Clifford Jarvis!

Thanks to Chad Anderson who shared this great clip of Clifford Jarvis in action, a drummer that for some reason doesn't get mentioned enough, from a 1978 festival date with Archie Shepp in Warsaw, Poland:

 

And here's the complete concert with Archie Shepp:

Also make sure to check out Vinnie Sperrazza's excellent piece on Clifford Jarvis from his Substack column Chronicles: Chasin' the Bird: Clifford Jarvis

...and some nice (older) observations from Todd Bishop at Cruiseship Drummer.

The Monday Morning Paradiddle - September 2025

And...we're back.

Well, it's been a busy couple of Summer months, on the road, travelling across Canada.

I'm back home now after a bit of a break from blogging and looking forward to getting back into the swing of things (so to speak) with lots of exciting gigs and projects on the horizon and my regular teaching schedule starting up again soon at the Mount Royal Conservatory in Calgary, AB.

I'd just like to take a moment for a quick shout-out to all the people and musicians who made this an inspiring and motivating couple of months, musically and otherwise:

Allison Miller, Makaya McCraven, Patrick Boyle, Dave Laing, Camil Belisle, Sean Craig, Chris Tauchner, Aaron Shorr, Jeff Gammon, Dayna Szyndrowski, Kirk MacDonald, Nick Costa, Ben Reimer, Shawn Mativetsky, Cristos Smirnios, Wakefield Brewster and Chris Dadge.

Anyways, it's been a really nice time to recharge my creative batteries and I'm looking forward to the months ahead.

Onwards and Upwards.

The Monday Morning Paradiddle - September 2025

1. Vinnie Sperrazza offers these fantastic pieces on Al Foster from his always excellent Substack series Chronicles:

Al Foster from 1964 to 1974

Miles Davis, BeBop, Beyond and Joe Henderson 

Love, Peace and Jazz 

2. Dave Douglas interviews Andrew Cyrille on the podcast A Noise From The Deep:

 

3. Pablo Held interviews/investigates Kush Abadey:

 

4. Dr. Jazz Samo Šalamon interviews a trio of great drummers including:

Johnathan Blake

 

Jeff Ballard 

 

Dylan Van Der Schyff 

 

5. Neon Jazz interviews Joe Farnsworth on the heels of his critically acclaimed latest release "The Big Room":

 

...and also by Jay Sweet for The Jazz Real Book:

 

6. Carl Allen and his trio from a recent performance at the San Jose Jazz Festival:

 

7. Reggie Quinerly in a drum and amplified saxophone jazz battle: 

 

8. Marcus Gilmore!

 

9. The Drum Candy Podcast offers 10 Reasons to Love Bill Stewart:

 

10. Zildjian artists Adam Nussbaum, Paul Wells, Colleen Clark and Kai Craig play the new Kerope ride cymbals from the Avedis Zildjian Company:

 

11. Quincy Davis is a busy guy but he still finds time to produce and share his always wonderful YouTube jazz drumming instructional videos, packed full of very useful information:

 

12. Fantastic footage of the great Joe Lovano on the drums! 

 

13. Thanks to Mark Eisenman who shared this video via Facebook of the late Mulgrew Miller on piano with Buster Williams on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums:

 

14. What am I listening to these days?

Milford Graves "Optical Inversions" - Milford Graves (drums)

Scott Colley "This Place" - Bill Stewart (drums)

Joe Henderson "An Evening at the Village Vanguard" - Al Foster (drums)

Philly Joe Jones "Philly Joe's Beat" - Philly Joe Jones (drums)

Alan Jones Sextet "Climbing (rough)" - Alan Jones (drums)

Kevin Diehl "Onilu" - Kevin Diehl/Chad Taylor/Joe Chambers (drums & percussion)

Barry Elmes "Redshift" - Barry Elmes (drums)

Kendrick Scott "Reverence" - Kendrick Scott (drums)

Elvin Jones Trio "Puttin' it Together" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Joe Morello "It's About Time" - Joe Morello (drums), Gary Burton (vibraphone)

Tommy Flanagan "Lonely Town" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Roy Hargrove "Of Kindred Souls" - Gregory Hutchinson (drums)


15. And today's Final Word(s) goes to pianist/composer/arranger Jim McNeely (via Darcy James Argue) with some wonderful advice to all the composers out there (young and old!):

• Write down every idea that comes to you. Don’t judge it as good or bad. It simply is. Then play with it for a while. The magic is in the development. Don’t worry about where it should be in a piece. Let it sit for a while. It will still be there when you come back to it. 

