The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Hello everyone. March is nearly over and Spring should be just around the corner but we've had a brutal Winter up here in Canada and I think that this snow and cold weather will still be here for some time to come. Personally, I'm done with it. Let's get on with Spring already...


- Well, to at least think about some warmer weather (!) here's a nice piece from NPR recounting a drummer's study trip to Cuba:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2014/03/05/285931990/possessed-by-joy-an-american-drummer-in-cuba

- Here's some more great rudimental drumming clips of snare drumming great Rob Carson to check out:

http://www.rudimentaldrumming.com/media/video/robcarson

This website is an overall great resource for all things related to the art of rudimental drumming and there's lots to learn and practice here!

- Last year, the Government of Alberta announced a series of budget cuts to education and, subsequently, Calgary's Mount Royal University cut it's ENTIRE fine arts program as a result (!) including it's long-time Jazz studies program. Retired Jazz bass instructor John Hyde recently wrote these wise words with regards to this tragic and stupid turn of events:

http://www.jazzyyc.com/an-elegy-for-mrus-jazz-diploma-program/

- Congratulations to recent Juno award winners Mike Downes, Christine Jensen, Mike Rud and Sienna Dahlen. These are all very hard-working and talented Canadian Jazz musicians. It's nice to see them all recognized for their work and, hey, they're all McGill graduates too!

Dig this: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/mcgill-alumni-sweep-juno-jazz-awards-1.2591903

- Joe Farnsworth is one hard swinging drummer and we can all take a lesson from his dedicated style. Here he is on the Benny Golson classic "Stablemates" from a jam session in Russia:




- As a drummer, bass players are our greatest allies and one should never pass up the opportunity to listen to a great bassist. Here is Dave Holland playing the Blues:




- Furthermore, supreme artistry on any instrument should always be admired and respected, no matter the context. Here's Tom Harrell playing over Blues in all keys with Jamey Aebersold on piano:



Wow....


- A bit brief but here's Benny Green's trio from a recent hit in Japan with Rodney Green on drums:




- I posted this one a long time ago but I've been coming back to this one lately just because it's so damn cool.  Here's a cymbal-less Steve Gadd on drums with percussionist Pedrito Martinez:




- What am I listening to these days?

Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band - "Rumba Buhaina" - Steve Berrios (drums & percussion)

Harold Land & Bobby Hutcherson - "Blow Up" - Joe Chambers (drums), Bobby Hutcherson (vibraphone)

Wayne Shorter - "The Soothsayer"- Tony Williams (drums)

Dexter Gordon/Slide Hampton - "A Day in Copenhagen"- Art Taylor (drums)

- It was with great sadness that I learned that the great Al Harewood recently passed away.

I was first introduced to Al's swinging and musical drumming during the mid 1990s thanks to my drum teacher at McGill University, Chris McCann (if you haven't heard Stanley Turrentine's "Up at Minton's" RUN, don't walk to the nearest iTunes store lol and pick this one up!) I had the pleasure of interviewing Al over the phone over the course of three days for a project I was writing for Kevin Dean's performance practice course. I've got hours of our conversations together on cassette somewhere. He was very gracious with his time, sharing his life experience with me and he was flattered that I was even interested in what he did. Someday I'll dig up those cassette tapes and transcribe them.

Last I had heard, Al had been spending most of his retirement in Barbados and according to vocalist Cici Duke was a highly respected elder musician in the island community. I wasn't even sure if Al was even with us for the longest time so I was thrilled to hear that and then see that Mr. Al Harewood (or "Mr. Tip" as he was known in jazz drumming circles) had recently celebrated his 90th birthday in the company of the world's greatest jazz drummers at a party held at Don Sickler's loft (thanks to Billy Drummond for providing photos and an update a while ago.)

Ethan Iverson over his blog Do The Math wrote a very piece on Harewood over here:

http://dothemath.typepad.com/dtm/2014/03/rip-al-harewood.html

Al Harewood was an incredible drummer who played with conviction, sensitivity and taste. He wasn't a flashy drummer or soloist by any means but he really did what needed to be done to make the music happen. As he reminded me during our interviews together: "Put the swing on top and you'll never go wrong!"

He will be missed.


- I feel like listening to this right now...

