The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Well, summer is in full swing these days and we hope you are all enjoying your vacation months wherever you are and whatever you might find yourself up to.

This will be the final Monday Morning Paradiddle column of the summer season however I'll be blogging right up until the end of the month. I will also be taking a break for the month of August while I'm on holidays.

Anyhow, in the meantime, here's a few items to check out, read and listen to:

- Four on the Floor correspondent Tim Mah recently traveled to the Montreal International Jazz Festival and offered this fine list, his picks of the top jazz festival drummers that he heard over the past month:

"Tim Mah's Top Drummer Picks of the 2019 Montreal Jazz Festival"

1. Zach Danziger - with Donny McCaslin
2. Nate Smith - with Nate Smith's Kinfolk
3. Allison Miller - with Christine Jensen's New York Quartet
4. Corey Fonville - with Butcher Brown and Christian Scott's aTunde Adjuah
5. Kendrick Scott - with Kendrick Scott's Oracle, the Gilad Hekselman Trio and Keyon Harrold
6. Makaya McCraven - appearing with his own group
7. Leon Parker - with the Brad Mehldau Quintet
8. Smithsoneon - with Bigyuki

9. Al Bourgeois - with the Rachel Therrien Quintet and the house band for the organ jazz jam at Brutopia
10. Louis-Vincent Hamel - with Benjamin Deschamps No Codes 

(who also won the 2019 Grand Prix du Jazz award at the festival)

*Bonus (appearing at the Winnipeg Jazz Festival) - Greg Hutchinson with the Joshua Redman Quartet and Brian Blade with his Fellowship Band* 

Looks like there was lots of great music to be heard on the Canadian Jazz festival circuit this year!

Tim Mah hosts the weekly radio program Jazz Today which can be heard on CJSW every Thursday morning and is also archived for your perusal. Check out and LIKE his Facebook page for more information, frequent updates and playlists.

Thanks Tim!

- Geoff Clapp offers his take on New Orleans rhythms over at the You'll Hear It podcast.

Also check out these short drum lessons with Ulysses Owens Jr from the You'll Hear It blog.

- Andrew Cyrille featured by Rolling Stone magazine

- Max Roach and Tony Williams both featured at JazzProfiles

- Colleen Clark recently completed and defended her very informative dissertation on the evolution of the ride cymbal beat through the University of North Texas. Check out her excellent work here.

Incidentally, Colleen was also recently seen sporting her own limited edition, 10th anniversary Four on the Floor t-shirt while visiting Steve Maxwell's Drum Shop in Manhattan:

You can own one too! Although, you'd better act fast I only have a handful left and they are now only available in size XL.

The shirts (featuring a wonderful logo design by Chad Anderson!) are $30 (+$10 shipping).

Drop me a line at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com and I'll set you up asap.

- Check out Chip Stern's webpage for some wonderful interviews with Elvin Jones.

And speaking of Elvin, here's an article from 1982 from deep in the archives of Modern Drummer magazine worth digging into (special thanks to Hans Verhoeven for sending this one along!)

- Also from Modern Drummer, a recent feature on Tyshawn Sorey
(he will also be on faculty at the Banff Centre for the summer)

- Herlin Riley featured at Jazziz magazine (on the topic of his recent album release)

- JazzTimes magazine offers this feature on 10 Drumming Composers of our time

- Speaking of drummer/composers, WBGO offers this one on drummer/composer John Hollenbeck

- A couple of great columns on Kenny Clarke, Shelly Manne and Baby Dodds from Scott K. Fish over at his blog Life Beyond Cymbals

- A piece from All About Jazz about the late, great (and troubled!) Phil Seamen

- New York's Christopher Smith has been up to great things via his informative YouTube series The Drum Hang but he's also a bad ass drummer in his own right as well. Check out this drum feature on an arrangement of the Game of Thrones theme song from a recent recording session:



- Bill Stewart groovin' with Peter Bernstein and Larry Goldings from a recent appearance at London's Pizza Express:



- Kendrick Scott in action with pianist Joey Alexander:



-The late Lawrence Leathers featured with Mike LeDonne's Groover Quartet on a lively rendition of Sonny Rollins' "Airegin":




- What am I listening to these days?

Mike LeDonne "Partners in Time" - Lewis Nash (drums)

Johnathan Blake "Trion" - Johnathan Blake (drums)

Dave Robbins Sextet "Joan of Art" - Dave Robbins (drums)

Joel Haynes Trio featuring Seamus Blake "Transitions" - Joel Haynes (drums)

Kenny Wheeler "Songs for Quintet" - Martin France (drums)

Chris Mitchell "Spectrum" - Jerry Fuller (drums)

Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers "At the Cafe Bohemia, Vol.1 & 2" - Art Blakey (drums)


- And today's Final Word goes to Jazz impresario Cory Weeds with this sage advice:

Well folks, this is all I've got for now. Thanks again for all your support and please come back again soon!

Francisco Mela: Reflexion

Some wonderfully expressive and inventive drumming from the hands (and feet!) of Francisco Mela:



This guy obviously loves playing and sharing his music with others, and it shows! Inspiring stuff.

Evelyn Glennie Rolls....

And...we're back. It's been a busy two weeks over here at Four on the Floor between teaching at summer Jazz camps in both Alberta and Saskatchewan and peddling my limited edition, 10th anniversary Four on the Floor t-shirts (if you want one, you'd better hurry as they are almost gone!) In any event, regular blogging will now resume until I take my yearly break for the month of August.

Anyways, let's get the week off to a good start now and stop to appreciate this clip of acclaimed percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie playing a closed/buzz/press roll for 30 interrupted minutes:



Now some might scoff at this but if you take the time to watch and really listen to this (like I did...) hopefully you'll come to appreciate not only the endurance needed to accomplish this task but also the musical intent and subtle nuances she is playing with. This takes not only a lot of stamina but a lot of musical concentration as well.