• A composer’s job is to speculate; ask “what if?” rather than “is it okay if I…?” or “Am I allowed to…?”  

• No deadline? Write something just for the pleasure of doing it. It may lead to something, maybe not (see COVID-19, 2020-2022). 

• Be in a place where you can hear your music played. Often. By the best players you can find. One of the most important things a young writer has to learn is the difference between the way a piece sounds on their computer and the way it sounds sight-read by real people, looking at dots on a page for the first time. You might be surprised! 

• When you hear your piece read, listen with brutal honesty. Does it really sound the way you want it to sound? Yes or no. Don’t let your ego get in the way. 

• You can be inspired by anything: another composer; Balinese music; a painting; a person’s laugh; the sound of construction; the size of the universe; the sound of leaves rustling on a tree; a three-note cell; a melodic figure that comes to you in the shower. Be open to it all. Acceptance is the key. 

• With all the talk about creativity, it’s also crucial to master the basic techniques of rhythm, harmony, voice-leading, and orchestration. These are the tools that enable you to express that creativity so that it is playable by good musicians. 

• Make sure your notation is as legible as possible. It makes it easier to read/play and reflects your respect for your music. 

• Study scores written by musicians more experienced than you. Rather than guessing what they wrote, you can actually see how they wrote it. You’ll be surprised at what you find, especially how simple some of it is. 

• When you hear a band live, listen with your eyes. You hear a combination you like. “How do they get that?” Well, look at the band! See who’s playing! “Trumpet in Harmon, Trumpet in cup, Flute 8va, Trombone 8vb. Aha!” 

• Listen to and study big band (and not so big band) writers going back to Jelly Roll Morton. Don Redman. Fletcher Henderson. Benny Carter. Ellington & Strayhorn of course. So many masters to learn from. 

• Starting at point A and arriving at point B is efficient but boring. Create events along the way. You might think of musical ideas as characters in a play: how do they interact? Does a third player unexpectedly enter? We start at point A, but stuff happens to thicken the plot before we finally arrive at point B. 

• As Bob Brookmeyer said, “The way to write music is to write music.”

- Jim McNeely (via Darcy James Argue)

https://www.bmi.com/news/entry/in-conversation-with-jazz-legend-jim-mcneely

John Riley - Developing Flow on the Drums

Well, we're in full Summer mode over here at Four on the Floor these days. It was a busy jazz festival season up here in Canada at the end of June and beginning of July and I just spent an inspiring ten days participating in an artist residency at the Leña Artist & Research Centre on Galiano Island, in the Gulf Islands, off the coast of British Columbia, Canada. It was a productive week and I'm excited to share my new music and some exciting new projects in the year to come. Stay tuned.

This will be my last blog post for the time being while I take a break for the rest of the Summer. Regular blogging will resume in September.

In the meantime, check out John Riley's latest lesson from the folks over at the Memphis Drum Shop. In this video lesson Riley shares some very practical patterns and ideas for developing a sense of flow, moving around the drums. As always, John's lessons and teaching are excellent and well explained.

Check it out:

And while we're at it, here's a video of John demonstrating the new line of Kerope ride cymbals from the Avedis Zildjian Company. I haven't played these yet, but look forward to trying them out once they make it to Western Canada.

And I've shard these before but make sure to check out this excellent series of lessons featuring John from Zildjian:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL54RwBpIPLWfgUA3pTJr9dmMY6U5yQR1C

Christian Vander - "Un Homme...Une Batterie"

Well, last week's post featuring Christian Vander's solo and duo drumming album really resonated with a lot of people who read this blog and I received many emails and messages regarding Vander's drumming following this post.

Thanks to Michael Griener for sharing this interesting French documentary on Christian Vander (subtitled in English): "Un Homme...Une Batterie" (1988).

