Some more footage of the great Clarke Terry to follow up the interviews I previously posted.
Here's Clark Terry on "Moanin'" with the infamous Quincy Jones big band from 1960:
Here performing "Mumbles" with the classic Oscar Peterson trio:
And here co-leading a group with the great Phil Woods and Sahib Shihab on alto and baritone saxophone, respectively, and J.J. Johnson on trombone:
And finally (this one's for Lorna MacLachlan) Clark Terry playing with an all-star group in France consisting of Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Barny Wilen and Pierre Michelot:
I've really been enjoying the drumming of Cuban now New York jazz drummer Francisco Mela (I think he's spent time living in Toronto and Boston as well?) Here's Fransico in an intimate, modern trio setting with guitarist Chris Crocco:
Francisco's got a very interesting stick grip! Here's another fine clip of Francisco with his own group from a performance at the Blue Note:
Joe Farnsworth is a great contemporary bebop drummer I've quite enjoyed listening to over the past few years and whose resume reads like a who's who of the jazz world. His hard swinging style is influenced by his teachers Alan Dawson, Kenny Washington and Art Taylor and he was everywhere while I was in New York, studying there back in 2004.
From a gig at the "House of Tribes" a few years back, here's Joe Farnsworth with Wynton Marsalis on Thelonious Monk's "Green Chimneys":
Here's a few other clips of Joe Farnsworth in action:
For all those cymbal nerds out there reading my blog....(or for those who have the "sickness" as my friend Scott Prebys refers to it!)...here are three nice clips of drummer Ali Jackson Jr. (current drummer with the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and Wynton Marsalis Quintet) demonstrating some very nice Bosphorus Master Vintage cymbals for the Memphis Drum Shop (sorry 'bout the commercial eh?)
Some excellent masterclass footage today of Berklee drum professor Ralph Peterson recorded recently at the Prins Claus Conservatorium (is this somewhere in Europe?) Ralph talks about a lot of important musical issues in these clips, so some more great information here. Also, not bad trumpet playing...for a drummer after all !!!
And in these clips Peterson talks about his extensive career and the realities of pursuing a career in jazz music in today's environment:
Here's another blazing clip of Peterson in action from the 1990s with saxophonist Charlies Lloyd (?) Dig his real aggressive and over-the-top Art Blakey inspired style:
btw - on an unrelated topic, check out Peter Hum's brilliant post today over at jazzblog.ca where he interviews drummer Ian Froman:
Here's some great footage of the very funky and swinging drummer Idris Muhammad, originally from New Orleans, demonstrating his unique style in a variety of situations:
Playing here with pianist Ahmad Jamal:
And here playing great with the Joe Lovano Trio:
And another great solo with Lovano here, courtesy of the fine folks at drummerworld.com:
I've only heard Idris play live once, on a tribute gig to Charlie Parker at New York's Birdland in the year 2000 which featured an all-star lineup consisting of Tom Harrell, Gary Bartz, Donald Harrison, the late Dennis Irwin, Junior Mance and Idris on drums. I am a huge Charlie Parker fan so I was excited to hear all those masters interpret his music. I was impressed with Muhammad's hard swinging approach and HUGE sound he got out of the drums. Classic bebop drumming vocabulary expressed by someone who had lived it !
Sorry for the lack of posts lately and the somewhat brief commentary accompanying the posts I have been making. Has been a busy couple of months having been on the road lately. But I'm back home for good for awhile now !!! Thanks again for those of you who have been writing with such positive feedback about my blog. Forever onwards !
Courtesy of Mike Tarrani at his fine jazz drumming blog drumz4sale, check out these interviews and oral histories from jazz drummers Louis Bellson, Chico Hamilton and Roy Haynes - all compiled by Anthony Brown for the Smithsonian Institute.
Be sure to check out the .mp3's of the above artists telling their stories. A nice find by Mike Tarrani, one of the worlds foremost snare drummer collectors !
More of drummer Duffy Jackson shown here and playing great in Nashville with vibraphonist Dick Sisto on the classic tune "Four Brothers" and the Sonny Rollins standard "Sonny Moon for Two":
Some serious swingin' drumming thanks to Duffy on the drums and Dick is no slouch on the vibes either !
I recently heard Dick Sisto play a late night set at the 2009 PASIC conference in Indianapolis last fall. That was a great set of music and it was also nice to hear drummer Ed Soph featured with that particular group.
A great interview here with master drummer Paul Motian, discussing his latest album recorded live at the Village Vanguard with saxophonist Chris Potter and pianist Jason Moran:
From a recent hit in Minneapolis, here's drummer Matt Wilson in action with his Arts & Crafts band featuring Terrell Stafford on trumpet:
I really admire the fact that these musicians (Matt in particular) aren't afraid to have FUN while playing jazz and I think it really shows !!! A subtle reminder that, perhaps, some people take themselves just a bit too seriously when playing this music. Just sayin'...
You also really have to admire the fact that these musicians are really in tune with each other when they play and really listening & reacting to one another. Inspiring stuff. Matt's extended solo on the very first clip (a collective free improv me thinks?) really made my week !
Oh yes, Matt and his crew are pretty sharp dressers too ; )
Brief, but great footage here of drummer Alan Dawson shown here in trio with Sonny Rollins and bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen playing on the Rollins classic Oleo:
Alan is another great drummer that deserves more attention. I hear alot of Roy Haynes in his playing (among many other influences from contemporaries of his). His crisp articulation and clear phrasing really do it for me ! Dawson is probably best known as Tony William's drum teacher and a fixture on the Boston scene who taught a plethora of great drummers for many years before he passed away. His coordination exercises based on Ted Reed's Syncopation text book are legendary and STILL giving drummer's headaches...
