The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Welcome to the May edition of the Monday Morning Paradiddle. Here's my most recent compilation of random Jazz drumming related things that entertain me. Hope you dig it.

Blogging will slow down considerably over the next few months while I attempt to complete my Doctoral dissertation. But don't worry, there will be plenty more to come so check back often.

In the meantime, check out these stories making waves around the Four on the Floor offices these days:


- Check out this incredible collection of private recordings, radio broadcasts and other memorabilia relating to Paul Motian over at Uncle Paul's Jazz Closet:

http://jazzcloset.blogspot.ca


- Irish bassist Ronan Guilfoyle continues with Part Two of his interview with the great Keith Copeland over at his blog Mostly Music:

http://ronanguil.blogspot.ca/2014/05/conversations-with-mr-kc-keith-copeland.html

- Brian Blade and the Fellowship have a new album out. Look for them on the cover of this month's issue of Downbeat magazine as well. Here is Blade is interviewed by NPR on the heels of his new release:

http://www.npr.org/2014/04/27/307340727/brian-blade-finds-a-landmark-in-his-shreveport-roots


- This has been floating around the interweb for a while now but here's an audio recording of Philly Joe Jones giving a drum clinic at Rutgers circa. 1979:

https://soundcloud.com/tedsirota/sets/philly-joe-jones-drum-clinic-rutgers-university-1979?utm_source=soundcloud&utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=facebook


- Duke Ellington was really into baseball but from the looks of it his "swing" was much better than his swing...still though, this is a great story:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/rare-footage-duke-ellington-highlights-when-jazz-baseball-were-perfect-harmony-180950303/?utm_source=facebook.com&no-ist


- Here's studio great Harvey Mason commenting on his favourite drummers of Prestige:




- Thanks to Dylan Weist who hipped to this comprehensive series of bebop guru Barry Harris on youtube. I look forward to applying these concepts to the vibraphone eventually. Here he is talking about the importance of rhythm in Jazz music:



Check them all out, there is some serious wisdom and information there.


- Here's Joe Farnsworth in a brief solo taken at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (with bassist John Webber standing by...):




- Phil Dwyer is one of my all-time favourite musicians (and also happens to appear on my last album "Sunalta"!) Here he is with his son Ben on bass and Vancouver Island drummer Hans Verhoeven (another fellow McGill graduate) in some fine form, jazz trio action:




- Greg Hutchinson never fails to impress. I've really been digging that clinic he presented at Berklee that I posted recently. Here he is in action from another recent drum clinic:




- Speaking of drum clinics, here's Jeff Hamilton demonstrating a few important concepts:




- Johnathan Blake's on the road with Ravi Coltrane these days and boy does he sound really great. Dig this!




- When the Master's speak, we listen! Now listen to Ron Carter:




- What am I listening to these days?

Teddy Edwards "Together Again" - Ed Thigpen (drums)

Sheldon Zandboer and Trio Velocity "Like Water in Air" - Robin Tufts (drums)

 J.J. Johnson "Dial JJ5"- Elvin Jones (drums)

Mel Lewis "Mel Lewis Sextet" - Mel Lewis (drums)

Stan Levey/Red Mitchell "West Coast Rhythm" - Stan Levey (drums)

Alan Jones & Francois Theberge "Another View" - Alan Jones (drums)

Ralph Lalama "Bop Juice" - Clifford Barbaro (drums)


- A few words of wisdom from drummer Dave Grohl:




- And to finish today's column, today's "final word" today goes to these two distinguished gentlemen....

Any questions?

Have a great week everybody!

Steve Lacy's Words of Wisdom

Steve Lacy is an artist that has always fascinated and inspired me. Here's a great list to learn from and muse over for the weekend!

"Gems of wisdom from Steve Lacy" (source unknown via the Facebook!)

- Teaching is an act of generosity; it is awareness that one has something to give, and adesire to give it.

- Music knows no limits. Don’t set up exclusionary boundaries.

- Practice slowly. Practicing slowly holds it own technical challenges-and makes even more difficult demands on the spirit. It calls for patience when the world demands results, and quiet single- minded focus in the face of huge repertoire demands. It is the ‘Zen’ way.

