WELCOME TO FOUR ON THE FOUR: A BLOG ABOUT JAZZ DRUMMING AND ALL THINGS UNRELATED, BROUGHT TO YOU BY JON McCASLIN
Monday, February 1, 2021
Peter Erskine - "Always Compose When You Play!"
A few pieces today from the ever musical Peter Erskine. I always learn something new whenever I hear Peter play or talk about music (incidentally, don't forget to check out Peter's excellent lesson series on ArtistWorks)
In his highly recommended autobiography No BeethovenErskine recounts how Joe Zawinul encouraged him to "always compose when you play" and I think this is great advice for anyone. Rather than spewing sticking patterns and rudiments around the drums just for the sake of it, it's always better to attach musical meaning and purpose to whatever you are playing when you are improvising. And I think Erskine's musical drumming is a great example of this as well.
Furthermore, here's another similar piece of musical advice in the same spirit to consider as well:
One thing that I've been working on and practicing lately is exploring the idea of ostinatos, specifically using different bass drum and hi-hat patterns while improvising with my hands around the drums and cymbals.
This is something that is:
a) a unique aspect to drum set playing and a possibility that we should all consider and take advantage of in some form or another
and
b) something that I find incredibly difficult!
Anyhow, keeping in mind the mantra from above, here is a great example of Erskine "composing" while he is playing and improvising over a foot ostinato:
Personally, I find this a great exercise and hopefully I will eventually be able to incorporate this concept and vocabulary into my playing in a musical way. One thing is for sure: playing this way sure forces you out of your comfort zone and requires you play things you don't know (and that's always a good thing!)
Quincy Davis also offers this great interview with Peter from his wonderful ongoing Q-Tip series, full of engaging pieces of wisdom to learn from:
And finally, take some time to enjoy this feature from the Sam First Solo Series. The production quality is excellent and, combined with his information and presentation, Erskine sets the bar pretty high in this day and age of on-line live streams and webinars.
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.
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