Oscar Peterson with Dexter Gordon

Here's a good one to mull over for the weekend ahead...some seriously swinging music from Oscar Peterson's trio (with Bobby Durham on drums and Sam Jones on bass!) featuring Dexter Gordon on tenor saxophone on "You Stepped Out of A Dream":

Mike Clark

I've really been digging Mike Clark's insightful (and often humorous!) posts on Facebook lately.

This led me to find some amazing clips of Clark playing and talking about some of his influences and interactions with many of jazz drumming's greats (see my previous post featuring Clark speaking about Tony Williams) as well as demonstrating his incredible technique, musicality and unique style to playing the drums.

Here's an excerpt of Mike from his new instructional series via mymusicmasterclass.com:





As Mike explains, he truly was a jazz drumming product of the 1960s in terms of his style and influences and a bebopper in addition to his immense contributions to funk drumming. Here he is talking about the influence of Elvin Jones:





And here Clark speaks to the great Papa Jo Jones:



Finally, from a masterclass at Drummers Collective in New York City, here's Mike Clark demonstrating some solo ideas over a 32-bar, AABA form:

Klook with J.J. Johnson

More Kenny Clarke today thanks to Edmonton's Brad Shigeta. Here's Klook with J.J. Johnson in some rare trombone trio action:



It's obviously too short (!) but I could listen to these three play all day long...

Mark Walker Plays Brazil

This is some absolutely phenomenal Brazilian drum set playing, courtesy of Mark Walker, taken from a recent workshop in Ecuador:



Also make sure to check out his series of Brazilian drum set lessons here:

http://www.vicfirth.com/education/drumset/walker.php

Linear Stick Control Variations Revisited

Here's a redux version of my previous lesson from a few weeks ago using Stick Control to come up with some interesting linear patterns using both your hands and feet....but this time with proper notation and some further explanations! Thanks for bearing with me here.

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

Stick Control Linear Variations


Here's a series of little variations on a Stick Control exercise I took from Steve Smith's excellent DVD "The Art of Playing Brushes" (with Adam Nussbaum). I believe that Steve originally got this one from his time studying with Alan Dawson in Boston. I've found this to be a great way to engage all my limbs at the same time and develop an overall sense of coordinated balance on the drum set.

Take the first few pages of Stick Control. Using a steady rhythm of eighth-notes as your rhythmic template, use these following variations as your guide to create some interesting linear ideas:

1) Exercise #1

Follow each Right and Left hand on the snare drum with the bass drum.

For example, a paradiddle sticking RLRR LRLL would look like this:

2) Example #2

Do the same as above but substitute the hi-hat (open or closed) instead of the bass drum.

A paradiddle sticking would then look like this:










3) Example #3

Following the same logic as above:

- When you play R with your Right Hand, follow it with the bass drum.

- When you play L with your Left Hand, follow it with the hi-hat (open or closed, your choice)

So a paradiddle sticking RLRR LRLL would look like this:












4) Exercise #4 (variation)

- When you play R with your Right Hand, follow it with the hi-hat (open or closed, your choice)

- When you play L with your Left Hand, follow it with the bass drum

So the following RLRR LRLL combination would look like this:













You'll find that you come up with some pretty interesting and challenging four-limb linear patterns as the sticking variations develop. Some of them are even reminiscent of some things you might hear Tony Williams play.

You might also want to try putting your hands on different parts of the drum set as well. This is what Exercise #3 would look like with the Right hand on the ride cymbal:

Snare Drum Farnsworth

A serious lesson from Joe Farnsworth on how to make your snare drum really sing:




Who needs a tom tom or floor tom anyways...

Joe Harris with Sonny Rollins "Paul's Pal"

I'm going to be off the grid for awhile and hitting the beach here shortly, so check this one out until I return...

Here's some rare footage of the great Joe Harris with Sonny Rollins and Henry Grimes on bass to check out:



I've only really known Harris from his work with Dizzy Gillespie's big band but, as you can see here, he was equally comfortable in small groups as well and fits perfectly with Rollins' chord-less, trio configuration. Check out those creative, swinging fours between Harris and Rollins.

Kenny Clarke "Nervus"

Thanks to Colin Bailey for passing this one along via the Facebook:



Klook!