- Strive for straightforward purity and logical simplicity.

- Find rhythm in more subtle forms than a metronome. Always strive for forwardmotion and impetus. 

- Rhythm is all and everywhere.

- Strive to develop an individual sound and playing style. Have your own voice. 

- Be disciplined. Study and practice hard.

-Concentrate on pitch, rhythm, dynamics and tonal sonority.

- Expand your music making vocabularies by searching through some unusual lexicons.

- Think of it as "Sound Research": Collecting sounds and growing melodies in a garden.

- View the Saxophone as an "Interval Machine". Practice a variety of intervals in a variety of rhythmical combinations. 

- Never become fixed on patterned sequences that can become stale and block creativity.

- "Shake up the bag" inside of your head. Move out of the familiar and typical in order to be able to create something new.

- The interval machine can become Zen-like and expand perception. Take the interval of a minor second and play it up and down over and over again. After about 40 minutes you will no longer be bored and will start to hallucinate. The half step interval will become enormous. Your ear has changed. Small has now become large. Now, when you leave this space and go back to the rest of the horn, everything has changed and your perceptions have altered. Illumination and Metamorphosis.

- Take a limited subject and spend an unlimited amount of time on it until it opens up.

- Learn to let things cook!

Happy Birthday Duke

Slide Hampton Octet with Vinnie Ruggiero

I spent a couple of great days with Joe LaBarbera last week and over the weekend while he was in Alberta. I took a wonderful lesson with him and we spent our time together working on brush technique and, in particular, exploring his approach to playing ballads (more on this later!) Needless to say, he knows what he's talking about having played with the likes of Bill Evans, Tony Bennett and many, many more. His light touch, huge vocabulary and total command of the instrument is astounding. His big band drumming with Calgary's Prime Time big band on Saturday afternoon was also equally impressive and a real testament to Joe's overall musicality and complete artistry as a total drummer.

During our conversations Joe suggested that I check out this following footage of the Slide Hampton Octet from a concert date in France featuring Vinnie Ruggiero on drums. Vinnie spent a great deal of time in Rochester, New York and was good friends with Philly Joe Jones. As you'll see below, Ruggiero was one real swingin' drummer:





To learn more about the drummer Vinnie Ruggiero, check out this website maintained by his son, L.A. drummer Charles Ruggiero:

http://www.ruggierodrums.com/vinnie.html

In particular, scroll down this page and check out his hand-written transcriptions!

Greg Hutchinson Berklee Drum Clinic

I missed Greg Hutchinson's masterclass at Small's a few weeks ago (I don't live in New York City and I'm not sure it was streamed on their website either....) but fortunately for us, thanks to the nice folks over at the Berklee College of Music, we can still learn from Hutch's wisdom in this one:



Special thanks to my European correspondent David Grebil for passing along this great find!

And here's another one of Hutch putting these concepts into action:

Kendrick Scott: "Hey, It's Me You're Talking To!"

I posted a lead sheet of Victor Lewis's trademark tune "Hey, It's Me You're Talking To!" a couple of weeks ago. I like this tune and plan on playing it with my own band soon.

Interestingly enough, Kendrick Scott also likes this piece and thanks to the kind people over at Zildjian we get a performance and "breakdown" of Scott's own arrangement of this tune featuring his nice new Kerope cymbals:

Kenny Clarke "Lady Bird"

Happy Easter everybody! Don't eat too many chocolate bunny rabbits...

Thanks to Bret Primack aka "The Jazz Video Guy", here's some more great footage of Kenny Clarke, this time in a duet setting with an organist on Tadd Dameron's "Lady Bird":

Zakir Hussain Carnegie Hall Workshop

More sessions today featuring North Indian rhythmic concepts from Zakir Hussain and Carnegie Hall:

Steve Smith: Zakir Hussain Workshop

Over the past few years drummer Steve Smith has been immersing himself in the study of North and South Indian drumming and rhythm. He has also been collaborating with the master tabla player Zakir Hussain and his group "The Masters of Percussion". I've seen this group several times (not with Smith unfortunately) and it's really worth it, at the very least to have any preconceptions you may have about rhythm completely shattered!

