie Orchestra

4. Classical piece:

Mahler- Symphony #5
Bartok- Concerto for Orchestra

5. Jazz album:

"Kind Of Blue" - Miles Davis
"The Body and The Soul" - Freddie Hubbard

6. Book on music:

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

See #5

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

John Coltrane

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Kevin Dean

DONNY KENNEDY - Montreal Alto Saxphonist

1. Melody:

"Rounder's Mood" -Booker Little

2. Harmonic language:

Coltrane Matrix

3. Rhythmic feel:

Swing-eighths

4. Classical piece:

Dvorak's Cello Concerto

5. Jazz album:

"Cannonball Adderley with Nancy Wilson" - Cannonball Adderley

6. Book on music:

"This is Your Brain on Music" - Daniel Levitin

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

"Mel's Minor" - Dick Oatts

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

Rufus Wainwright

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:

Janis Steprans

Who Thinks What ?

I recently sent out a questionnaire to many of my friends, associates and teachers.

This was inspired by a similar set of questions that Ethan Iverson (pianist with the Bad Plus) sent out to various jazz musicians and then posted the answers on his own blog at Do The Math. I was impressed by some of the intriguing answers that different musicians provided. I also noticed that other jazz musician/blogger types were also coming up with there own version of this questionnaire on their own blogs.

So here are the questions I e.mailed to everyone and I promise to post the answers as I compile them.

*Montreal Alto Saxman Donny Kennedy wins the prize for being the first person to respond to my poll. What does he win do you ask ? Well, I'm not really sure yet...


THE QUESTIONS:

Give us an example or two of what you feel is an especially good or interesting:

1. Melody:

2. Harmonic language:

3. Rhythmic feel:

4. Classical piece:

5. Jazz album:

6. Book on music:

7. Name a great recording by someone that has influenced you:

8. Name someone whose music has influenced you, but that people who know your music would probably be surprised by:

9. Name a player on your instrument whom you think is very underrated:


BTW - If you'd like to contribute but somehow wasn't contacted via my e.mails - please feel free to contact me at stompyjon@gmail.com

Back in Calgary & Memories of a Wynton Tribute Gig

Sorry - I've had to curtail my blogging recently. Been very busy lately having moved back to Calgary and trying to get settled in. But it's great to be here !

Hmmm.....snow in June ? What's that all about ???

Anyways, I just came across these three clips of myself playing with the Mark Wilson Septet from the spring of 2007.
(compiled and posted by trumpeter Johnny Summers on YouTube)

We played a weekend at the Beatniq (Calgary's premier jazz club) featuring the music of the Wynton Marsalis Septet.
I remember it being a fun project getting inside this music and learning a lot from listening to drummers such as Herlin Riley and Ali Jackson Jr. to prepare for it. Mark also went above-and-beyond the call of duty in transcribing an entire evenings worth of Wynton's arrangements ! No easy feat...

These three clips feature Wynton's own arrangements of some lesser known Duke Ellington compositions:

Tony Williams Interview

This is a great find.
An interview with the late, great Tony Williams.
He talks about his early days with Jackie McLean and Miles Davis among other things.
Lots of great information here.

Apparently McLean had to ask Tony's mother for permission for him to join his band and move to New York from Boston.
The gig was actually an off-broadway show starring Jackie McLean called "The Connection" about a struggling jazz musician/junkie. Tony was in the band that backed McLean up for this production(!)

So, in a way, even Tony payed his dues playing shows !

Calgary Bound !

Well, the boxes are packed and the movers come tomorrow morning.

I've had a wonderful time in Toronto over the past two years but it's time to move on to a new chapter in my life and tomorrow I'm making the trek out West and moving to Calgary !

I have nothing but great memories from my previous time in Calgary (2004-2007). I first moved to Calgary from Montreal during the summer of 2004 (very last minute I should add!) to join the touring production of "Barrage". I spent a year and a half touring the world with this fiddle group and then when that ran it's course I opted to stay in Calgary and make a go freelancing and teaching.

Calgary is beautiful city full of great people and great musicians. I'm really looking forward to being back out West and contributing to the scene out there.

I already have many exciting opportunities coming up (not the least of which includes getting married this coming July!) and I'm looking forward to playing with the likes of the Brenan Brothers, Neil Whitford and Johnny Summers as well as a few jazz workshops where I'll be teaching.

I hope to reunite my old acquaintances and hopefully make some new ones along the way.

