Philly Joe Jones Inspired Single Drags and Fast Paradiddles

Here's an exercise/warm-up that I've been messing around with lately. Basically it's just a bar of alternating accented single drags followed by a bar of accented single paradiddles. This one was inspired by the beautiful snare drumming of Philly Joe Jones and Kenny "Mean Streets" Washington.

I've been practicing this one at a faster tempo these days with the idea of matching the phrasing of the doubles of the paradiddles with the doubles of the drags in the bar preceding them. You have to play this at a brisker pace for this to make sense.

Don't forget to really crank those accents.

(and play it with brushes too!)

So here you go:

The Tuesday Morning Paradiddle

This post is a day late (!) but I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Vancouver and Victoria and catching up here.

- I heard some GREAT drumming from my fellow Canadian Jazz drumming blogger Jesse Cahill on Wednesday evening at the Cellar with Ross Taggart on piano and the ever swinging and soulful Jodi Proznick on bass. Ross' tribute to Sonny Clark's standards renditions was really happening.

- Looks like someone has a got a Tony Williams documentary in the works:



Personally, I'm really hoping to hear at least a little bit of the alleged bootleg that's apparently floating around out there of Tony sitting in with Coltrane's quartet.

- My other fellow Canadian Jazz drumming blogger Ted Warren posted this solo drum recital of his on his own blog awhile ago:



Man, that's really unbelievable. The ease with which he executes some of those things is really impressive. He's obviously put his time in on the instrument! I've long been considering doing a solo drum project myself but after seeing this, I clearly have a lot of work to do!

- Here's some up close action footage of Nasheet Waits from this summer's edition of the Newport Jazz Festival:



- Here's a profile on a great drummer from New York via Detroit by the name of Lawrence Leathers whom I've seen hosting the late night jam session at Smalls on numerous occasions:



Since when did IKEA start making drum thrones?

- Someone was thoughtful enough to press record while Elvin Jones gave a drum lesson one day:



As always, when I find myself in the company of older musicians (and the Masters, in particular) I remember what Kenny Washington told me once:

Keep your mouth shut.

Watch.

Listen.

Learn.

- Congratulations to Jamison Ross who recently won the 2012 edition of the Thelonious Monk Competition. As you can see below, we'll likely be hearing from this fine young drummer in the years to come:



Here's a full report via NPR's A Blog Supreme:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2012/09/24/161695701/jamison-ross-wins-2012-thelonious-monk-competition-for-drummers#more

And the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/25/arts/music/jamison-ross-wins-thelonious-monk-contest.html?smid=fb-share&_rmoc.semityn.www

- I've been listening a lot to the seminal Pat Metheny album "Bright Sized Life" recently and have really been getting into the unique drumming of Bob Moses.

I'm looking forward to having the opportunity to show off what I've learned on this upcoming gig (although I won't using Moses' famous twigs for drumsticks! ie. Vic Earth)

- If you are interested in studying with me, drop me a line sometime!

Bobby Durham with Oscar Peterson

I was hanging out with Vancouver flutist Jeremy Price last spring and he had me listen to a great Oscar Peterson LP entitled "Exclusively for my Friends" that featured OP with Sam Jones on bass and Bobby Durham on drums.

I had actually forgotten about this series of recordings that Oscar did with this particular line-up. Regina pianist Jim Gallagher had actually made me a copy of the whole series years ago (I think following a quartet gig we did with bassist Peter Dyksman and guitarist Chris Craig around 2003?) and unfortunately I forgot about them!

Bobby Durham is a great drummer with a very distinctive sound and style. He uses very small and bright cymbals and his drums are cranked!

Here's a full concert featuring that trio and Bobby is killing it! And of course, you can never go wrong with Sam Jones...

Klook with Johnny Griffin 1970

What a find! Here's one of my personnel favorites, the great Kenny Clarke with Johnny Griffin circa. 1970:



Now if that cymbal beat doesn't inspire you...

...you must be dead!

But seriously folks, Klook really set the standard for all of us in terms of ride cymbal playing and you owe it to yourself to do your homework, study the greats and get your own cymbal beat together.

And you know who you are! lol ; )

Victor Lewis on Musical Drumming

Some truth and wisdom from someone who knows it!

Jeff Hamilton Masterclass

Sorry for the late post but it's been a busy teaching/gigging day today!