Ted Warren, over at his blog Trap'd, recently shared his thoughts on Dan Weiss' intensive practice regimen and I think Glennie's press roll marathon falls in line with that as well.

Personally, developing closed/buzz/press roll vocabulary has been a personal, on-going goal of mine for sometime so I find the above clip quite inspiring. In fact, I think it's beautiful.

Joe LaBarbera: "Roughing the Single Drag"

A wonderful snare drum demonstration from Joe LaBarbera and Jacob Wendt on the Charles Wilcoxon etude "Roughing the Single Drag". This is from a series of YouTube videos in which Wendt performs classic Wilcoxon snare drum solos including ALL 150 SOLOS from the All American Drummer (!) as duets with various drummers from the Los Angeles area (quite the undertaking...) Check out his YouTube channel for the complete series. This is the kind drumming/social media initiatives that I like to see...

In particular, dig the nice big, full sound that LaBarbera gets from his snare drum in this video (incidentally, he's playing a rare Gladstone snare drum, gifted to him by Ed Shaughnessy!) I also really appreciate the loose and graceful strokes that LaBarbera plays with as well as an obvious attention to detail in terms of the level of his accented strokes.

The Guys Get Shirts Part 5

The ever dapper Geoff Clapp was recently spotted wearing his new limited edition, 10th anniversary Four on the Floor t-shirt while shedding on his nice new Reverie drums.

You can own one too! Drop me a line here or at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com and I'll set you up asap (while supplies last!)

Tim Mah's 25 Canadian Jazz Albums of 2019 (so far)

In honour of Canada's birthday, frequent Four on the Floor contributor and correspondent Tim Mah has offered this comprehensive list of 25 notable Canadian Jazz releases, so far released in the first half of 2019.  Tim is also the host of the radio program Jazz Today, heard Thursday mornings 530-7am on CJSW 90.9 fm (Calgary).


Tim Mah's Canadian Jazz Albums -
Twenty Five New Releases of 2019:
(in no particular order...)


1) Seamus Blake “Guardians of the Heart Machine”

Seamus Blake (tenor saxophone), Tony Tixier (piano), Florent Nisse (bass) and Gautier Garrigue (drums).




2) Gentiane MG Trio “Wonderland”

Gentiane Michaud-Gagnon (piano), Levi Dover (bass) and Louis-Vincent Hamel (drums).

3) Anna Webber “Clockwise”

Anna Webber – tenor saxophone, flute, bass flute, alto flute

Jeremy Viner – tenor saxophone, clarinet

Jacob Garchik – trombone

Christopher Hoffman – cello

Matt Mitchell – piano

Chris Tordini – bass

Ches Smith – drums, vibraphone, timpani


Listen to Anna Webber talk about her album with Dave Douglas on the podcast called “A Noise From The Deep".


4) Steph Richards “Take the Neon Lights”

Steph Richards (trumpet, flugelhorn, compositions), James Carney (piano), Sam Minaie (bass) and Andrew Munsey (drums)

This is a video of Steph Richards and her band performing at the Festival of New Trumpet Music in San Diego (March 2019):




5) Mike Allen “Just Like Magic”

Mike Allen (tenor saxophone), Peter Washington (bass) and Lewis Nash (drums).

This is the EPK for the album:

6) Brad Turner Quartet with special guest Seamus Blake “Jump Up”

Brad Turner (trumpet & flugelhorn), Seamus Blake (tenor saxophone), Bruno Hubert (piano), Andre Lachance (bass) and Dylan van der Schyff (drums)

This is “The Enthusiast” from the album:




7) Donna Grantis “Diamonds & Dynamite”

Donna Grantis (guitar), Bryan Nichols (piano), Cody McKinney (bass), JT Bates (drums), and Suphala (tabla)

Donna Grantis performing “Mr. Majestic”:




8) Michael Davidson & Dan Fortin “Clock Radio”

Michael Davidson (vibraphone, compositions) and Dan Fortin (bass)

This is a video includes the song “Berlin V” from the album:




9) Curtis Nowosad “self-titled”

Curtis Nowosad - drums

Duane Eubanks - trumpet

Braxton Cook - alto saxophone

Andrew Renfroe - guitar

Jonathan Thomas - piano, Fender Rhodes (tracks 1,5,6), organ (track 8)

Luke Sellick - bass

Corey Wallace - trombone (tracks 3,5,7,8)

Matthew Whitaker - organ (tracks 2,3,5)

Michael Mayo - vocals (tracks 2,6)

Brianna Thomas - vocals (tracks 3,8)

Marc Cary - Fender Rhodes (tracks 2,8), Wurlitzer (track 8), synth (tracks 1,6,8)


This is a video of Curtis Nowosad’s “The Water Protectors”:




10) Dave Robbins Sextet “Joan of Art”

Dave Robbins (drums), Steve Holy (bass), Chris Gestrin (piano), Brad Turner (trumpet), Mike Allen (tenor saxophone) and Rod Murray (trombone)

This is the EPK for the album:




11) Mike Allen Quartet “Celebrating Sonny Greenwich”

Mike Allen (tenor sax), Miles Black (guitar), Steve Holy (bass) and Dave Robbins (drums)

https://soundcloud.com/mike-allen-62637677/sets/celebrating-sonny-greenwich-almus-jazz-alm-17711


12) Steve Haines & the Third Floor Orchestra “self-titled”

Steve Haines (bass), Becca Stevens (voice), Chad Eby (soprano saxophone), Joey Calderazzo (piano), Kobie Watkins (drums), plus orchestra.