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Welcome back everybody and welcome to March. I'm just returning from a very musically satisfying weekend of playing some very creative music with pianist/composer David Braid in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan but, man, it was really cold...

Here's what's making the rounds over here at the sufficiently heated Four on the Floor office today:


- I've really been digging the on-line drum magazine The Drummer's Journal lately over at:

http://thedrummersjournal.com

Check it out. And buy one of their hip t-shirts.


- This article on Elvin Jones courtesy of JazzTimes magazine has been making the rounds recently:

http://jazztimes.com/articles/14816-drum-therapy-elvin-jones-9-9-27-5-18-04

It's hard to believe that it's been ten years since Elvin left us...


- Thanks to Todd Bishop over at his blog Cruiseship Drummer where he provides some nice commentary and even some transcriptions of this groovy little guy, busking in Nigeria:



Find Todd's fine analysis over here:

http://shipdrummer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/grooves-o-day-on-streets-of-aba-nigeria.html


- Francisco Mela is a Cuban-born Jazz drummer whom I'd admired for the last couple of years. His blending of modern straight-ahead Jazz influences with his Afro-Cuban rhythmic roots is quite unique.

Here he is taking a nice little solo:




- Drummer Daniel Glass has produced a wonderful series for Vic Firth documenting the history of the drum set. Here he is talking about the origin of the brushes (aka "Flyswatters"!):



For more great things relating to the history of the drums, check out Daniel's website:

http://www.danielglass.com/intro.php


- Thanks to Tim Mah who passed on this documentary about this history of Jazz in Montreal:

http://music.cbc.ca/#/Burgundy-Jazz

And here's a little piece in that regards from NPR's A Blog Supreme:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2014/02/22/280764414/rail-radio-and-booze-a-look-at-montreal-jazz-history


- And here's a great podcast interview with Billy Martin courtesy of 5049 Records:

http://www.5049records.com/billy-martin


- What am I listening to these days?

David Braid and Phil Nimmons "Suite St. John's: Falling Through"

Matt Wilson Quartet + John Medeski "Gathering Call" - Matt Wilson (drums)

Duke Jordan "Flight to Jordan" - Art Taylor (drums)

Bobby Hutcherson "Stick Up" - Billy Higgins (drums), Bobby Hutcherson (vibes)

Dexter Gordon & Slide Hampton "A Day in Copenhagen" - Art Taylor (drums)

Illinois Jacquet  "The Blues, That's Me!" - Oliver Jackson (drums)

Max Roach & Anthony Braxton " Birth, Rebirth" - Max Roach (drums)

The Big Beat (compilation) - Art Blakey, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones (drums)

Milt Jackson "At the Museum of Modern Art" - Otis "Candy" Finch (drums), Milt Jackson (vibes)

Shelly Manne "2-3-4" - Shelly Manne (drums)


- The Final Word:

Finally, some inspiring words to finish up today's post from Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno on creativity and hard work:

Kerope

The folks over at Zildjian have recently produced a new line of cymbals, something akin to their K Constantinoples, but different. I'm eagerly looking forward to checking these out. Here's a trio to reckon with: Ulysses Owens Jr., Kendrick Scott and Eric Harland all demonstrating these new instruments:







Hey Saskatoon, Saskatchewan!

I'm hitting the road this weekend and playing at the Bassment (one of Canada's finest jazz establishments) on Saturday evening with Canadian pianist David Braid and his unique brass octet project. We played together last spring in Edmonton at the Yardbird Suite and this is truly some very unique and creative music. David is a brilliant composer, pianist and improviser and I'm really looking forward to playing his challenging music again.

Fortunately it's only a balmy - 64 degrees there with the wind chill (yes, I am being serious...) I guess I will have to bundle up!

Greg Hutchinson on Brushes

Some incredible brush playing today from Gregory Hutchinson, featured on "Salt Peanuts":



And here's a little up-close footage as well (with sticks!)

http://vimeo.com/31986391

(sorry...it doesn't want to embed but it's worth checking out!)

Twitter!

Hey folks we're now on Twitter! Find regular blog updates at:

https://twitter.com/4FourontheFloor

Stick Control Linear Exercise - Part One

Wow! Now here's something a bit different for a change...a drum lesson! It's been awhile since I've posted one of these but since I've received some nice comments with regards to my previous lessons (it's been month, years!!!) I thought I would try and keep this up.