Anyways, from a Carnegie Hall workshop that featured Zakir Hussain a few years ago (in fact, you'll even see cameo's of my friend trumpeter Patrick Boyle in the audience in these ones), here's Steve Smith demonstrating some important rhythmic concepts. As you can see Smith is a very articulate teacher:

Five Years!

It's hard to believe that today is Four on the Floor's FIVE year anniversary!

Thank you all for your support and kind words. In particular I'd like to thank Chad Anderson over at cymbalholic.com who first inspired me to do this kind of thing and keep this up.

Anyways, back to business...

Here's some Dafnis Prieto unleashing in Madison Square Park to get the weekend off to a good start:



I wonder if he stopped by the Shake Shack afterwards? I would have!

Thanks again and have a great weekend everybody!

The Drummer as Composer Part Four: Influential Recordings

(Lead Sheet above: "Hey It's Me You're Talking To" - by Victor Lewis)

For today's instalment of "The Drummer as Composer" I decided to conduct an informal poll from various musicians and friends I know and ask them to list their favourite recordings led by drummers. 

The focus was originally on drummers who were also composers/arrangers but since so many drummers have such an impact on the music at large by the way they (the good ones anyways!), really anything goes.

As an aspiring drummer/composer/arranger myself, I'm always looking for inspiration and new ideas. You'll see some really albums listed below to check out...

Thank you to all the people who kindly took time to answer my poll.


- Jesse Cahill (Vancouver Jazz Drummer) www.jessecahill.com

Tony Reedus - “The Far Side”
Reedus was so great, underrated by guys of our generation (and younger) that’s for sure.  When I first started listening to him back in the late 1980’s early 1990’s I remember being into the power and energy he created.  As I’ve matured  as a musician (whatever that means) I’ve come to appreciate the greasiness of his beat!   Mulgrew Miller is on this one too, makes me a bit sad to listen to it now..
Victor Lewis “Know it Today Know it Tomorrow"

What can I tell you?  This is such a classic recording.  Victor has such a great approach to the drums.  To my ears he has a perfect balance between the past and the present.  Seamus of course is instantly recognizable and always cookin! Oh and then there’s Dr Eddie, Christian McBride, and Ed Simon.  I guess they’re pretty good too!

Art Blakey Quintet - “A Night at Birdland Volumes 1 & 2”
This is it. If I had to pick a recording that defined the spirit of great music for me this would be at the top of my list.

Mel Lewis/Thad Jones - “Monday Night”
The first time I heard a recording of this band I almost lost my mind!  I only got my hands on this one recently but it has quickly become my favourite. 

Max Roach - “Max Roach +4”
Whenever I’m trying to get across the importance of the clarity of one’s idea in improvisation I find myself referencing Max Roach.  His intro to Minor Trouble on this record is as clear as it gets!


- Eric Platz (Professo Jazz Drums, Brandon University)

Paul Motian - "Lost In A Dream" (2010) w/ Chris Potter and Jason Moran
Recorded at the Vanguard, I think live recordings capture PM's sound and energy so well. The recording quality and sound is amazing, as are the tunes. I particularly like this combination of musicians. Jason Moran and Chris Potter are both favorites of mine, and the music that results in the live setting is great. I routinely listen through to this record start to finish.

Jeff "Tain" Watts - "Citizen Tain" (1999)
Hearing Tain play with Wynton, Branford, Kenny Kirkland (one of my faves) and Eric Revis and Reggie Veal on bass is always awesome for me. I love that swing feel and energy. The tunes are this record are very cool. Wynton's solo on the first track (The Impaler) is incredible.

Roy Haynes - "We Three" (1958)
Roy's first recording as a leader, I believe. Roy is probably my favorite drummer of all time. I love the drum and cymbal sounds on this record (especially the crash), and the swing with Phineas Newborn and Paul Chambers is incredible. Roy's solos, 4s and 8s on this record blow my mind. I don't understand how someone can think that way,

Bill Stewart - "Snide Remarks" (1995)
Another one of my favorite drummers. Funny, quirky tunes ("7.5") and great drum sounds. Another reason I like this record so much is because of pianist Bill Carrothers (who is really under-recorded). I always have a soft spot for Lovano as well. 