There's some really unique, powerful and interesting Elvin Jones-inspired drumming here, and worth checking out for sure:

In this video, French drummer, composer and founder of the progressive rock band MAGMA, Christian Vander remembers how he started playing the drums, talks about his philosophy on music and his personal approach on drumming. He makes particular reference to the influence of John Coltrane's music and how Coltrane's spiritual quest eventually had an impact on him as a composer. Furthermore, it is obvious the influence of Elvin Jones, drummer of Coltrane's quartet.

Christian Vander - Fiesta in Drums

I was first introduced to Christian Vander's name and drumming via a Modern Drummer interview with Brian Blade many years ago. Vander is best known for his work with the French progressive rock band Magma.

Here's a rare and pretty intense album of solo and double drumming featuring Christian Vander and Frank Raholison from 1973.

Fiesta in Drums (1973)

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Fiesta in Drums (10:56)
2. Suite Exotique (7:45)
3. Suite Malgache (19:35)

Total Time 38:16

Line-up / Musicians

- Christian Vander / drums (tracks 1,2)
- Frank Raholison / drums (tracks 1,3)

Artwork: Pierre Caron

LP Palm ‎- PALM 3 (1973, France)

Oh Drum Canada! *Revisited*

 

Five years ago (Summer 2020 to be precise) I invited many Canadian jazz drummers from across the country (and several ex-pats abroad) to contribute a short drum solo for a video project I compiled called Oh Drum Canada!. 

The response was overwhelming and I put together and released six episodes over the course of a month via YouTube. Looking back, this was a really fun project and I thought I would revisit these videos today, five years later.

Please enjoy the complete Oh Drum Canada! featuring:

Ian Froman

Michel Lambert

Mark Kelso 

Joel Haynes 

Jackson Haynes 

Efa Etoroma Jr. 

Valérie Lacombe

Jamie Cooper

Nick Fraser

Terry Clarke

Alan Dowling

Barry Elmes

Dan McCarthy

Dave Laing

Ted Warren

Karl Jannuska

Anthony Fung

Celene Yohemas

Rob Siwik

Louis-Vincent Hamel

Kelby MacNayr

Ernesto Cervini

Norman Marshall Villeneuve

Tom Roach 

Dan Skakun

Lorie Wolf

Aubrey Dayle

Andrew McCarthy

Morgan Childs

Robin Tufts

Thom Gossage

Barry Romberg

Travis Knights

Anthony Michelli

Buff Allen

Jaime Carrasco

Jesse Cahill

Nathan Ouellette

Raydel Martinez

Joel Cuesta 

Mike Cassells 

Max Senitt

Tony Ferraro

Archie Alleyne

Bob McLaren

Owen Howard

Chris Wallace

Hans Verhoeven

Rich Irwin

Justin Hauck

Fabio Ragnelli

Raul Tabera

Luis Tovar

Mario Allende 

John Sumner

Jerry Fuller

Mark McLean

Jim Doxas

Mili Hong

Adam Arruda

Andrew Miller

Andre White

Charles Goguen

Luke Newman

Mark Micklethwaite

Afolabi Fapojuwo

Alain Bourgeois

Tim Shia

Curtis Nowosad

Jonathan McCaslin

Kris Mullaly

Henry Naulaq

Claude Ranger 

with special thanks to Louise Villeneuve, Juanita Sumner, Mark Eisenman, Kirk MacDonald, Reg Schwager, Blaine Heffernan, Patrick Boyle, Tim Mah and Mark Miller.

Al Foster!

Thanks to Michael Vosbein at Drummer Nation for this wonderful piece, paying tribute to the late Al Foster with great commentary and insight from Billy Drummond, Adam Nussbaum and Kenny Washington (and thanks to Tim Mah and Quincy Davis who both shared this one with me!)

As per usual...

When the Masters speak, we listen!

Quincy Davis: Q's Tips and Q/MUNITY

I always make a point of sharing Quincy Davis' excellent YouTube series QTips. His tutorials are excellent, clear and concise, well produced and they focus on relevant material. Quincy is a great teacher and I recommend these to all my students and anyone who is interested in jazz drums.

