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)
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.
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!)
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
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:
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.