Here's the great Jeff Hamilton from a masterclass he gave last year with several informative tidbits to ponder:

Tambourine 101 with Herlin Riley

Thanks to our French FOTR correspondent David Grebil, here's the great New Orleans Jazz drummer Herlin Riley taking some time to 'splain his unique and highly refined tambourine technique:

Max Roach 4tet - Berlin 1984

Here's some concert footage of my favorite, the great Max Roach, with his quartet from Berlin circa. 1984  featuring Cecil Bridgewater on trumpet, Odean Pope on tenor saxophone and Tyrone Brown on bass (in the first one, dig the extended drum intro over a 5/8 bass drum and hi-hat ostinato!):

Coltrane on Drums

Joey Baron & Lee Konitz Duet

This is one is for my friend (and a very fine drummer himself) Jeff Cosgrove.

Here's two masters engaged in a musical dialogue, Lee Konitz on alto saxophone and Joey Baron on drums:





And speaking of Joey Baron, here's a little clip of Baron taking a fantastically musical drum solo from this year's Newport Jazz Festival (I'm pretty sure that this was the group with Joe Lovano and Dave Douglas that was touring with this summer):

The Wednesday Morning Paradiddle

And....we're back.

It's been a fun-filled summer with lots on the go and now that fall is upon us, back to the grind we go! Blogging was on the relatively light side over the past couple of months but I've got plenty to share and now that September is here I will resume somewhat regular posts again. Thanks again for all your support and continued e.mails/messages.

So here's what's shakin' over here at the Four on the Floor offices these days:

-Winnipeg up-and-coming Jazz drummer Curtis Nowosad has a very nice blog of his own over here worth checking out:

http://curtisnowosad.blogspot.ca/

-Here's a Q&A with drumming great Jimmy Cobb from the Seattle Music Insider:

http://seattlemusicinsider.com/?p=9155

-My good friend Matt Wilson is playing the Village Vanguard with his own group Arts & Crafts all this week. You can tune in for a live-stream broadcast this evening and even participate in a real-time question & answer session with Matt following his performance.

Here is an article from NPR previewing the show:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2012/09/04/160561304/the-drummer-who-blows-bubbles-at-gigs

-Albert "Tootie" Heath also played the Vanguard earlier this year with his own trio (with Ethan Iverson on piano and Ben Street on bass). You can catch that great performance archived here:

http://www.npr.org/event/music/158904890/ethan-iverson-ben-street-tootie-heath-live-at-the-village-vanguard

Search around and you'll find several other great Village Vanguard performances to listen to as well.

-Here's another one of Cuban Jazz drummer Francisco Mela with Joe Lovano:




-It's a very brief clip, but here's the legendary Rakalam Bob Moses demonstrating his unique approach to time keeping on the drums:




-I first heard vibraphonist Dick Sisto at the 2009 PASIC conference in Indianapolis (with Ed Soph on drums). Here's a clip of Dick on vibes with Ed on drums along with Rufus Reid holding down the fort on bass:




-Jazz drumming Icon Jack DeJohnette recently celebrated his 70th birthday earlier this summer. Terri Lynn Carrington threw a party for the birthday boy and here's a very interesting clip of Jack sitting in during the celebrations (playing a small four-piece kit and Zildjian cymbals!):



Bill Stewart also sat in for a few numbers and here he is doing his thing:



-I recently picked up a copy Jim Blackley's book "The Essence of Jazz Drumming":

Numerous people have recommended that I check out this text over the years but it was only recently that I took the plunge. Interestingly enough, it's mostly been non-drummers that took up the drums that have raved about it to me! Jim is a Canadian Jazz drumming legend whose teaching concepts and principles have influenced several generations of Canadian Jazz drummers and teachings. I'll keep you posted as I dig into this one deeper...

Bobby Hutcherson 1982

Just a couple great ones today of vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson performing Wayne Shorter's cleverly composed anthem "United" and a rendition of the ballad "Here's That Rainy Day":





Can anybody tell me who that drummer is?

Peter Erskine Solos

Thanks to the kind people over at Vic Firth here are two fantastic drum solos featuring Peter Erskine:





I really admire the compositional aspect and overall shape and flow that Erksine gets when he plays drum solos like this. One really gets the impression that he is creating an "event" and really making an artistic statement on the instrument rather than just stringing together a bunch of drumistic patterns and licks. He also has a great touch and gets a great sound out of his drums and cymbals. Music on the drums. Beautiful!