This is a video of the Steve Haines composition “What I’ve Seen”:

13) Brad Turner “Pacific”

Brad Turner (trumpet/flugelhorn), John Gross (saxophones), Chris Gestrin (Hammond B3 organ and Moog Synthesizer Bass) and  Joe Poole (drums)

This is the title track, “Pacific”:




14) Jacques Kuba Seguin “Migrations”

Jacques Kuba Séguin: trumpet

Yannick Rieu: tenor saxophone

Olivier Salazar: vibraphone

Jean-Michel Pilc: piano

Adrian Vedady: bass

Kevin Warren: drums


This is “Hymne” from the album:




15) JV’s Boogaloo Squad “Going to Market”

Joel Visentin (keys), Adam Beer Colacino (guitar) and Jeff Halischuk (drums)

This song is called “Squadzilla”:




16) Jim Brenan 11 “50/50”

Jim Brenan: leader, composer, arranger, tenor, soprano sax, clarinet, bass clarinet

Jim Murray: trumpet

Sergio Rodriguez: trumpet

Sean Craig: alto sax

Mike Gardner: alto sax

Sarah Matheson-Nadeau: baritone sax, flute

Craig Brenan: trombone

Carsten Rubeling: trombone

Chris Andrew: Fender Rhodes, clavinet

Rubim de Toledo: bass

Jamie Cooper: drums

Raul Tabera: percussion (track 1)

https://vimeo.com/289195056


17) Stephanie Urquhart Quartet “Concealment”

Stephanie Urquhart (piano), Peter Zawalski (guitar), Josh McHan (bass), Joel Jeschke (drums) and Mallory Chipman (vocals - tracks 1, 7, 8, 9)

Here’s the EPK for the album:




18) Dominique Fils-Aime “Stay Tuned!”

Vocals: Dominique Fils-Aimé

Bass: Jacques Roy

Drums: Salin Cheewapansri

Percussions: Elli Miller Maboungou

Keys: Nathan Vanheuverzwijn

Guitar: Étienne Miousse

Piano: Jean-Michel Frédéric

Trumpet: Hichem Khalfa

Didgeridoo: Kevin Annocque


This is a video of “Big Man Do Cry” from the album:




19) Jazzlab Orchestra “Quintessence”

Musicians : Samuel Blais, Mario Allard, Alex Francoeur (saxophone), Jacques Kuba Seguin (trumpet), Thomas Morelli (trombone), Félix Stussi (piano), Alain Bédard (bass) and Louis -Vincent Hamel (drums)

This is a video of the title track, “Quintessence”:




20) Rafael Zaldivar “Consecration”

Rafael Zaldivar (piano), Rémi-Jean LeBlanc (electric bass), David Gagné (upright bass), Mireille Boily (vocals), Amado Dedeu Jr. (percussion, vocals), Eugenio Osorio (congas) and Michel Medrano (drums).

https://soundcloud.com/rafael-zaldivar-345983768


21)  Laura Anglade “I’ve Got Just About Everything”

Laura Anglade (voice), Jonathan Chapman (bass), Sam Kirmayer (guitar), Valerie Lacombe (drums), and Masashi Usui (tenor saxophone).

This is a video of Laura Anglade performing “A Social Call”:




22) Jim Doxas “Homebound”

Jim Doxas (drums), Lex French (trumpet), Al McLean (saxophone) and Adrian Veddady (bass)

This is the title track:




23) Tara Kannangara “It’s Not Mine Anymore”

Performed by Tara Kannangara, Chris Pruden, Colin Story, Julian Anderson-Bowes, Mackenzie Longpre, Evan Cartwright and Kira May.

This is a video of “Touched” from the album:




24) Dave Young “Lotus Blossom”

Dave Young: acoustic bass

Renee Rosnes: piano

Reg Schwager: guitar

Terry Clarke: drums

Bernie Senensky: piano

Kevin Turcotte: trumpet

Perry White: tenor saxophone


This is Dave Young (featuring Renee Rosnes) performing the title track:




25) John Stetch "Black Sea Suite (Live)"

John Stetch – Piano

Steve Kortyka – Sax

Philippe Lemm – Drums

Ben Tiberio – Bass

The Guys Get Shirts Part 4

Joe LaBarbera recently visited the Avedis Zildjian Cymbal factory while sporting his brand new, limited edition 10th anniversary Four on the Floor t-shirt (and a pair of some nice new hi-hats!)

You can own one too! (I mean the t-shirt...you'll have to contact your local drum shop about the hi-hats...and only while supplies last!)

Drop me a line at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com and I'll set you up asap (for ordering details please see my previous posts).

Karriem Riggins: Tergiversation

Some burning playing from Karriem Riggins on drums along with Mulgrew Miller on piano, Warren Wolf on vibraphone and Joe "Infinity" Sanders on bass, playing Gene Perla's "Tergiversation". What a great way to start the week!


Tergiversation: Karriem Riggins Virtuoso Experience from MOCHILLA on Vimeo.

And here's 28 seconds of Rigging throwing down!


Karriem Riggins from Karriem Riggins on Vimeo.

The Guys Get Shirts Part 3

Here's Adam Nussbaum sporting his new limited edition 10th anniversary Four on the Floor t-shirt.

You can own one too! (while supplies last...)

Drop me a line at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com and I'll set you up asap (for ordering details please see my previous post).

Andrew Cyrille & Billy Hart

These two clips are all too brief but totally awesome and worth it! Check out this blazing footage of Joe Lovano getting a double dose of some heavy drums with Andrew Cyrille and Billy Hart (recorded at the Knitting Factory in New York City, circa. 2000):





I would love to see the rest of this concert!

The Guys Get Shirts Part 2

Here is John Riley wearing his new limited edition 10th anniversary Four on the Floor t-shirt.

You can own one too! (while supplies last...)

Drop me a line at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com and I'll set you up asap (for ordering details please see my previous post below).