Check out this compilation of his recent lessons:

I would also highly recommend checking out and joining Quincy's on-line jazz drumming platform Q/MUNITY   www.skool.com/jazzdrumming

This is a great on-line community and great way to connect with Quincy directly.

Check it out!

QUINCY DAVIS' JAZZ DRUMSET Q/MUNITY

COMMUNITY OVERVIEW

If you’re looking for a supportive community of drummers who share a passion for jazz, are dedicated to learning, growing, and improving, you’ve found your place! After 10 years of creating video lessons for so many drummers, this community gives me the opportunity to engage with you directly, get to know you better, and help you grow - and vice versa!

INCLUDED WITH MEMBERSHIP

Live Feedback and advice during Zoom calls
Personalized Growth Plan and Recommendations
Group lessons/Q&A/discussion group sessions
Guest pro drummer masterclasses
Free access to Recorded Group Lessons
Exclusive Discounts: 50% off play-alongs and PDFs
20% off Quincy Davis signature drumsticks

BONUS CONTENT FOR NEW MEMBERS

Free Group Lesson: Advanced jazz drumming techniques
Gig Tips: Behind-the-scenes insights from gigs and tours

COST$20/month (7-day free trial available)

Price increases after 100 members

Cancel anytime if it’s not for you.

www.skool.com/jazzdrumming

 

The Monday Morning Paradiddle - June 2025

 And...we're back.

Well, it's certainly been a minute since my last column way back in January (!) but things have been on the go the past few months and here we are. 

Thanks again for checking in and here's what's in the queue this month.

The Monday Morning Paradiddle - June 2025 

1. Wonderful writing from Vinnie Sperrazza from his Substack Chronicles including pieces on:

Al Foster 

Tony Williams in Africa 

Roll Call Part 1 and Part 2 

2. Roy Haynes' long, unvarnished interview, 1996 from Howard Mandel's Substack Mandel's Media Diet

3. Bill King on the late Toronto jazz drummer Archie Alleyne 

4. The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra interviews Principal Percussionist Chris Sies in the Notes from the Stage Podcast 

5. Billy Martin on Finding Harmony in Rhythm and Life from Time Sensitive 

6. and here's Billy Martin in solo performance: 

 

 

7. Stanton Moore interviewed on the Drummers Pathway Podcast 

8. Insights from New Orleans Master drummers Shannon Powell and Herlin Riley:

 

9. Concepts in Melodic Rhythm from Johnny Vidacovich:

 

10. Mark Guiliana SOLO Live in Rotterdam:

 

11. More great jazz drumming lessons from Jason Tiemann: 

 

12. Duduka Da Fonseca with Kenny Barron: 

 

13. And from the Drum Factory Direct and the Drum Candy Podcast: 

10 Reasons to Love Ed Blackwell 

 

10 Reasons to Love Philly Joe Jones 

 

14. Roni Kaspi and Justin Faulkner play the new Kerope ride cymbals from the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal Company: 

 

15. Neon Jazz interviews drummer and educator Holly Channell, curator of The Common Drummer's Dojo:

 

16. Dr. Jazz Samo Salamon interviews Allison Miller: 

  

17. Fantastic footage of the great Tony Williams, recorded in Scotland circa. 1994: 

 

18. Don't forget to tune into Instagram Live @fouronthefloorblog on Sunday, June 8th at 730pm mountain (930pm eastern) for my interview with the great Mike Clark!

 

19. What am I listening to these days? 

Alan Dawson "Waltzin' with Flo" - Alan Dawson (drums)

Steve Nelson "A Common Language" - Eric Ineke (drums), Steve Nelson (vibraphone)

Sonny Rollins "Night at the Village Vanguard" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Fred Anderson/Steve McCall "Vintage Duets" - Steve McCall (drums)

Joe Henderson "Lush Life: The Music of Billy Strayhorn" - Gregory Hutchinson (drums)

Kenny Garrett "Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane" - Brian Blade (drums)

Marty Paich "I Get a Boot Out of You" - Mel Lewis (drums)

Yusef Lateef "Into Something" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Moe Koffman "Solar Explorations" - Claude Ranger (drums)

McCoy Tyner/Joe Henderson "Forces of Nature: Live at Slugs" - Jack DeJohnette (drums)

Bud Powell "Inner Fires: The Genius of Bud Powell" - Roy Haynes (drums)

20. And today's Final Word goes to Dave Liebman and Richie Beirach:

"Jazz IS Drums!"