Here's a little variation on a Stick Control exercise I took from Steve Smith's excellent DVD "The Art of Playing Brushes" (with Adam Nussbaum). I believe that Steve originally got this one from his time studying with Alan Dawson in Boston. I've found this a great way to engage all my limbs at the same time and develop an overall sense of coordinated balance on the drum set.

Take the first few pages of Stick Control (such as the column above). Using a steady rhythm of eighth-notes as your rhythmic template, use these following variations as your guide to create some interesting linear ideas:

1) Exercise #1

- When you play R with your Right Hand, follow it with a bass drum.

- When you play L with your Left Hand, follow it with a hi-hat (open or closed, your choice)

So a paradiddle sticking RLRR LRLL would look like this:

R B L H R B R B      L H R B L H L H


R = Right Hand

L = Left Hand

B = Bass Drum

H = Hi-Hat


2) Exercise #2 (variation)

- When you play R with your Right Hand, follow it with a hi-hat (open or closed, your choice)

- When you play L with your Left Hand, follow it with the bass drum

So the following RLRR LRLL combination would look like this:

R H L B R H R H      L B R H L B L B


You'll find that you come up with some pretty interesting and challenging four-limb linear patterns as the sticking variations develop. I've also been messing around with a fun variation that involves triplets that I'll share with you in a future post.

Nash!

We just wrapped up a long weekend here in Alberta so here's an inspiring drum solo from Lewis Nash to get the week ahead started off right:



Notice the overall different textures that Nash gets from the drum set and, specifically, the percussive and "orchestrated" nature of his ideas. Very musical and very creative. The entire solo has a great shape and I admire how he is able to connect his ideas on a larger scope.

If someone can please show me how to play my bass drum as fast as he does, by all means please let me know! I really dig that sound of the bass drum "fluttering" underneath while improvising up top. It's a very effective concept....I just don't know how to do it!

A Lesson in Rhythm with CK Ladzekpo

Thanks to Todd Bishop over at Cruiseship Drummer who hipped me to this incredible footage of Ghanaian drummer CK Ladzekpo giving a masterclass on rhythm:









Todd has also published a great companion worksheet of some related rhythmic exercises:

http://shipdrummer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/ck-ladzekpos-basic-polyrhythms.html

Johnathan Blake Quartet

My friend Johnathan Blake has a great new project in the works featuring Ben Street on bass with Chris Potter and Mark Turner on saxophones. I'm really looking forward to hearing this new album.

Here's this stellar quartet in action from a recent hit at the Jazz Gallery:

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Alright folks, it's Monday. Let's get this week off to a running start. It's really freezing cold up here in Calgary....so perhaps some of the pieces below will inspire us to make great things happen!


-Thanks to Todd Bishop who brought to my attention via his own excellent blog Cruiseship Drummer that West Coast drummer Dick Berk recently passed away:

http://shipdrummer.blogspot.ca/2014/02/dick-berk-1939-2014.html

Here's a great interview with Berk where, among other things, he talks about working with Billie Holiday when he was a mere 17 years old:

http://www.jakefeinbergshow.com/2011/07/jfs-30-the-dick-berk-interview/

I've been a big fan of this underrated drummer, especially his playing on the Ray Brown/Milt Jackson recording "That's The Way It Is" (thank you to Jesse Cahill for hipping me to this one):

Dick Berk was an important part of the West Coast scene and acted as a mentor to many young musicians over the years (including the likes of bassist John Patitucci and trombonist Andy Martin).


- Bassist and educator Chuck Israels published an interesting article about his "unpopular" perspective on Jazz education that is worth reading:

http://chuckisraelsjazz.com/index.php/blog/item/72-an-unpopular-perspective-on-jazz-education


- Here's a New York Times article in which recently several Jazz drummers who are releasing new albums are featured:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/arts/music/jeff-ballard-and-other-jazz-drummers-step-out-front.htmlaction=click&contentCollection=Music&region=Footer&module=MoreInSection&pgtype=article&_r=0


- Peter Hum over at the Ottawa Citizen also has a couple nice reviews of music from Matt Wilson and Jeff Ballard:

http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2014/02/06/give-the-drummers-some-i-matt-wilson-cd-reviewed/

http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2014/02/07/give-the-drummer-some-ii-jeff-ballard-cd-reviewed/