A Drummer's Guide to the JazzYYC Summer Jazz Festival

It's nearly Jazz festival season here in Canada and things kick off this week in my hometown of Calgary, AB with the annual JazzYYC Summer Jazz Festival running June 12-16 in various venues across the city. There is lots of great music happening this week and, in particular, many great drummers to check out.

So on that note, here's my very biased and drummer-centric picks of several not-to-be-missed shows to attend and the great drummers that will be performing this week (and in no particular order...)

- Toronto's Larnell Lewis has been making waves around the world with his deep pocket, grooves and chops to spare with artists such as pianist Laila Biali and the band Snarky Puppy. Last November's performance with bassist Mike Downes at Calgary's BuckingJam Palace was a real demonstration of sensitive dynamics and musical inventiveness from behind the drum kit. This guy can roar...but he can also whisper too.

This time Larnell is bringing his own sextet and original music to Calgary on the heel's of his recent Juno nomination to play at the Ironwood Stage & Grill on Saturday, June 15th starting at 7pm.



Larnell will also be offering a FREE drum workshop on Saturday afternoon starting at 2pm, appearing at the National Music Centre.

- Pianist Benny Green's trio featuring bassist David Wong and drummer Aaron Kimmel will undoubtedly be, for me anyways, the highlight of this year's Jazz festival.

Following in the footsteps of the many other great drummers that Green has played with (see Kenny Washington, Carl Allen, Lewis Nash, Jeff Hamilton, etc.) Kimmel's drumming and hard swinging style is no exception and will not disappoint.

Check out the discipline and control that Kimmel maintains at this breakneck tempo:



I know where I'll be on Friday evening starting at 8pm! (appearing at the Studio Bell)

Benny Green will also be offering a FREE workshop on Friday at noon (also at NMC) and I am quite looking forward to this as well.

As per always: when the Masters speak, we listen!

- Toronto's Stich Wynston has been grooving behind the Shuffle Demons for as long as I can remember and it's always a treat to hear him lay it down from behind the drums in his unique way:



Hear Stich and the Shuffle Demons at the Ironwood on Wednesday evening starting at 7pm.

- Montreal's Mark Nelson is a drummer I've long admired since I first met him at the Banff Centre ten years ago. Nelson is appearing with Elizabeth Shepard at the King Eddy on Saturday evening (930pm) along with a great band featuring Michael Occhipinti on guitar, Jacques Kuba-Seguin on trumpet and Calgary's own Jon Wielebnowski on bass.

Here's a brief clip of Nelson demonstrating some inventive rhythms on some nice Gretsch drums:



- Drummer Dan Brubeck, son of the late Dave Brubeck, will be appearing with the Brubeck Brothers Quartet at Studio Bell on Saturday evening (8pm).



- Cody Iwasiuk will be laying down some dirty grooves and greasy backbeats with the Dirty Catfish Brass Band out of Winnipeg on Thursday evening at the Ironwood (7pm)



- When I lived in Toronto I would often check out Glenn Anderson playing drums with a variety of trad Jazz groups including the likes of the Excelsior Dixieland Jazz Band at the Rex on Sunday afternoons. Anderson will be bringing his swinging beat to Calgary, backing up vocalist Alex Pangman on Friday evening at the Ironwood (7pm).

- I first met drummer Mackenzie Longpre at the University of Toronto while I was pursuing my Doctoral studies in Toronto circa. 2007-2009. Mack sounded really great back then and he now he's even better! Longpre will be performing with trumpeter/vocalist Tara Kannangara at the Ironwood on Sunday evening (7pm)

- Calgary tap dancer Kelly Steele has been making a name for herself around town over the past couple of years, faithfully attending jam sessions and gigs, initiating local audiences to the possibilities of Jazz & Tap. Check out Kelly's tap Jazz quartet at the King Eddy on Saturday evening featuring local young lion Harry Faunt on the drums (6pm).

- Once you've seen whatever concert you've chosen, make sure to head down to the Ironwood Bar & Grill Thursday through Saturday evenings (10pm) to hear pianist Dave Restivo and his trio host the late-night festival jam session. Local phenom Colin Adhikary will be holding down the drum chair and I'm sure there will be exciting things to come out of these sessions.

- While not officially part of the festival, but definitely most worthy of any serious Calgary Jazz fan's attention, is the Redline Trio featuring Jeff Sulima on drums at Betty Lou's in the basement of Devinish Building, just off of 17th Avenue and 8th Street SW.

Along with veteran saxman Mark DeJong, these guys have been holding court at this hip cocktail bar every week for well over a year now and it's a great place to relax, enjoy a nice beverage and dig some great music in a hip room. Check them out every Thursday evening starting at 7pm.

- Speaking of regular gigs, the very tasteful Nate Chiang on drums also leads a trio at the Deane House (809 9th Avenue SE) every Sunday night featuring the always well dressed Nate Waters on tenor saxophone. The band starts at 6pm, swings hard and the restaurant menu is awesome.

- And last, but certainly not least, here's a couple of notable gigs of my own coming up this week:

I'll be appearing with guitarist Joel Untinen at the Gravity Espresso & Wine Bar as part of the JazzYYC Jazz Walk on Sunday afternoon from 2-4pm (FREE admission!) Joel is home for the summer following his first year of graduate studies at New York University, studying with guitarist Peter Bernstein so this should be a fun one indeed.

And last, but certainly not least, I am also very excited to present my own "Tribute to Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers" on Thursday, June 13th at the King Eddy (930pm). I am very proud of the band and music I've assembled for this performance and hope that you can join us for this special evening of music.

For more festival and ticket information, visit the JazzYYC website at www.jazzyyc.com and remember, tell them that Four on the Floor sent you!

The Guys Get Shirts Part 1

Chad Anderson modelling his new limited edition 10th anniversary Four on the Floor t-shirt.

You can own one too!

Drop me a line at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com and I'll set you up asap (for ordering details please see my previous post below).