Four on the Floor *Live* featuring Mike Clark

I'm thrilled to announce that Mike Clark will be joining me for a return interview on Four on the Floor *Live* over on my Instagram acccount @fouronthefloorblog

I started this informal series back in 2020 and kept it going regularly for the duration of the pandemic. It was really fun, people were very generous with their time and information, and I really learned a lot. I had been revisiting this series on Instagram every Spring since 2021 but this year things are really busy and wasn't sure I'd really have time to properly present any kind of series anymore.

Anyways, Mike Clark recently reached out to me and expressed interest in connecting again to talk about his amazing upcoming projects. Mike's last interview on Four on the Floor was a really memorable one so I was thrilled that he asked me and of course agreed.

So please join us for a special episode of Four on the Floor *Live* happening on Sunday, June 8th at 730pm mountain (930pm eastern/630pm pacific), appearing on Instagram Live IGTV @fouronthfloorblog featuring Mike Clark!

www.drummermikeclark.info

 

Mike Clark gained worldwide recognition as one of America’s foremost jazz and funk drummers while playing with Herbie Hancock in the early seventies. His incisive playing on Hancock’s “Actual Proof” garnered him an international cult following and influenced generations of drummers. While Mike digs the funk, he considers jazz his first love, and playing that music is what he says feeds his soul.

Besides Herbie Hancock, Mike has performed and recorded with such well-known jazz greats as Christian McBride, Chet Baker, John Scofield, Nicholas Payton, Tony Bennett, Wayne Shorter, Joe Henderson, Donald Harrison, Eddie Henderson, Bobby Hutcherson, Vince Guaraldi, Woody Shaw, Albert King, Larry Coryell, Mike Wolff, Wallace Roney, Billy Childs, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Chris Potter, Bobby McFerrin, Nat Adderly, Oscar Brown Jr., and Gil Evans and his Orchestra.

Born in Sacramento, CA, Mike traveled around the country with his father, a union man for the railroad, and a former drummer himself. His dad had a great appreciation for jazz and blues music, and Mike credits this exposure as forming the foundation for his ability to synthesize many different regional styles. He absorbed the music of America while riding the rails. From age 4, he was a prodigy, sitting in—and getting “house” —- with bands in Texas and New Orleans. By the time he reached his early twenties, he had become one of the founders of the distinctive East Bay Sound coming out of Oakland, California.

During the late sixties, Mike led his own jazz organ trio,. Then he met Hancock in 1973. With Herbie, Mike set the rhythms for the acclaimed group, The Headhunters. Afterwards, he did a two-year stint with Brand X, the British jazz/rock fusion band founded by Phil Collins. With them he recorded ”Do They Hurt?” and “Product.”

By 2000, Mike had made a foray into the popular jam band scene. His group Prescription Renewal pulled together cross-generational talents, such as Charlie Hunter, Fred Wesley, Skerik, Robert Walter, and DJ Logic, and featured special guests such as Donald Harrison, George Porter Jr. of The Meters, Les Claypool, Larry Goldings and fellow Headhunters alumni Bill Summers. He also toured with The Roots Funk All Stars.

Along with James Brown's drummer Clyde Stubblefield, Mike's beats with The Headhunters (most notably “God Make Me Funky”) include some of the most sampled in hip hop. He has been featured in Downbeat, Musician, International Musician & Recording World, Modern Drummer, Jazz Times, Guitar Player, Jazz Is, and numerous jazz history and method books.

Mike is a popular and busy clinician. His latest book, “The Post Bop Drum Book” on Hudson Music is a big hit. A previous book, “Funk Drumming: Innovative Grooves & Advanced Concepts” was published in 2012 by Hal Leonard.