The Kenderdine 12/8 (for David Braid)

Following one of the big band concerts I performed in a few weeks ago up at Emma Lake, Saskatchewan as part of the UofS Kenderdine Jazz Composers Retreat (see my previous post), Canadian pianist David Braid came up to me afterwards and asked me if I would explain to him a particular pattern that I had played several times over the course of the evening.

Several of the compositions and arrangements we played (including a drum solo on one of my very own big band compositions) used this stock 12/8 Afro-Cuban pattern that has been part of my vocabulary for nearly twenty years now. The hand patterns look something like this:









This is one of many 12/8 Afro-Cuban types of patterns that I commonly use and was initially inspired by things I heard from Art Blakey and Elvin Jones.

Now there are several variations that I commonly use for the feet patterns. This is the most common one that uses a big downbeat played on the bass drum with beats 2 & 4 on the hi-hat:

This is one is basically the same as the last but uses an anticipation on the very last eighth-note, played on the bass drum:

This next variation gives the whole pattern a more overt two-feel:

I find this pattern really can drive an ensemble and creates some nice poly-rhythmic forward momentum:

I picked up this variation from Art Blakey (although he might play the basic hand pattern on the drums slightly different that I do) and it creates a nice sort-of lopsided double-time feel:

I often have a lot of fun with this last one as it implies a cool Max Roach 3/4 "The Drum Also Waltzes" vibe underneath the 12/8 bell pattern (I'd like to thank Jeremy Jones, a great drummer from Seattle, Washington for showing me this pattern many years ago following a gig at the Kennedy Centre in Washington, D.C.)

The Drummer as Composer Part Two: Thoughts from Emma Lake

At the suggestion of a few readers I'm going to make the headline "The Drummer as Composer" a somewhat frequent column here at Four on the Floor. I often get a lot of questions about the music I've written/arranged and I'm thrilled that people are actually interested in what it is I'm trying to do in that regards. This column will feature various aspects and topics related to my journey as a composer and arranger who also happens to play the drums. I'm more than happy to share my music as well as my thoughts about the process of how I write music. Maybe I'll solicit a few interviews and comments from my fellow drumming composers out there as well.

I've written quite a bit of music over the years, some of which appears on my two albums "McCallum's Island" and "Sunalta". The music I've written so far mostly focuses on compositions for smaller groups ranging from trio and quintet to septet and octet, however recently I've started to write and arrange my music for big band and brass ensembles as well. There might even be a piece for strings in the works in the future as well and I'm also interested in writing some compositions for solo drum set.

I recently returned from the University of Saskatchewan's Kenderdine Campus located at Emma Lake in Northern Saskatchewan where I participated in a Jazz composers retreat organized by UofS professor/composer/arranger/trumpet player (and really nice guy!) Dean McNeill. This rustic camp was originally established in 1935 as an artist's retreat by Augustus Kenderdine and was intended to appeal to painters and other artists as a tranquil place to foster their craft. Even John Cage spent some time their in the 60s composing music for prepared piano! Fortunately for us, Jazz visionary Dean McNeill worked very hard to transform this normally quietly and serene spot into a meeting place for Jazz musicians and composers.

We spent five days playing new music for Jazz orchestra and heard daily lectures from several notable Canadian composers about their music, process and vision. In terms of the music and the presentations, the bar was set quite high from the first day. The whole vibe reminded very much of my experience attending workshops at the Banff Centre over the years, however this workshop brought together musicians and composers from  a wide range of experience, age and career paths. Plus, there really wasn't a student-teacher arrangement at all, instead Dean acted as a moderator and let things develop as they did within a very loose structure.

The participants in this retreat ranged from seasoned pros to recent university graduates and current students from the University of Saskatchewan. It was really great to learn from some of the more experienced composers/players/educators who attended as well as some of the more younger artists as well. I was really impressed with the playing, writing and enthusiasm from such people as Brett Balon, Jenelle Orcherton, Gent Laird, Paul Suchan and Graham Pritchard.

Over the course of the week we heard many fantastic lectures from the likes of:

David Braid

Paul Read

Christopher Smith

Jeff Preslaff

Dean McNeill

Mike Rud

Paul Suchan

Michelle Gregoire

Allan Gilliland

I also presented a session entitled "The Art of the Drum Chart" in which I discussed issues related to the mechanics of preparing a functional drum part for your drummer and the overall role and function of a drummer within a large ensemble.