Bob Moses - "Nishoma" (2001)

Bob was my teacher for many years, and I love that guy. I was spending a fair amount of time with him when he was making this record, and putting everything together. We would often play tunes on this record duo (Bob on piano, me on drums). I think Bob has one of the more unique and beautiful sounds and groove feel. He's a special person, and I think this recording captures a lot of his loving spirit. 


- Gordon Fick (Radio Host of "Lift the Bandstand", CJSW)

Max Roach Trio - "With The Legendary Hasaan"
Chico Hamilton - "Live At Strollers"
Shelly Manne - "At The Blackhawk"
Peter Erskine - "Transition"
Bobby Previte - "Empty Suits"
Tony Williams - "Emergency'
Tony Oxley - "The Baptized Traveller"
Masahiko Togashi - "Bura Bura"
Fritz Hauser - "Zwei"


- Mike Downes (Juno Award-Winning Bassist, Humber College)

Brian Blade Fellowship - "Perceptual" and "Season of Changes"
Musical playing, great band, excellent writing.

Art Blakey - "Caravan"
His band in great form plus killer arrangements.

Peter Erskine w/John Taylor and Palle Danielson - "Time Being" 
Love this trio and the open feel. 


- Rob Vanstone (Sports Editor, Regina Leader Post)

Shelly Manne - The four "Blackhawk" sessions could devour five spots in the list: 2, 1, 4, 3 in that order. 

As for the fifth, go with Ed Thigpen's "Mr. Taste"!


- Nick Fraser (Toronto Jazz Drummer)

Paul Motian - "Trioism" 
Simply my favourite Paul Motian Trio record. Great compositions played by the band at the height of their work together. I could honestly list 5 Paul Motian records as my top 5, though. :-)

Art Blakey - "The Big Beat"
This was the first Art Blakey album I ever bought and it is extremely swinging. Lots of great medium tempos. It's my favourite recording of my favourite edition of the Messenger band (w/ Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Bobby Timmons and Jymie Merritt)

Tony Oxley - "Quartet"
Amazing electro-acoustic free improvisation from a supremely creative musical architect. With Derek Bailey, Matt Wand, and Pat Thomas.

Jo Jones Trio (on Everest)
Jo Jones has it all. On this record, the drums are absolutely CRANKED in the mix and you can hear all of the detail of Papa Jo's brush playing. He plays pretty well with sticks, too. And his hands.

Gerry Hemingway Quintet - "Special Detail"
This is a great document of a slightly different version of Gerry's regular 80s-90s quintet. It was the first one of his records that I heard, which is possibly why it's still my favourite. (with Don Byron, Ed Schuller, Wolter Wierbos and Ernst Riesiger)

Honourable Mentions:

Michel Ratte - "Passages et Derives" (Can-con!)
Jean Martin Trio - "Get Together Weather" (more Can-con!)
Tony Williams - "Spring"
Tony Williams Lifetime - "Emergency"
Philly Joe Jones - "Showcase"
Gerry Hemingway - "Acoustic Solo Works"
Paul Motian - "On Broadway Vol. 2"
Billy Hart - "Enchance"
Tom Rainey Trio - "Pool School". I haven't heard the new quintet one called "Obligato" yet, but I heard the band live and it was AMAZING.
Peter Erskine - "You Never Know"
Mel Lewis - my real favourite Mel is "Joe Williams meets the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra", but I don't know if that fits your criteria of "drummer-led", so there's also "The Lost Art", an 80s sextet session under Mel's name.
Max Roach - similarly, my favourite Max is the Clifford Brown stuff. "At Basin Street", probably? Hard to pick just one... Also, "Freedom Now Suite" and "Deeds, not Words".
Elvin Jones - Puttin' it Together. Also, I have a sentimental attachment to "In Europe", as it's the version of the Jazz Machine band that I saw when I met Elvin in 1991. 


- Peter Hum (Jazz Critic, Ottawa Citizen) www.jazzblog.ca

Art Blakey - "Free For All"
For the crazy intensity of the title track and whole album, and the joie de vivre of Pensativa

Brian Blade Fellowship - "Perceptual"

For the great tunes, band feeling and vibe. This music really connects.