As a bandleader, his release “Give The Drummer Some” earned a rare four and a half stars in Downbeat. “The Funk Stops Here,” a joint effort with Hancock alumni Paul Jackson got five stars, as did 2011’s “Carnival of Soul.” In 2001, his solo CD “Actual Proof” met with critical acclaim, as did the 2003 acoustic jazz release, “Summertime,” featuring Chris Potter and Billy Childs, which spent weeks in the top ten jazz charts. 2009’s “Blueprints of Jazz” featuring Patrice Rushen, Randy Brecker, Donald Harrison, Rob Dixon, and Christian McBride was considered one of the top jazz releases of the new millenium by Downbeat magazine.

In 2012 Mike co-led The Headhunters,’ with original founding member Bill Summers. 2012 saw a new Headhunters' release, “Platinum.” which featured guest turns by Snoop Dogg, George Clinton, and Killah Priest.

Another musically exciting year was 2015. His second Wolff & Clark Expedition CD released in February, and his hard bop band “Indigo Blue Live at the Iridium” arrived six months later, both on Random Act Records. Both CDs featured Christian McBride on bass, Donald Harrison on alto, Rob Dixon on tenor, Antonio Farao on Piano and Randy Brecker on trumpet.

Mike has produced three releases for the spoken word prophet Tony Adamo, indulging ”Miles of Blu” with Tower of Power's Doc Krupka, bass legend Paul Jackson, and Michael Wolff. Along with drum legend Lenny White (Return to Forever), Mike is co-leading Nu Brew, a double drummer experience in new music. He also appears on Tower of Power's organist Chester Thompson's “Mixology.”

During Covid, Mike did many online drum clinics and co-led a record date with Michael Wolff and Leon Dorsey: “Wolff, Clark and Dorsey Play Sgt. Pepper.” On this date they played swinging arrangements of Beatles tunes, acoustic jazz style. He also was a sideman on Leon Dorsey's “Thank you Mr, Maybern” with the late great Harold Maybern and Leon in a hard swinging trio setting, “DSC MonkTime” celebrated the music of Thelonious Monk, once again with Leon Dorsey, with Dorsey and Greg Skaff as co-leaders. He also is a founding member of The StickPeople, an online interview show, along with Lenny White, David Garabaldi, Michael Shrieve and Greg Errico. The four drummers do online interviews with great artists playing jazz, funk, fusion and all things music!

As of 2021, Mike still lives in New York City. His latest CD, “Mike Drop” with sax great Michael Zilber is in the top ten on Jazz Weekly. Mike is with Leon Lee Dorsey and Manny Valera on Leon's new record “Freedom Jazz Dance” which debuted on Jazz Weekly at number 16. He was in Chicago recently with Donald Harrison and the great Fred Wesley; then Donald and Mike left for Indiana to co-lead an organ trio at the famous Jazz Kitchen in Indianapolis. He also just finished a “beats” recording for Yurt Rock which will be out in the fall 2021, along with his newest, “Mike Clark plays Herbie Hancock—Again!” an acoustic jazz recording out next year.

Mike endorses DW Drums, Istanbul Cymbals, Evans Drum heads, and Innovation Percussion drumsticks.

 

Billy Drummond!

A fantastic video today of the great Billy Drummond in action, demonstrating (comprehensively I might add) the new Kerope ride cymbals from the Avedis Zildjian Company:

More from SFJAZZ with Billy Hart and Savannah Harris

SFJAZZ keeps knocking it out of the park with their ongoing Alone Together series featuring these inspiring duets including:

Christian McBride and Savannah Harris...

 

...and Immanuel Wilkins and Jabali Billy Hart!

Joe LaBarbera plays Calgary

Jazz drumming great Joe LaBarbera performed in my hometown of Calgary, Alberta last night with the Atlantic Jazz Collective featuring Norma Winstone (voice), Mike Murley (tenor saxophone), Florian Hoefner (piano) and Jim Vivian (bass). The whole band put on an inspiring and memorable performance.

I was there and frequent Four on the Floor contributor and CJSW radio host Tim Mah was kind enough to capture these brilliant solo moments and share these great clips of Joe LaBarbera in action:

Thank you Tim!

In particular, Joe's brush playing was phenomenal but what really knocked me out was his dynamic control and wide range of dynamic expression. It was really shocking how quiet Joe could play and how clear and articulate his drumming was.