Sadly, I leave behind many great musicians in Toronto that I've worked with over the past couple of years....however, I promise to keep my Toronto roots intact and cheer for the Maple Leafs whenever they come to Calgary (!)

Downbeat Jazz Drummer's Round Table 1964 - Part One

Some interesting comments, opinions and dialogue here - especially about the role of the bass drum and it's time keeping role.
The drummers interviewed include:

Elvin Jones
Joe Morello
Mel Lewis
Cozy Cole
Shelly Manne
Nick Ceroli
Art Blakey
Donald Dean
Tony Williams


Downbeat: Today there may be an overdependence on the bassist for keeping time. Has the switch from bass drum to the hi hat for timekeeping deprived young drummers of essential training? Dizzy Gillespie has been quoted as saying that most drummers-not just young ones – don’t know how to play the bass drum.

Donald Dean: I think what is missing in a lot of potentially good drummers today is the bass drum. I know myself that I really want to know more about it. You get more bottom and you get more balance to the drums themselves. The bass drum should be played more. More in time keeping. It's the touch. It's the way that the bass drum can be felt and not really heard.

Ceroli: Has everybody heard Jake Hanna play with Woody Herman? Now he played the bass drum beautifully, I thought. He played throughout the whole thing, and he just walked the bass drum the same way a bass player walks. But at the same time you had to actually listen for it wasn't really dominating. Once it dominates, you're back in 1938. But the way he played it is the way I'd like to play it.

Morello: I have played it both ways, I have played in bands where I've used the bass drum on all four and I've played it in bands where I just used it for accents and so on. But I am apt to go along with Diz, in that a lot of kids don't put much importance on the bass drum and they should. Take the old Basie band with Jo Jones. The blend of the piano, the bass , guitar and drums was right there. It was never overbearing.

Manne: I don't think the time keeping element has turned to the hi hat. I think it is the right hand. The hi hat just adds an added impulse to the time, to the beat. I think the main time keeping element now is the right hand, not the hi hat. That's why time is important….Because if you have the time feeling, the swinging feeling, you can become as free as you want as long as that basic element is there. If you have that strong a time feeling, you can generate that time feeling without actually pointing the time out….But I agree that when you are playing time, the bass drum should be played. I don't believe it should be boomed out. The cymbal is the main coloration. But the bass drum-away from accents-if it is not there, there is something missing. There is a piece of the bottom missing.

Morello: A lot of young drummers have nothing but top-top sound. You don't hear any bottom to it. The bass drum gives the band a lot of bottom. For instance our bass player, Gene Wright, if I don't play the bass drum in four, he'll look over and sort of nudge me. There've always been arguments between bass players and drummers, like who's gonna lay down the time. But Gene wants to hear that bass drum. It should just blend together perfectly. He feels the bass drum is the basic pulse, and he can put the harmonic structure on it. Kid should learn ---

Jones: Learn how to play the bass drum! Everything that is included in the drumset is there for a purpose and should be learned. Whether you use it consistently or not, you should know how to use it.

Blakey: It isn't a question that they don't know it; it is a question of they don't do it. If they'd do it, they would know. Playing every night is the only way to develop …Not a socko style. I don't think the bass drum should be up above the bass fiddle.

Morello: I think Diz was referring to was that a lot of kids got hooked on this top cymbal- hi hat left hand when that was the thing, like the hi hat was the anchor on 2 and 4. The pulse, of course on 2 and 4, but we don't have to play the hi hat on just 2 and 4; we can play it on 1 and 3 if we want.

Manne: To accentuate the hi hat too much on 2 and 4 takes away a certain quality in your playing. Because 1 and 3 are still the most strongly felt beats whether played or not.

Cole: I think the bass drum is the main instrument in the drums. Why should a drummer be there if he can't keep time? Like Art said, it should not be socko, but it should be two beats when you feel it, four beats when you feel it.

Williams: What if you don't feel it at all?

Cole: Now here is a thing. There are so many leaders that are going along with somebody else, his idea, and they'll get a drummer in there, maybe, that can play a bass drum. And he may say to the drummer, “man, that's old school” and not want him to play the bass drum at all. But believe me, anytime you play the bass drum tastefully without overriding the band, and with a nice sound and have a beat down there, it is one of the greatest assets to a drummer.

Williams: Well what I am trying to say ---well, the way I have been playing is that the beat is there, but I have been playing it with the cymbal, because it still swings.

Lewis: [To Williams] Are you playing your bass drum though?

Williams: No. Not at all.