Jon McCaslin's Tribute to Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

I have a cool gig coming up in a few weeks and I hope you can all make it.

Art Blakey has been a significant influence on me since I first started playing the drums and on this occasion I've put together a great band to pay tribute to one of Jazz music's most important band leaders and hardest swinging drummers (Blakey was born in 1919 and would have been 100 years old this year!) I've spent hours and hours listening to and studying Art Blakey's music of the years and his example as a hard swinging drummer that truly serves the music has long left an impression on me.

It's rare that I'm asked to put together a tribute project such as this (although recently I did present a trio project with pianist George Colligan and bassist Jodi Proznick to play the music of pianist Herbie Nichols last February at the Yardbird Suite in Edmonton, AB) but when I do it's because it is music that I believe in and has had a profound influence on me.

I never met Art Blakey or had the opportunity to hear him play live so I suppose musical opportunities such as this are my small way of saying "Thank You".

Presented by JazzYYC, we'll be playing at the newly restored King Eddy Hotel, now part of the National Music Centre, located in the East Village (Calgary, AB). I also have a great group of world-class musicians to play with and look forward to an evening of high-energy, hard-swinging music for you all to enjoy.

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

JazzYYC Summer Jazz Festival Presents:

Jon McCaslin's Tribute to 
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers

Thursday, June 13th                            9:30pm

Appearing at the King Eddy                 438 9th Avenue SE

Tickets: $25 Students $15

Featuring:

Dean McNeill - Trumpet

Jeremiah McDade - Tenor Saxophone

Al Kay - Trombone

Mark Limacher - Piano

Steve Shepard - Bass

Jon McCaslin - Drums

For ticket information please visit:

https://www.jazzyyc.com/jazz-events/john-mccaslin-tribute-to-art-blakey-the-jazz-messengers/

Kenny Clarke - "On the Alamo"

Some great footage that I hadn't seen before of Klook with the Martial Solal trio from 1958 featuring Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet:



This is a great opportunity to check out Klook's left hand and comping. In particular, dig how Clarke often digs into the quarter notes on the snare drum and the stick/brushes combination near the end.

And also...from Jazz Profiles, a wonderful, recent article on the legacy of Kenny Clarke.

Four on the Floor t-shirts

As promised, my limited edition Four on the Floor 10th Anniversary t-shirts are now available!

Thanks again to the Grand Master Cymbalholic himself, Mr. Chad Anderson, for offering this very hip logo for my blog and t-shirt design.

These shirts are now available in medium, large and x-large sizes and are lightweight premium fitted 100% cotton tees.

The shirts are $30 each (+shipping)

If you are interested in purchasing one, please drop me a line asap at fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com or reach me through Facebook/Twitter/Instagram and I'll set you up pronto.

Eric Binder: "An Introduction to Bebop Drumming"

On the heels of his other recent book release "10 Snare Drum Etudes for Improvisation" Eric Binder has recently self-published another excellent book, this time specifically addressing the genre of Bebop drumming.

Eric was nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions about his latest offering.

Eric Binder - The Four on the Floor Interview
"An Introduction to Bebop Drumming: A Concise Historical Overview and Practical Exercises"

1) Tell us all about your book! What is it all about and what are the goals of your text?

This is a traditional 6x9 paperback book (which is unlike most drum methods); it is easy to carry around and reference. It combines historical material with exercises intended to introduce readers to Bebop. The main objective with this project is to clearly demonstrate that Bebop is a very specific style and genre that is separate from Hard Bop. Far too often the years between the Swing era and the Post-Bop years (1960 and later) get called “Bop”. It worries me when Tony Williams and Elvin Jones are called Bebop drummers. The truth of it is, most drummers (and musicians) don’t know the difference. I aim to identify what is special about Bebop and the drumming style.

2) What was the motivation and inspiration for putting together this method?

My motivation for this book was the term “Bop” being used to categorize all music that wasn’t Swing and wasn’t Post-Bop. Those folks calling Tony and Elvin Bebop drummers really motivated me (haha).

3) How does your book differ from other method books that deal with Jazz (or bebop) drumming? What makes it unique?

Truthfully, I don’t think there are any TRUE Bebop drumming books on the market today. There are books that touch on the drumming style, but don’t identify it as an entity of its own; it’s always “Bop” drumming. My book also provides background on where Bebop came from which is so important to understand. This book is unique in that there is a good amount of history, but also relevant playing exercises and a discography. In my opinion, it is a wonderful reference for all drummers, musicians, and educators.

4) How is your subject matter organized and presented?

The book starts with a concise but informative history on Swing and Bebop music, and drumming. The reader will learn where and how Bebop started and how the drumming evolved. After the history section, there is a large portion of exercises that cover everything from technique, rudiments, comping, melody, and more. The last section is a discography section of Swing and Bebop drummers, and other musicians.

5) Why is it important for drummers to study bebop drumming?

Bebop music created a whole new vocabulary that is still relevant today.The drumming style that was developed through the innovations of Bebop was the beginning of what we know as modern drumming. The way we play “time” on the ride cymbal, the way we play ideas between our 4 limbs, this all started because of Bebop.

6) Do you have any plans for any further books, dealing with other specific styles of Jazz drumming

The next book I am going to release is something I’ve been working on for a while. It is a technique book that is meant for students to use to gain the facility and technique necessary improvise freely. I’m a huge believer in practicing to gain the facility to play freely, rather than work on ideas that you place randomly. What you play should be based off of what is going on in the music, not what you planned on playing (but that’s a whole other discussion). As for books on specific styles, I would eventually like to do Hard Bop and Post-Bop versions. 