Check out this link at drummerworld.com for another clip of Dawson with the same band, shown here trading 4's and stretching on the standard tune There Will Never Be Another You:
For those interested in checking out more of Alan Dawson's excellent drumming, I would highly recommend the following album, Dawson's "Waltzin' With Flo" (although this one is very obscure - so good luck finding it !)
This is a great album that really features Alan Dawson in his element with an all-star band.
As far as I know this is the only date that he lead as a leader.
For me it was also very important to check out this album as Dawson plays several tracks on the vibraphone as well (and sounds great too). I didn't realize that he played the vibes but according to several of his former students that I've encountered, playing the vibraphone was a integral part of his Alan's teachings and he would often accompany his students on the vibraphone during lessons. Clearly, playing the vibraphone contributed to developing his melodic approach to the drums as well. In fact, Ed Saindon told me that Dawson would often play gigs and shout the changes of the tune to the pianist from behind the drums !
Al Foster plays a genuinely brilliant solo on a performance of Recordame with tenor saxophonist Joe Henderson and bassist Dave Holland:
I love the cross-sticking patterns between the toms and snare drum (with the snares off). And of course, you have to dig the big chinese cymbal located nice and high, right next to his left ear !
Some more burning tap footage today featuring some killing tap dancers, shown here trading lines with a great and up-and-coming drummer from Brooklyn, Jerome Jennings:
Lots of footage today featuring the Cuban master drummer Dafnis Prieto shown here breaking down and explaining several key Afro-Cuban rhythmic concepts:
I recently spent a week studying with Dafnis at the Banff Centre in Banff, Canada. He's a great human being and a great teacher in addition to being such a great drummer !
Here's one last amazing solo featuring Dafnis from the kind people at LP Percussion:
Some great footage here of jazz drummer Kenny Washington demonstrating his old K that Mel Lewis gave him and talking about the new Zildjian K Constantinople Bounce ride cymbal which he also helped develop:
"This guy can hear paint dry" - classic line from KW !
Also, some serious lessons in ride cymbal playing in those clips.
I recently played some of these new cymbals at the Zildjian booth at PASIC '09 in Indianapolis. They are really doing something right with these cymbals !
This is a blog about jazz, jazz drumming and all things unrelated. Thanks for stopping by!
A Bit About Me...
Jonathan McCaslin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. Jonathan began playing the drums at the age of nine. He progressed through the Regina Lions Junior Band and the music program at his high school, Campbell Collegiate, soon developing a passion for playing the drums and jazz. Ultimately, Jon's interest in music led him to enroll in the Jazz Studies program at McGill University, graduating with distinction in 1999.
While at McGill Jon had the opportunity to study with some of the finest jazz educators in the country including Gordon Foote, Kevin Dean, Jan Jarcyzk, Chris McCann, Andre White, Michel Lambert and Dave Laing. He also attended the prestigious summer jazz workshop presented by the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1997, where he performed with Canadian jazz greats Hugh Fraser, Don Thompson and Kenny Wheeler.
Jon has also been fortunate to have performed with many of Canada's jazz elite including Charlie Biddle, Brian Hurley, Louise Rose, Alaister Kay, Mart Kinny, Gary Guthman, Mike Rud, Hadley Caliman, Greg Clayton, Chase Sanborn, Andre White, Tilden Webb, John LaBelle, Kevin Dean, Dave Turner, Ralph Bowen, Don Thompson, Dionne Taylor, Jim Vivian, Kelly Jefferson, Ian McDougall, Brad Turner, Jim Brenan, The McGill Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Johnston, Lorraine Desmerais, Steve Amirault, Hugh Fraser, Chucho Valdes, Kieran Overs, The Altsys Jazz Orchestra, Pat LaBarbera, The Regina Symphony Orchestra and The Montreal Jazz Big Band.
In the spring of 2002 McCaslin completed his Master's in Jazz Studies at McGill University where he studied jazz drumming, improvisation and composition.
In January 2003 Jon released his debut CD, “McCallum’s Island”. Featuring his quintet, the CD contains an exciting collection of McCaslin’s original compositions, featuring himself and his band. The release of this CD was followed by a twenty-day tour of Western Canada, performing to enthusiastic, capacity audiences. During March of 2003 Jonathan was the recipient of a fellowship from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and attended the “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” residency in Washington, D.C. Along with twenty other distinguished young jazz artists, McCaslin was featured with such jazz icons as Terence Blanchard, Carmen Lundy, Winard Harper, Curtis Fuller and John Clayton.
McCaslin’s quintet performed at the 2003 edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival and was nominated for the General Motors Grand Prix du Festival (awarded to the most outstanding Canadian group). From 2004 until 2006, Jon toured North America, Asia and Europe with the high-energy, critically acclaimed music production troupe “Barrage”. Featuring a cast of seven world-class fiddlers and a four-piece band, this dynamic show featured high-energy music and fiddle traditions from around the world set to upbeat choreography and movement.
In 2015, Dr. McCaslin received his Doctorate through the University of Toronto and completed his dissertation on the conceptualization of contemporary melodic jazz drumming. He is currently based in Calgary, Alberta where he maintains a busy performing and teaching schedule across Canada.