Lewis: That's unusual because I thought Miles always likes to have a little bass drum.

Blakey: What he is doing is in the group where he's working at. Now, what ever group you're in, you have to let the punishment fit the crime.

Williams: When I hear the hi hat being played on 2 and 4, through every solo, through every chorus, through the whole tune, this seems to me to be ---I can't play it like that. Chit, chit, chit chit -all the way through the tune. My time is on the cymbal and in my head, because when I play the bass drum, I play it where it means something. I just put it in. When a person plays this way, they don't play the bass drum, they don't play the hi hat-well, they say they're playing something free-that word is a drag too. What makes it different is that they don't have any bottom.

Lewis: That is what your bass drum is for.

Blakey: One point of clarity. You cannot depend on the bass fiddle and you can't say the beat is there-maybe the bass fiddle player is not too mature himself-so you do certain things. See everything you got is there-the sock cymbal is one instrument, the ride cymbal is another instrument, your bass drum is another instrument, your snare's another instrument, the tom toms ---all complete, different instruments. You simply cannot leave everything to him [the bassist]. Sometimes you have to come in and say [Blakey states a strong, regular, rapid beat verbally], and after the band gets going, you go “Blam” and go into your other bit. And if they get out of line, you bring them back in, because that's what you are there for. You are the master of this whole thing.

Lewis: The drummer is the leader.

Williams: When I say the bottom is missing, when I speak of the bottom, I don't speak of the bottom being the bass drum. I speak of the bottom as being a certain feeling we get--- a sound. You get it right off of the cymbal.

Cole: Off of the cymbal. Off of the snare drum.

Blakey: You can get it off of a magazine and a pair of brushes. You can get it if you have a beat. Like Denzil Best, the greatest I know for that. Take that cymbal and run you crazy.

Cole: George Shearing had a very nice band, and you would call that a modern band.
Denzil held that band together because he had that feeling---he had a good beat.

Lewis: Here is an important thing about bass drums, about using it. I've heard a lot of groups where the drummer isn't playing the bass drum; he's just depending on cymbals, and not playing too much hi hat and you've got a bass player---he's gonna start moving. He's gonna start driving. So he starts on top, and the tempo starts to skate a little bit. And I hear the drummer go right along with him. All of a sudden the tempo leaps ahead. There's the time to start playing the bass drum a little bit. Hold it back, hold it where it was. Especially if that tempo is grooving-why change it? That's where I think I need all of your facilities. That's what Art was talking about before. Showing them where it is.

Blakey: Whatever groove is stomped off, I think it should end it --- you're not a metronome - but you should end it as close to the original temp as possible, and you should be swinging.

Williams: Since I've been playing, a lot of musicians have told me things like 'Play your hi hat on 2 and 4, and lay time.” But what they don't seem to realize is that I am playing the time, because as soon as the leader says “one -two - three- four.” That's it. There's the time right there. So for as me playing this [ Williams bangs floor to simulate a steady bass drum rhythm], I can't paly it because the time is there. Everyone knows where the time is --- the meter is there.

Blakey: Not everyone is a drummer.

Lewis: And they all don't know where it is.

Blakey: Wait a minute. Saxophone players, trumpet players are virtuosos. They're supposed to be soloist. But do you realize how many musicians don't know anything about rhythm? If they did, they'd be playing like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. All of them. They would be at least a reasonable facsimile. But look at them.

Williams: Well those people shouldn't be playing.

Blakey: No, you can't say that. Okay we have 3,000 musicians down in the union. We could say, okay, 2,500 of them should be in the bank or another kind of job, because they know nothing about rhythms. They know nothing about the feel of time, unless you get up underneath them, all night long. Poom. Get up out of there - let's go get up out of the hole.

Williams: Soloists feel what they're playing is always theirs, but it isn't, because when we're playing the time, that's our business. So whatever I'm playing, the soloist will turn around to me and say “Where's the time?” I'm playing the time ---it's just that he doesn't have any knowledge of it. He doesn't know what he's doing.

Blakey: You can take a drum and you can take what we call separation and play one rhythm with this hand on the cymbals - ching chca ching chic aching---play another rhythm with the other hand, play another rhythm on the sock cymbal, play another on the bass drum and say, “Okay, I'm gonna take 16 bars now, I'll even take eight bars. Now you all come in after eight.

Lewis: And they don't know where it is.