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To purchase Eric's book visit his website: https://ericbinder.bigcartel.com

Inside the Musician's Mind with Matt Wilson

A wonderful interview with the ever imaginative and inspiring Matt Wilson courtesy of the nice folks over at the Port Washington Public Library:



And here's a fun clip of Matt in action, performing a clever drum solo improvisation over the Carl Sandburg spoken poem "Fog" from his "Honey & Salt: Music Inspired by the Poetry of Carl Sandburg" project (highly recommended!):



I was very fortunate to study with Matt Wilson in New York City back in 2004 thanks to a project grant from the Canada Council for the Arts. I have many very fond memories of my time working together with Matt, mostly in the basement of his home in Baldwin, New York.

We spent hours talking about music and the drums. I was also very fortunate to follow him around with his band too, whether they were playing in a famous New York City Jazz club or a school gymnasium packed full of students. Hanging and learning from Matt was "all music, all the time" and there's not a day that goes by that I don't consider some aspect of our lessons together.

Evelyn Glennie Solo

Thank you to Calgary's Jim Johnston who unearthed this cool little piece, featuring Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie, improvising on a multiple-percussion set-up:

Andrew Cyrille Solo

Andrew Cyrille isn't a drummer that I'm nearly familiar with but I've been reading Val Wilmer's book "As Serious as Your Life: Black Music and the Free Jazz Revolution, 1957-1977" and this has prompted me to check out some drummers and listen to some new music lately.

Cyrille is, of course, a prolific artist and I am fascinated by his approach to rhythm and orchestration around the drum set. I also really enjoyed this up-close and personal solo performance:



Of course, watching this one led me down a YouTube rabbit hole last night and I discovered this 1969 solo recording of Cyrille:



And then there's this dynamic duo album from 1974 featuring Andrew Cyrille and Milford Graves:



I would also recommend checking out these interviews with this unique, creative mind:

- And extensive interview with Ted Panken

- A two-part series from Jazz Times magazine Part 1 Part 2

- A feature from the New York Times from Nate Chinen

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Well, we're well into Spring here but you'd hardly know it where I live, given all the snow that keeps on lingering about (well I suppose it IS Canada after all, eh?) Anyhow, let's not let the weather get us down and instead focus on all the cool things that our hard working correspondents in the Four on the Floor office have compiled for us to check out this month:

- A spotlight on Baby Dodds & Zutty Singleton from Jazz Profiles.

- An audio interview with the great Billy Higgins from Heidi Chang.

- From Jazz Times magazine, Joe Lovano speaks about his favourite Paul Motian recordings:

- The Mel Lewis radio interviews are legendary and required listening for anyone serious about the study of Jazz drumming. And here they are compiled for your listening and educational pleasure.

And also an interview with Mel Lewis by Loren Schoenberg.

*Loren has also posted a number of Mel's radio interviews, featuring various different drummers, on YouTube. I'll get to those later!*

- George Marsh featured over at the Drummer's Weekly Groovecast.

- A nice drum solo introduction from Johnathan Blake from a recent hit at Smalls:



Also, an older, but great piece from 2012 on Blake from NPR.

Oh yes, and don't forget to check out Johnathan's amazing new album "Trion" with Chris Potter and Linda Oh: https://johnathanblake1.bandcamp.com/releases

- Montreal drummer and McGill Jazz professor Andre White was a huge influence on me during the 90s while I was living and studying in Montreal (he still is in fact and I often think about his approach to the drums and musicianship...) Not sure where this one came from, but here's some grainy footage of White swinging nicely on a rhythm changes:




- Kendrick Scott also has an amazing new album release on Blue Note. Hear Scott's thoughts on his new music here.




- Jerome Jennings is a hard working drummer who's work ethic and attitude I greatly admire. Here's a cool drum solo piece of his entitled "Heart":




- Carl Allen is one of the busiest drummers on the scene today and I often reflect on my lessons with him, back in the early 2000s.

Here's a couple of interviews with Allen to check out:




- The ever musical Tina Raymond via The Working Drummer podcast:




- Ralph Peterson Jr. featured on the Meinl Cymbals Radio Podcast:




- Here's Keith Hall with a great ride cymbal lesson from his new YouTube lesson series:




- What am I listening to these days?

Keith Jarrett "Standards Live" - Jack DeJohnette (drums)

Bernie Senensky Septet "Re:Action" - Barry Elmes (drums)

Wayne Shorter "Speak No Evil" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Chick Corea "Trio Music - Live in Europe" - Roy Haynes (drums)

Elvin Jones "The Complete Blue Note Recordings" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Paul Chambers "The Complete Blue Note Recordings" - Philly Joe Jones/Elvin Jones/Art Blakey/Art Taylor (drums)


- And today's Final Word goes to the ever wise and swinging Joe Farnsworth (pay attention!):

"Must come from inside you. Like breathing. It has got to be the base from which all your drumming stems. Your quarter note. Not Elvin's. Not Higgins'. Not metronome. Not Red Garland trio. That quarter note must always be there. Start with just cymbal. Slow. Breathe. Make it smooth. Then add bass drum. Then hi-hat. Then snare quarters. Make it all one sound. It's mostly mental practice and sound. Your mind and body must have this down without thinking. Like breathing." - Joe Farnsworth (via Paul Lacotta on the Facebook)


Well, that's all I've got for now. Thanks again for checking in and see you in a minute. Until then, keep swingin' as always!

Susie Ibarra Solo

Some inspiring and creative solo drum and percussion work from Susie Ibarra:



The idea of presenting a concert of solo drum set & percussion music is one that has interested me and captivated my imagination for some time. I've played solo pieces before in the context of a concert with a full-band, but never really an entire concert on my own (not a successful one anyways!) Performances such as this from the likes of Ibarra (and others, such as Joey Baron, Gerry Hemingway, Antonio Sanchez and Ted Warren come to mind) are great examples of how to sustain musical percussive interest over extended periods of time without resorting to drum pyrotechnics or pointless demonstrations of chops and speed.