- Looking for some motivation? Thanks to Steve Smith for passing along these masterclasses from Zakir Hussain and Carnegie Hall:

https://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/zakir-hussain-workshop-explore/id584499792?mt=10


- Tunes. If you are serious about being a Jazz drummer you've got to learn some tunes. It's all about the tunes. Here's a concise list of some important tunes to learn (no matter what instrument you play!) if you want to learn the Jazz language from pianist George Colligan over at his fine blog Jazz Truth www.jazztruth.blogspot.com

George Colligan's Top 20 Tunes to Learn:

1.Stella By Starlight
2.All The Things You Are
3.Autumn Leaves
4.What Is This Thing Called Love
5.There Will Never Be Another You
6.Tune Up
7.Cherokee
8.Beautiful Love
9.Alone Together
10.Body and Soul
11.Confirmation
12.Someday My Prince Will Come
13.Footprints
14.Bye Bye Blackbird
15.On Green Dolphin Street
16.There Is No Greater Love
17.I Love You
18.How High The Moon
19.Just Friends


Being an aspiring vibraphonist myself, I find this list incredibly useful.


- Looks like Zildjian has another line of incredible cymbals coming our way. Here's Kendrick Scott demonstrating the new K Kerope cymbal line:




- Montreal film maker Randy Cole has been producing some very fine short films about several Montreal Jazz artists over the past few years. Cole's latest production features the drumming and music of Jim Doxas, a drummer who I had the pleasure of going to school with at McGill University in Montreal during the late 1990s:




- Another great Montreal drummer whom I also had the pleasure of going to school with is Rich Irwin. Check out Rich's fine drumming on these new, compact Sonor drums:




- Thanks to Kenan Foley who passed along this nice piece about Pittsburgh's Roger Humphries:




- What am I listening to these days?

Mike Downes "In the Current" - Mark Kelso (drums), Michael Davidson (vibes/marimba)

Joey Baron/Bill Frisell Duo "Just Listen" - Joey Baron (drums)

Dave Holland Octet "Pathways" - Nate Smith (drums), Steve Nelson (vibes)

Brian Blade "Mama Rosa" - Brian Blade (drums)

Paul Chambers "Paul Chambers Quintet" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Kirk MacDonald "Symmetry" - Dennis Mackrel (drums)


- Okay, now it's time for some music! Here's some amazing trio footage featuring New Orleans Master drummer Johnny Vidacovich with Jeff Coffin on saxophones and Felix Pastorious (Yes, Jaco's son!) on bass playing an adventurous version of "When Will The Blues Leave?":




- To finish off today's column I'd like to leave you with a great article courtesy of the fine folks over at jazzadvice.com on the role of motivation:

http://jazzadvice.com/reality-check-motivating-yourself-to-better-musicianship/

In particular I really dig this quote, from Wynton Marsalis:

“The thing in jazz that will get Bix Beiderbecke out of his bed at two o’clock in the morning, pick that cornet up and practice into the pillow for another two or three hours, or that would make Louis Armstrong travel around the world for fifty plus years non stop, just get up out of his sick bed, crawl up on the bandstand and play, the thing that would make Duke Ellington, the thing that would make Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Mary Lou Williams, the thing that would make all of these people give their lives for this, and they did give their lives… And when you get a taste of that, there’s just nothing else you’re going to taste that’s as sweet." - Wynton Marsalis (via jazzadvice.com)


Onwards and upwards!

Antonio Sanchez at Berklee

Antonio Sanchez has recently been acting as the Armand Zildjian Artist in Residence at the Berklee College of Music. Check out his very informative masterclass:





Jeff "Tain" Watts once described Sanchez as being the "Latin Tony Williams" and given the scope of his technique and contemporary approach, it's no wonder why!

And thanks to the kind people over at LP, here is an excellent demonstration by Sanchez on how to incorporate left foot clave patterns into one's conceptual approach:

Mike Clark on Tony Williams

Mike Clark generously shares some serious wisdom about Tony Williams and what it was like growing up as a jazz drummer during the 1960s, an incredible time for jazz drumming. It's always great to learn these things from someone who lived it!