Cole: Take a big band's reed section or a brass section-a lot of times they say, “let the drums play with me, then we'll be able to swing.” Those men got to swing by themselves, because you can't make them swing; you can be back there swinging to the nth degree, and if they aren't swinging, they aren't gonna swing. You ghave to be able to swing yourself.

Williams: this is one of the reasons why I enjoy listening to the avant gardehorn players. When I hear them on records, no matter what's happening, they're straight ahead. They're not turning around saying “I wonder what's happening?” they're not worried about that. They're just playing.

Cole: Duke Ellington's band-do you know that brass section can swing? Those fellows come out there and they start swinging themselves. They don't need any drums.

Downbeat: A famous story has it that Benny Goodman used to rehearse his and without the drummer to get them to swing by themselves.

Lewis: Benny always insults the rhythm section by saying, “let's run this over -just instruments.” Like the rhythm section are not instruments. But his idea is good. We got into another thing here that had nothing to do what Tony was talking about before, about the hi hat, the bass drum, and leaving them out and just doing it the way you feel because you are just implying that swing in the time anyway. But not in a big band, Tony. The brass section, the trombone section, the trumpet section, the saxophone section---man they need a drummer.

Downbeat: Well, what does big band experience do for a drummer? What does he learn?

Lewis: It'll make you or break you.

Blakey: It teaches you how to play the arrangements, teaches you to remember. A drummer must have a hell of a memory. You can't be playing i na jazz band and looking at music. You've got to cue the trumpets in, you've got to cue the rhythm section, you've got to bring them in or they'll goof. With a small group, every tub must sit on it's own bottom. It gives the drummer more freedom, it give him chance to play. It gives him a chance fit in things, to fit in patterns, where he can't do it in a big band. You try to do it in a big band and you're in trouble.

Williams: A big band makes you strong too.

Downbeat: Have you ever played in a big band, Tony?

Williams: At the Berklee school. I wasn't going to Berklee, but I'd be at the school sometimes, and they would have ensemble practice.

Lewis: I'm glad for these things they've got going at these schools, because that's the greatest training ground in the world for a young drummer, with a big band. That's when you know you're going to be a drummer or when you are going to quit.

Williams: I know some fellows who play with big bands but can't play with little bands.

Lewis: I know very few little band drummers who can't play with big bands.

Blakey: I came out of Billy Eckstine's band and went to Minton's, and Eddie Lockjaw Davis was working there with Bud Powell and Al McKibbon and Fats Navarro. They got me on the bandstand and said [Blakey uses his hand to indicate an extremely fast tempo], and I was lost. Because we didn't play that way in Eckstine's band. We were a dance band. I was lost for a long time and when I did try to play temp, in about the third chorus I felt like I was gonna drop dead. And I was just mad enough to stay in there and cuss and sweat and jive. I never forget when Cozy came to the Apollo Theater, and I was having trouble and I had a lot of sand in my eyes - I couldn't see the music too good. I was sitting there trying to count, and he called me off the stand and said, “Hey Art, when you're in trouble, roll.” So, that's what I did all that night.

Lewis: One thing I enjoy about playing with Gerry Mulligan's big band is that I can be a big band drummer and a small band drummer at the same time.

Morello: In my way of thinking, big band work is a little bit more restricted than small group work. The main job in a big band is to keep that herd together. In a small group you have to be a little more flexible; there's give and take. In a big band you can't give too much; you have to push straight ahead. I think it's important if the drummer, the amateur, can rehearse with a big band. Today the big bands are nothing like they were in my younger days and I'm not that old. There are very few good bands going now and I find it is difficult for a youngster to get a chance to play with a big band. But there are a lot of rehearsal bands and it's good experience for a kid to get up there and play. It'll help his reading. It'll help him interpret a chart. It'll develop his assurance too.

Jones: The little bit of big band experience I have had has given me a tremendous insight - which I hadn't had before --- into the harmonic and the melodic … all of the intricate lines, cross melodic lines that you wouldn't hear ordinarily. You hear a whole section playing a line and then another one playing a cross melodic line back and forth, and you're right in the middle keeping it all together. That's a tremendous experience and it gives you a much deeper understanding of what the music is all about, of what's really going on.

Ceroli: I hate to sound monotonous but big band playing is going to keep to help keep his time together

Manne: I think it teaches him discipline. That's really important for a drummer.

Ceroli: When you walk up on a big band, you've got to hold that band together. And you've got to know how to play that band. It just isn't time.