Actually, now that I think of it, I did actually try this once...during bassist Joel Kerr's "Fat Lamb" Music Festival during the summer of 2000 in Regina, Saskatchewan (incidentally being held across the street from the "Flat Land" Festival being held in Victoria Park!) I remember that I jumped on the opportunity when Joel asked me to fill a set for his nightly ad hoc improvised music festival (at the time Joel and I were touring with the critically acclaimed musical touring act "Saskatchewan Express").

However, I didn't really put any thought into it and basically just hit the drums for an hour straight with no attention to any musical structure, organization or musical development. There was a reasonable crowd present when I started my set and about 3/4 of the audience had left once I was finished an hour later. Perhaps some of the drummers in audience appreciated what I did but I imagine that most people in the audience probably got bored (in fact, I distinctly remember how bored that I personally felt about 10 minutes into the whole thing!) In terms of being a musically responsible solo Jazz drummer that evening, I would have given myself a solid of grade of F.

In retrospect perhaps that's a bit harsh but I do wish I had put more attention and pre-planning into how I structured my performance and I wish I had framed it on a more musical level as opposed to a random "drumming" one. It was certainly a learning experience and one that (even almost 20 years later!) I hope to revisit in the future...

Steve Gadd Plays Flams

Some fun footage today of Steve Gadd demonstrating some rudiments and how he applies them in creative/musical ways around the drum set:

The Art of Jeff Ballard

Thanks to the nice folks over at Jazzcampus Basel in Switzerland, here's an informative interview with modern Jazz great Jeff Ballard:



And another one from the archives, a great interview with Ballard thanks to George Colligan over at JazzTruth: http://jazztruth.blogspot.com/2012/06/jeff-ballard-interview.html

Chris Smith - The Drum Hang Vol. 5

It's been a minute since we've caught up with Chris Smith and his awesome series The Drum Hang. As always, Chris has put together many wonderful and insightful episodes with a ton of great information, covering all sorts of important aspects related to Jazz drumming. Take some time to check these out and learn something:

Four on the Floor 10th Anniversary

I'm happy to announce that today marks the 10th anniversary of Four on the Floor!

I started this blog on April 11th, 2009 in my apartment while still living in Toronto shortly before I returned to Calgary (where I've been living for the past 10 years).

I created Four on the Floor for numerous reasons: First and foremost, I was in the middle of studying for my candidacy exam towards my doctoral studies at the University of Toronto that spring and what better way to procrastinate and be counterproductive than by starting an on-line blog??? But in all seriousness, my reasons were actually far more specific (in addition to the convenience of a worthy distraction!)

I've always loved sharing my passion for Jazz drumming with anyone who's interested to hear me out and give me a few minutes of their time. I also consider myself a bit of a musical detective and, to a certain extent, a self-professed Jazz drumming "curator". Personally I get quite excited whenever I discover a cool youtube.com video, an illuminating article/interview or any obscure piece of information that I consider to be a little gem related to the art of Jazz drumming. For awhile I would send out a mass email to my select friends and colleagues, sharing whatever recent discovery that inspired me. I know that some people really appreciated this while some others just considered it to be spam, clogging up their inbox Lol.

However, I was also very inspired by the likes of bloggers Ronan Guilfoyle, Peter Hum, Ethan Iverson, Jesse Cahill, Todd Bishop, Ted Warren and Darcy James Argue (among many others), all of whom maintained excellent blogs and all had great information to share in their respective realms of Jazz music. These examples all inspired me to consider posting my various Jazz drumming finds on my own public, on-line platform.

Most significantly, however, was Chad Anderson's tireless work (along with his partner Patrice) in creating and maintaining the web forum Cymbalholic  www.cymbalholic.com which remains one of the beacons in the on-line Jazz drumming community. This forum was a significant motivation for me to do my own thing as well. I first joined this awesome web forum in 2005 and consider it to be an invaluable and informative resource and a wonderful community for anyone who loves cymbals, drums and Jazz drumming.

My intention with Four on the Floor has always been to share various things related to Jazz drumming that inspire me about the art form. Furthermore, I hope that my posts interest other people as much as they excite me and it's my goal to continue to share this information for all to enjoy. At the end of the day, Four on the Floor is my small contribution to making the Jazz drumming community a better place by celebrating all the great things that have come before us, the great things happening today and all the great things we have to look forward to in the future. It's been a really fun ride so far and I sure appreciate all the connections I've made with drummers from all over the world.

Here's a quick shout out to some people who have encouraged me to keep this blog going over the past decade:

Chad Anderson
Adam Nussbaum
John Riley
Matt Wilson
Joe LaBarbera
Jeff Cosgrove
Ted Warren
Conor Guilfoyle
Scott K Fish
Tim Mah

To them, to the many, many others too (you know who you are!) and to all my readers out there I say this: THANK YOU!

Thanks again for all your continued support and here's to another fun ten years of blogging at Four on the Floor!

Onwards & Upwards

Jon McCaslin

Editor-in-Chief
Four on the Floor


btw - Hey check out this great unreleased recording of Charles Lloyd and Billy Higgins playing as a duet from 1993:



And I almost forgot...to celebrate Four on the Floor's 10th anniversary I will be printing a limited number of commemorative t-shirts (yes, for real!) featuring our hip logo (designed by none other than the Grand Master Cymbalholic himself, Chad Anderson!)

Specific ordering information and details will be made available shortly so please be patient while I sort this out. Shoot me an email at: fouronthefloorblog@gmail and I can keep you updated on what will surely be the fashion trend of the year.

Hurry! Buy now while supplies last!

Igor Willcox

Brazilian drummer, composer and band leader Igor Willcox and his band are touring Canada in April and performing in Calgary on Thursday, April 25th at BuckingJam Palace, Calgary's coolest and hippest new Jazz venue. Learn more about this performance here: www.buckingjampalace.com

In the meantime, Igor was kind enough to answer a few questions about himself and his music in advance of their Canadian tour.