The big band presented two concerts over the course of the week, performing works composed and arranged by members of the orchestra. One of the highlights for me was Allan Gilliand's arrangement of a piece written by singer/songwriter Eileen Laverty for full big band (written in basically a day!) Eileen is a very talented artist from Saskatoon (originally from Northern Ireland) who brought a very fresh musical perspective to the experience. I also really enjoyed a few jams with her and Mike Rud (it was very refreshing to play some quiet back beats with my brushes after driving the big band hard all day!)

Friday's concert finished off with a solo piano recital by David Braid, one of Canada's rising stars of Jazz piano, performed in the dining hall. David is an absolute creative force and he moved us all with numerous pieces which included a composition for prepared piano and a rousing tribute to Oscar Peterson. What a great way to end the week!

Overall the whole experience was great and very inspirational and informative. I'm always quite excited to get together with any group of creative people and come away with inspired ideas of my own afterwards. I am also always honored to spend time with such a group of dedicated and creative individuals. Often it's easy as a composer to hide away and do your own thing so opportunities like this are very important in terms of networking and in terms of widening one's creative perspective.

It was a wonderful way to spend the week and I certainly hope this retreat becomes a yearly event.

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

Here's one of the tunes I recently wrote this summer and workshopped during my week at Emma Lake:

This piece is still somewhat a work in progress (!) but it's loosely based on a set of harmonic changes that Montreal pianist Oliver Jones showed me while sitting together at a piano last spring in Calgary. I believe it's an old standard but I never caught the name of it and Oliver never actually played the melody for me either (!) I just liked the feeling of it and had Oliver teach it to me (in particular I like the fairly straight-forward changes in C major but with some interesting twists in the second ending...)

I wrote the tune as the title suggests, late one July afternoon. I always find that Sunday afternoons and evenings always have a particular vibe about them, something about bringing the week to a close and preparing for the week ahead.

I was hearing this piece played at a medium to slow waltz tempo and with a broken swing feel. It should all be pretty loose and laid back, nothing overly aggressive (except perhaps at rehearsal letter C and the repeated section at the end of the solo form. Those can be played with a little more push and groove as compared to the rest.)

Thank you to David Braid for his great insights with regards to this piece (David was kind enough to sit down with me one afternoon to play through my tunes and offer a few suggestions) and to Darren, Bill, Jenelle, Gent, Paul and Graham who workshopped this tune with me. 

It's always great to hear your music played!

Mid-Summer Paradiddle

Just a quick mid-summer update here today. Most of the office staff over here at Four on the Floor are still on summer holidays so blogging will be sporadic until early September. However, there are still many great things to report in the world of Jazz drumming and here's a few cool things to check out.

-Drumming phenom and recent MacArthur Genius grant recipient Dafnis Prieto talks about his latest activities and his group the Proverb Trio over the fine blog Nextbop:

http://nextbop.com/blog/dafnisprietoturningideasintoproverbs

Prieto also alludes to a new multi-volume drum method book of his that is in the works. I look forward to checking that out but I can only imagine what crazy independence patterns and concepts he'll come up with!!!

-Vanguard Orchestra drummer and educator John Riley shares some thoughts about using the melody as a tool while playing time and comping with a rhythm section:



As always, I'm impressed and inspired by Riley's great playing and his ability to clearly articulate his ideas and concepts.

-Thank you to Kenan Foley who recently forwarded me these two pieces featuring the great Michael Carvin. Here's Carvin in a radio interview over at WBGO:

http://www.wbgo.org/blog/master-drummer-michael-carvin-with-wbgos-michael-bourne

And here's a very informative article from allaboutjazz.com:

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=42555

Here is some footage of a solo drum set performance that Carvin gave in Pittsburgh a few years ago:











This next clip (that I've blogged about before) is from a recently released Jazz Icons 1973 Freddie Hubbard concert recored in France:



I love everything about this solo and this entire concert (which consists of THREE extended songs!) I've been playing this DVD around the house quite a bit lately and I really admire the intensity, power, spirit and commitment that everyone, and in particular Michael Carvin, play with on this recording.

I don't believe that this particular band recorded a CD together (?) but I strongly suggest picking up the DVD.

-What am I listening to this summer?