Manne: That's right. It is like the stick that bends. You've got to give and take. You can still play time, but you've got to slow down and speed up a little. I don't mean speed up and slow down so that somebody can say, “Oh my God, he's slowing down,” but it is kind of like a feeling that you give and take, like when the brass starts shouting.

Lewis Nash

Lewis Nash is one of my all time favorite contemporary jazz drummers.

Here's a couple clips of Lewis playing some duets with saxophonist Steve Wilson.





And here's a short of Lewis Nash going nuts at a jam session on stage at some jazz festival.
I've always loved the way he tunes his drums and gets such a melodic quality from his phrasing.

Smalls Jazz Club Live Video Feed

When I was making my treks to NYC during the winter/spring of 2004 to study with Matt Wilson on my Canada Council for the Arts sponsored sojurn, the jazz club "Small's" located in Greenwich Village was always my go-to jazz club if I didn't know where else to go or didn't feel like spending a small fortune at one of the other bigger and more touristy jazz clubs like the Blue Note or the Vanguard (although I always tried to take in the Village Vanguard whenever I could).

I was always impressed by the amazing talent that I heard at Small's including younger and older jazz musicians alike that aren't known outside of New York. I always knew I would hear something good at this club even if I had no idea who any of the musicians were!

Anyways, this is a great find...

Small's has now installed a camera and microphone and provides a live-feed of all there nightly concerts.

WOW !!!

I'm really digging this... : )

SMALLS JAZZ CLUB LIVE VIDEO FEED

http://www.smallsjazzclub.com/index.cfm?itemCategory=32338&siteid=272&priorId=0&banner=a

Apparently they are going to start archiving all these shows so there should be lots of good music to check out !

Thank You !

My DMA recital last Wednesday was a resounding success and I'd like to thank the following people for making it such a great experience.

Thanks to all the musicians involved who brought my music to life and did such a great job navigating my crazy tunes:

Patrick Boyle
Brendan Cassidy
Tom Van Seters
Kieran Overs

I'd also like thank all my teachers I've worked with during my time at the U of T during the past two years:

Terry Promane
Paul Read
Tim Ries
Chase Sanborn
Terry Clarke
Bob McLaren
John Brownell
Gary Williamson
Russell Hartenberger
Kwasi Dunyo

Here are the program notes from my recital:

It's Recital Time !

Don't miss my upcoming DMA recital next week !

Here's the details:

Jon's DMA Performance Recital

Wednesday, May 20th 2009

7:30pm

Walter Hall
Edward Johnson Music Building
University of Toronto
(museum subway stop)

Featuring:

Jon McCaslin - Drums

Patrick Boyle - Trumpet

Brendan Cassidy - Tenor Saxophone

Tom Van Seters - Piano

Kieran Overs - Bass


I'll be performing music that I've been composing and working on for the past year. I will also be playing some vibraphone.

Has Anyone Seen...

...one of these unique contraptions ???




It's like a regular 16x16 floor tom, except it has a pedal attached and you can change the pitch of the drum by pressing on the pedal. Just like a tympani - except it's a floor tom.

These were made by an Italian company back in the 70s and so did Yamaha at some point.

Max Roach used one extensively during the 70s and 80s.
He makes it sound like a West African Talking drum. I think Ed Blackwell did too.
Very cool.

If anyone has one they would be willing to part with, please contact me !

It's Hammer time !

Tonight I heard Diana Krall and her quartet perfrom at Massey Hall in Toronto. I originally had a ticket to see Charlie Haden's Quartet West last week (which I was very, very much looking forward to - I heard them in Calgary last summer and they were outstanding, especially Rodney Green on drums) but the show was cancelled so I used my credit to see Krall instead.

I probably would have opted to see Brad Mehldau or Ornette Coleman next fall, but I'm moving back to Calgary very soon and wanted to use my ticket credit before I leave.

However...the ever musical and hard swinging Jeff Hamilton was playing drums with Diana Krall's band and he swung hard and gave it his all from the very first note. It was awesome.

His sense of swing, great touch on his cymbals and, of course, his impeccable brush work was really something else. My seat was in the front row of the balcony, directly stage left - so I had the best seat in the house (for a drummer!) and had a perfect and unobstructed view of Hamilton's drumming. Every nuance, cymbal tap and brush stroke. It was like a drum lesson.

Here's a few videos that I came across that show what a swinging monster Jeff Hamilton is on the drums:

And don't forget about the limited edition, Jeff Hamilton "Man of Action" action figure !

(credit goes to Kristin Korb for this one...)