Igor Willcox - Four on the Floor Interview April 2019

1) Tell us about your latest recording and touring project!

My last recording is the album Igor Willcox Quartet “Live", released last year (2018). This album features compositions from my first album, released in 2017 and recorded in the studio, plus some tribute songs. This album has received a lot of good reviews in important jazz websites such as All About Jazz.

My touring project, the Igor Willcox Quartet, is a group that I assembled to play the compositions of my first CD, which features original songs. I started this group when I was in the composing process. I called my great friends and amazing musicians Vini Morales (keys), Glecio Nascimento (bass) and Wagner Barbosa (saxophone) to join the group.

We played in the most important Jazz festivals and clubs in Brazil and now we have the happiness to make our first Canadian Tour. Soon after this tour, we will be departing to Europe to play at the North City Jazz Festival, one of the most important jazz festivals of eastern Europe, in Kosovo, on May 18th of 2019.

This project has 3 years of existence and this year we will record a new album with original compositions by myself, Wagner, Vini, and Glecio. Some of these tunes we will be debuting in the Canadian Tour.

2) How did you choose your repertoire and sidemen?

I gave preference to play our original compositions, but there are some tunes that we have chosen in tribute to our great influences, such as Herbie Hancock, Allan Holdsworth, Joe Henderson, etc. Regarding the musicians, I have chosen people who I identify musically and personally with. Despite the group having my name, I don’t consider the musicians as sidemen, because they are very active in the group and we make decisions together about the arrangements of the songs. I also try to let them be free to express themselves musically. We are a unity!

3) What inspired you to pursue the vibe and instrumentation that you did? 

I have always liked listening and also playing with this kind of quartet formation. It allows me to compose in a very creative way, leaving a lot of room for the musicians improvisations. I feel that our interaction is also very constant, we are always talking musically during the sound and it sounds very synergistic.

4) Was there a particular message you were trying to convey to the listener?

Yes, that the music is a universal language and we try to transmit this in our music. We are always looking for a musical dialogue during the sound, listening to each other and interacting.

5) Who are your influences with regards to this style of writing and playing?

There a lot, but some of my big influences are: Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Return To Forever, John McLaughlin, Allan Holdsworth, Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul.

6) What are you practicing/studying/listening to/researching these days?

I divided my routine in two ways: Practice piano and drums

- On the piano, I’m currently studying harmony, technique, not with the proposal to play, but to help me in the composition process.

- On the drums: I study everyday exercises for my hands such as the book Master Studies by Joe Morello. I love this book and there are a lot of ways to study it. I study also some new rhythms, coordination stuff focused on things that I have to improve on.

About listening, I’m always listening to all kind of good music, I love to discover new sounds and this influences the music I make.

Today, while I’m answering your questions, I am listening to Uri Caine "Bedrock".

But in the past, I also listened to Joe Zawinul, Allan Pasqua, Sixun, Herbie Hancock, Tony Williams Lifetime, Bartok, etc.

7) What other current and future projects do you have on the go at the moment?

There is no other current project besides the quartet because I’m totally focused on this project. A lot of good things are happening and I want to be 100% dedicated to the band. I also play and record with artists here in Brazil, from Jazz to pop, but they are not my personal projects, but it’s part of my work as a sideman. That I enjoy a lot as well!

On the go: I have plans to record a new album around July/August

8) How do the drums and your overall approach to rhythm factor into your compositions and concept?

The drums influences a lot in my compositions. Often, I use some rhythmic ideas to start a composition, before making melodies and harmony. I love to use polyrhythms, beat displacements, etc.

9) What drummers (or other musicians) do you consider as influences?

A lot of drummers and musicians, but I will try to list my main influences:

Drummers: Tony Williams, Gary Husband, Jack DeJohnette, Gary Novak, Vinnie Colaiuta, Elvin Jones, Bill Stewart, Robertinho Silva, Adam Nussbaum, Lenny White, Will Kennedy, Billy Cobham, etc…

Other musicians: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Allan Holdsworth, Wayne Shorter, Joe Zawinul, Joshua Redman, Keith Jarret, Allan Pasqua, John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, etc...

10) What advice do you have for younger, aspiring jazz musicians and drummers?

Have always open mind to listen to many different kind of Jazz styles, from the traditional Jazz to fusion. It will give you a deep knowledge and understanding about Jazz.

Try always to play in favor of the music, I mean, think musically, listen to the soloists, the melodies, the harmonies, pay attention to the environment, interact with the musicians you are playing. Live the music every day as if it is part of your life! 

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

Here's a preview of Willcox and his quartet:





To learn more about Brazilian drummer Igor Willcox and his music, visit his website www.igorwillcox.com

Ed Thigpen on Brushes

A nice piece of brush history, that I haven't seen in awhile, with the legendary Ed Thigpen:



Thigpen's book "The Sound of Brushes" was an important introduction to the world of brush playing for me when I first started out and, needless to say, the man knows a thing or two about playing the brushes!



I had a brief encounter with Thigpen at the 1995 IAJE Conference in Anaheim, California when I was about 18 years old. Ed was manning the Remo booth in the convention hall and minding his own business on a snare drum with a pair of brushes while people walked by. I summoned enough courage to introduce myself and he was very gracious, humble and even offered me a quick two-minute brush lesson. Of course, this all came to a grinding halt as Dave Weckl walked by and Ed lept out of his chair to say hi to Dave!

Jeff Ballard en Suisse

A very, very, very VERY special thank you and shout out to Kuert over at cymbalholic.com who was thoughtful enough to capture, post and share his recent hang with Jeff Ballard, shown here playing some really nice cymbals (this is definitely NO joke, ya dig?):



The world really needs MORE of this kind of thing...