I've been enjoying quite a bit of great music lately and driving across Western Canada has afforded me the time and opportunity to check out some really great CDs:

Duke Ellington "Unknown Session" - Sam Woodyard (drums)

PJ Perry & Kevin Dean Quintet "Ubiquitous" - Andre White (drums)

Lewis Nash Quintet "The Highest Mountain" - Lewis Nash (drums)

Kenny Wheeler "Music for Large and Small Ensembles" - Peter Erskine (drums)

Kenny Wheeler "Deer Wan" - Jack DeJohnette (drums)

Kenny Wheeler "Gnu High" - Jack DeJohnette (drums)

Dexter Gordon "GO" - Billy Higgins (drums)

Bobby Hutcherson "Dialogue" - Joe Chambers (drums), Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone)

Ulysses Owens "Unanimous" - Ulysses Owens (drums)

John Ellis "It's You I Like" - Rodney Green (drums)

David Kikoski "Consequences" - Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums)

John Coltrane & Don Cherry "The Avant-Garde" - Edward Blackwell (drums)

Wynton Marsalis "Black Codes From The Underground" - Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums)

Milt Jackson "Bag's Groove" - Dick Berk (drums), Milt Jackson (vibraphone)

-Portland-based drummer Alan Jones is one musician that everybody should know about!



-I'm also always interested in what Cuban-born drummer Francisco Mela is up to these days. A recent conversation with Boston/Toronto pianist Carmen Spada prompted me to search up his name on youtube.com again. Here is in a great and spirited solo with McCoy Tyner and Esperanza Spalding from a concert in Central Park:



-Jack DeJohnette recently performed at the Newport Jazz Festival and fortunately for those of us who couldn't make it (!) it was recorded and here it is for all to enjoy:

http://www.wnyc.org/npr_articles/2012/aug/05/jack-dejohnette-all-stars-live-in-concert-newport-jazz-2012/utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+wnyc_home+%28WNYC+New+York+Public+Radio%29

-My good friend Matt Wilson is making his debut as a leader at the Village Vanguard during the first week of September. Don't miss it!!!




I hope you are all having a great summer and please be patient and enjoy the occasional post until we are back full-time in September.

Thank You Larance Marable

I just received word that the great West Coast Jazz drummer Larance Marable passed away earlier this July. Marable was not a household name by any means but certainly played an important role in the West Coast scene and, notably, as the drummer in Charlie Haden's Quartet West group for many years.

In fact, when I was in grade 12 my high school Jazz band travelled to the IAJE conference in Anaheim, California in 1995 and I heard Larance playing drums with Haden's iconic group. His drumming really spoke to me and I was really influenced and moved by his clear and swinging cymbal beat and some very tasteful accompaniment on the drums. His style and approach fit that band perfectly. 

I distinctly remember Larance taking an extended drum solo with mallets that, for me, was the highlight of the concert and really brought the house down. Charlie was going NUTS on the bass afterwards, he was so excited. That was the first time I'd ever heard a drummer play a solo with mallets and ever since it's been one of my favorite things to do during a drum solo.

Thank you Larance.

Here's a clip of Marable in a 50s trio date with West Coast pianist Carl Perkins and the underrated Leroy Vinnegar on bass:



With great thanks to Ethan Iverson over at his very fine blog Do The Math here are some words from Charlie Haden on his relationship with the great drummer, Larance Marable:

"I first met Larance Marable in the late fifties when I was playing with Paul Bley at the Hillcrest Club in L.A. and Larance was playing gigs around town. We soon started playing together with Art Pepper, Hampton Hawes, Sonny Clark, Paul Bley, and would often drive up to San Francisco to play with different musicians including Chet Baker. I still remember the stories he told on that drive, about Bird and other great musicians. In fact, on our Quartet West album Now Is the Hour there's a picture of him at a birthday party for Bird in Watts, sharing ice cream and cake.

He was a beautiful person that loved to laugh. My daughter Tanya once played him several games of ping pong when we were in Paris. When she missed a point, she'd say, "I'm going to get you, Wabbit" like she was talking to Bugs Bunny, and Larance would crack up.

This guy had something that was magical. I experienced it from the first time we started to play. The thrust of his cymbal was so strong. Strength is not the right word. Maybe power is right. It would happen anytime, anywhere. You could always rely on him. He had a lot of dynamics in his playing. You can’t explain it, but he had it. He functioned in my Quartet West like Jimmy Cobb functioned for Miles Davis, especially on Kind of Blue.