Billy Hart - "Oshumare"

Great tunes and arrangements, a distinctive vision. I love Billy Hart’s Latin/straight-eighths playing, and his overall mix of taste and audacity.

Elvin Jones -  "Earth Jones"
Maybe not the best Elvin CD, but … Kenny Kirkland! Lieb! Terumasa Hino! But that slow Elvin on the title track is nasty/great.

Jack DeJohnette - "Special Edition"
Again, great tunes, band feeling and vibe.


- Morgan Childs (Toronto Jazz Drummer)

Jeff "Tain" Watts - "Citizen Tain"
Max Roach/Clifford Brown - "Study in Brown"
Clifford Brown and Max Roach - "At Basin Street"
Art Blakey - "Roots and Herbs"
Art Blakey - "Caravan"
The Band - "The Band"


- Craig Brenan (Professor Jazz Trombone, Grant MacEwan University)

Marvin "Smitty" Smith  - "Keeper of the Drums"
The first album is so awesome - great writing, fantastic drumming, ok the solos could be better but this is the beginning of M-Base and all the players on it have gone on to monster careers with their own sounds and concepts.

Tony Williams - "The Story of Neptune"
Great band and great charts, sensitive yet powerful - Blackbird still a favourite

Art Blakey - "Caravan" - 
Not a lot of drum solos, or any writing, but the drumming is incessant, non stop, unrelenting and swinging. A big album for me

Louis Bellson - "Thunderbird"
I bought this for Carl Fontana who blows on every track but it wouldn't feel as good with out Bellson cranking it up every tune. Each tune gets faster and great blowing.

Mel Lewis Thad Jones - "Live at the Village Vanguard featuring the music of Bob Brookmeyer"
I guess these are more like trombone CDs but this live album captures the sound of the Vanguard, the band and a great big band drummer. Great tunes, Bob Brookmeyers return to NYC.


- Paul Read (Canadian Pianist, Saxophonist, Composer/Arranger and Jazz Education Icon)

Elvin Jones Quartet - "Live at the Lighthouse" 
I know he didn’t write for the album, but this is a desert island recording for me.

Mel Lewis and the Jazz Orchestra - "The Music of Bob Brookmeyer"  
This is too good to ignore.

Matt Wilson - "An Attitude for Gratitude"
Total groove and musical wholesomeness.

Mel Lewis Sextet - "The Lost Art" 
Great writing and playing. Mel didn’t write but he did everything else.

Terri Lyne Carrington - "Money Jungle" 
Beautiful playing, production and compositions.

John Hollenbeck - “Eternal Interlude”
It’s weird, but I dig it!


- Tom Van Seters (Professor, Grant MacEwan University)

Peter Erskine - "You Never Know"


- Ted Warren (Toronto Jazz Drummer)

Tony Williams - "Spring"
Jack DeJohnette - "New Directions In Europe" 
Elvin Jones - "Earth Jones" 
Paul Motian - "Time and Time Again"
Art  Blakey - "The Big Beat"

Another Brush Off...

Another "Brush Off" today featuring John Riley, Greg Hutchinson, Russ Miller and Jim Rupp from Columbus Percussion's 2014 Drum Daze:



There is a lot of great information here, in particular all the different sounds, textures and ideas one can get from using the brushes. These kinds of things are always great to check out in terms of the wide range of techniques and options available to us. Playing the brushes is such a personal thing and varies from individual to individual.

I also really appreciate the sense of camaraderie displayed. They are all clearly having fun playing together. This sort of reminds me of the "Gretsch Drum Night at Birdland" recordings that pitted Art Blakey, Elvin, Philly Joe Jones and Charlie Persip against each other. Sort of a bit of friendly competition, I suppose, but the level of mutual admiration and respect is always there! After all, as Steve Gadd says: "At the end of the day, we're all in this together!"

Bobby Hutcherson Interview

When the masters speak, we listen!

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!

Playdate with Matt Wilson

My friend Matt Wilson debuts his new jazz radio show Playdate on WBGO tomorrow (February 4th). Matt is a very engaging, entertaining and informative speaker so I expect to be a regular listener of his new program.

Check out Matt and Kris Knuffke recording the theme song and chasers for this upcoming radio show:



For more information visit the WBGO website: http://www.wbgo.org/playdate