I asked Joe about this afterwards while he sipped his well-deserved post-gig glass of red wine. Joe said that when he was young he used to play along to his favourite records playing through his stereo system (with no headphones!) that had a low ampage and therefore a low volume threshold. He wanted to hear everything on the record clearly (the bass in particular) so he had to learn how to adjust his dynamics accordingly while playing along to his records. Joe feels that this really informed his dynamic awareness and conceptual approach on the drums. He also commented that this has really served him well over the course of his career.

Joe also stressed the importance of staying super relaxed and holding the sticks/brushes with a loose, relaxed grip. Joe commented that often when drummers try to play quietly they tense up but, in fact, we should do the opposite.

His drumming really was "poetry in motion".

Joe is also one the nicest and warmest human beings you'll ever meet and it was sure a privilege to watch and hear him in action.

Thanks Joe!

Kendrick Scott & Chris Potter

I meant to blog about something last week but got behind the beat (so to speak...) with so much going on these days.

Anyways, now we are back and here's a killer clip to watch and to be inspired by, a fantastic drum and tenor saxophone duet featuring Kendrick Scott and Chris Potter from SF Jazz:

Our Man Higgins!

A short Billy Higgins appreciation post today featuring our man Higgins with the George Coleman Octet.

I took a moment to edit and splice together Billy's drum features throughout the concert: 

 

Here's the entire concert: 

 

Great playing from everyone here (George Coleman in particular) and I really enjoyed watching Higgins playing behind Harold Mabern's piano solos.

I am also looking forward to checking out this new documentary from Jazz is Here featuring Willie Jones III: 

 

I've shared these ones before but here's some great commentary and insight on Billy Higgin's legacy from Victor Lewis, Billy Drummond, Carl Allen and Kenny Washington:

 

And finally, there's many great interviews with Master Higgins to be found on the YouTube and I think it's worth taking some time to hear the wisdom he had to share:

 

As always, when the Masters speak....we listen.

Joe LaBarbera!

Thanks to the Memphis Drum Shop for sharing these wonderful lessons with Joe LaBarbera:

 

And here's another older one featuring Joe from Aquarian Drum Heads and the Pro Drum Shop in Hollywood:

 

These three are new to me including two informative masterclasses and an interview with LaBarbera on Dave Douglas' podcast A Noise from the Deep from Greenleaf music: 

 

And finally a brief audio clip of Joe soloing at the Jazz Workshop in Boston, MA circa. 1977:

I've known Joe since 1997 when I met him at the Banff Centre for the Arts. Joe is an incredible drummer, an exceptional teacher and a wonderful human being.

LaBarbera will touring Canada this Spring with the Atlantic Jazz Collective and I look forward to catching up with him and listening to his exceptional musicality from behind the drums when he's in Calgary.

As always, when the Masters speak, we listen!

Terry Clarke: Mastering the Art of Music

A fantastic and in-depth interview today with Canadian jazz drumming legend Terry Clarke from The Vocal Lab with Sara Ramsay:

I was fortunate to take lessons with Mr. Clarke during my brief time at the University of Toronto, around 2007-2008. Our lessons together were mostly spent perfecting my ride cymbal beat at a wide range of tempos, including extensive work with Allan Cox's excellent play-a-long resource Meet the Bass Player. 

We also did a lot of listening together and he generously shared his extensive insight into the drumming of Elvin Jones, Tony Williams and Roy Haynes. He also shared a great deal of his unique approach to playing Brazilian rhythms on the drum set.

However, one thing that I really appreciated and made a huge difference during my brief time working him was that I made a point of going to hear Terry play at every opportunity I could! I was lucky to hear him play regularly with a wide range of groups including small groups, quintets, quartets, piano trios, big bands, groups playing original music, odd meters, bands playing standards, backing up vocalists, etc. His ability to shift gears and play at such a high level with a wide variety of musicians and in different situations really left an impression on me. 

I also made a point of asking him about these different musical situations in our lessons (of course his work with Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Jim Hall and John Handy came up in our conversations frequently). I really learned a lot from all this and still think about these lessons today.

Anyways...to make a long story short:

*Students: go hear your teachers play frequently and them ask them questions about the music!*