In 1986 or thereabouts, in Hollywood, there was some kind of benefit or reception for the movie Round Midnight. Billy Higgins was there, and he and I were talking and Higgins said, "Look over there, it's Larance Marable." Way across the room! Larance Marable! I went over to him, and we hugged. We had't seen each other in many years. I said, "Man! Are you playing?" He said, "I always loved playing with you!" and I said, "Now that I found you, we have to play together!"

First Larance subbed with Quartet when Higgins couldn't make it, but then, when Billy started touring with the Round Midnight band a lot, Larance joined my band full time.  His cymbal beat was perfect: It was earthshaking when he came in with the time.

In Quartet West he was the other part of my heartbeat."

Friday with Han Bennink

Dutch drummer Han Bennink is a creative force and a fearless improviser who isn't afraid to go out on a musical limb while at the same time reflecting his hard swinging and vaudeville drumming roots. He's another drummer I admire (like Matt Wilson) who isn't afraid to inject a little humour, playfulness and fun into his playing (music IS supposed to be run right ya dig?)

Bennink was just in Calgary last month performing with Canadian saxophonist Brodie West during Calgary's Sled Island music festival. Unfortunately I missed their performance but it wasn't for a lack of trying! I was playing a gig on the vibraphone across town that night but I scrambled to pack up my vibes in my car to make the tail end of their show. Unfortunately they only played a short 35 minute set, so by the time I got there I was out of luck and they were long done! I should have hauled in my vibes anyways and set them up for an impromptu jam....I'm sure he would have been into it : )

But anyways, here's a great one of Han in action on the drums and on the floor (four on the floor right? haha) accompanying a tap dancer (further to my previous post about Baby Laurence earlier this week):



Bennink is also an incredible brush player and, as you can see here, he doesn't need much more than a pair of brushes and a snare drum to make it work!

Baby Laurence!

Years ago my teacher in Montreal, Chris McCann, gave me a cassette copy of "The Drums" featuring the great Jo Jones. This is an important resource for all Jazz drummers to listen to and study as Jones demonstrates his unique and highly swinging approach to the drumset while as discussing (and imitating!) some very obscure drummers, influences and techniques on the drums.

If you don't own this yet and you are serious about Jazz drumming, you should probably get it.

Just sayin'...

One part that really got my attention, in particular, is the portion where Jones talks about the influence of the great tap dancers on the development of his own playing style. I was very intrigued by this and I've blogged a bit before about this important relationship between tap dancing and Jazz drumming (with a shout of course out to Mike Tarrani who has also addressed this as well over at his fine blog Music for Drummers). Tap dancing (and dancing, period!) had a tight-knit relationship with early developments of Jazz drumming and the two influenced each other, hand-in-hand. While most of the great Jazz drummers that we listen to and admire were fully aware and immersed in this, this notion seems mostly lost of most of today's generation of Jazz drummers and Jazz musicians (with many exceptions however!)

In particular, over the course of the recording of "The Drums" Jo Jones cites the influence of a hoofer by the name of Baby Laurence as someone who had a huge influence on his own particular approach to dealing with rhythm on the drums.

See here for a clip of Laurence in his later years giving Sammy Davis Jr. a run of his money!



I was interested to learn more about this important tap dancer and his wicked approach to rhythm. Fortunately for us here's a documentary on the life of Baby Laurence "The Jazz Hoofer" to check out:

Billy Drummond Plays

Those of you who follow my blog regularly will know that Billy Drummond has long been one of my favorite contemporary Jazz drummers. His dynamic and hard swinging style and his great beat and giant cymbal sound have always appealed to me. He's also got quite a nice cymbal and drum collection...

I first heard Billy play during the late 90s while I was still living in Montreal. Drummond was touring quite a bit with pianist Renee Rosnes as a trio those days and I caught their act several times with many great bassists including the likes of Ed Howard, John Patitucci and Scott Colley.

Some of my favorite Billy Drummond albums that I always like to recommend include:

As a leader:

"Native Colours"

"Dubai"

"The Gift"

As a sideman:

Tim Ries - "Universal Spirits"

Chris Potter - "Vertigo"

Vincent Herring - "Secret Love"

Actually....any of these fine albums that Billy recorded on the Criss Cross label are worth checking out!

http://www.crisscrossjazz.com/artist/DrummondBilly.html

Thanks to one dedicated youtube.com poster, here's a great collection of Billy Drummond solos to check out: