Another instalment of excellent Jazz drumming tutorials from Chris Smith via The Drum Hang. I've posted all of his videos before and will continue to share these because I think they are really great. I have really learned a lot from these.
Now, there are a ton of so-called experts in the online world and on YouTube.com and Instagram these days, all too eager to share their "expertise" but, in fact, there are really only a small number who actually know what they are talking about! (this is of course my biased opinion....)
Chris Smith not only knows what he's talking about (and he's a really good player too!) but he also offers his explanations and concepts in a very concise and articulate way as well. This series is significant and I think he should write a book or something...oh wait never mind, he did! Check out his excellent biography on Mel Lewis entitled "The View From the Back of the Band: The Life and Music of Mel Lewis".
Anyways, sit back and learn something from this collection of instructional videos, produced by someone who really knows what they are talking about:
Montreal's Dave Laing is one of Canada's greatest Jazz drummers and has long been a huge influence on my own playing. I studied with Dave during my time at McGill University back in the mid 1990s (he really kicked my ass!) and I also frequently took advantage of the opportunity to hear Dave play on a regular basis for many years around town with a variety of artists (he was always playing everywhere!)
Dave is a consumate musician whose playing mixes sensitive and thoughtful musical accompaniment with fire, a burning ride cymbal beat and a deep sense of swing. I want to be like Dave Laing when I grow up!
Lucky for us, Dave will be performing in Calgary this coming Friday with Montreal's Sam Kirmayer on guitar and Ben Paterson on organ.
Check out this footage of Dave in action with this trio in the studio:
And here's a brief clip of Dave burning through Min Rager's composition "Say What You Mean" from her 2016 studio recording:
Dave was also nice enough to take time out of his busy schedule to answer a few questions:
Dave Laing - Four on the Floor Interview September 2019
1) How did you get your start on the drums? Who were your teachers and describe your education.
Some of my earliest memories are of the drums---my Aunt Florence could play a pretty mean rock beat and my older brother Mike was a drummer so that's really how I was introduced to the instrument. Mike was a talented player through high school and college and being 6 years older than me, he was a big influence on my early development. This was the 70's and he was listening to studio players like Steve Gadd and Jeff Pocaro. Incidentally, a lot of records from those days, even the pop recordings, would list all the musicians and it really drew attention to the individual contribution to the players, which the current format of music listening doesn't prioritize.
My dad was a jazz listener and so there was lots of jazz around the house, and back in those days you would still occasionally see jazz performers on tv shows--talk shows and variety shows, and even exclusively jazz programs like the Peter Appleyard show, which would have great bands. I had a chance to see Buddy Rich when I was a teenager and that was mind-blowing! My mom was a country and pop music listener and I remember spending many hours just going through all those records so there was a real mix of things in my early days. I personally gravitated toward funk and R&B bands, as the attraction for me was the feel and the groove--a deeper interest in jazz came a little later for me.
As for formal training, I didn't study until university and there my teachers were Lou Williamson and Pete Magadini. I also listened intently to Andre White and would pick his brain whenever I could so I would put him down as a teacher as well.
2) Who are some of the drummers that have influenced you, and why, over the years?
Every drummer influences me! That sounds a bit trite, but I do take things from every player I see and hear, since everyone has something different and unique about playing the instrument. I had an early encounter with Kenny Washington that was hugely influential in many ways. Of the elite drummers, I'd say I was most influenced by Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe, Jack Dejohnette, and Billy Higgins. I return again and again to their playing and I"m always finding new things. But honestly, there are too many names to list!
3) What are some of the projects and recordings you've been involved with that you are most proud of?
I consider myself a career accompanist and I take great pride when someone chooses me from among the many great players available to help fulfill their project or recording. I've had long associations with a lot of great players in Montreal like Kevin Dean, Ranee Lee, Joe Sullivan, Geoff Lapp, and Remi Bolduc and each of those players has many recordings that I'm quite happy with. I've done many projects with great younger players that I think sound great like Sam Kirmayer, Josh Rager, Carlos Jimenez and others.
4) What are you practicing and working on these days?
I studied a bit recently with a great Cuban percussionist in Montreal named Kiko Osorio and I'm trying to get some of that language together. After seeing players like Antonio Sanchez, Bill Stewart, Eric Harland and others, I'm trying to get some hipper foot ostinatos and odd times together but that's a work in progress!
5) You have been an influential teacher at McGill University now for over 25 years. What is your teaching philosophy and what skills do you focus on with your students?
I usually only have a few students at a time so I try dial in on what each particular player is motivated to work on while also addressing areas where I feel some attention should be focused. I like to come at development from two sides: one is the technical/rational side--which is usually what the books and methods address while the other is the emotional/feeling side of things which is harder to teach but vital to developing something personal and unique. All of our drum heroes were/are technical virtuosos but also developed something unique that made them stand out.
6) What exciting projects do you have coming up?
After this current tour with Sam, I've got a nice gig with Donny Kennedy in October at the Upstairs club in Motnreal with visiting bari sax player Paul Nedzela who's a member of the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and a McGill alum. Following that, I have some shows with Remi Bolduc and also singer Ranee Lee lined up so it will be a busy fall.
7) Tell us about the current tour with Sam Kirmayer and Ben Paterson!
Sam originally put this band together two years ago with a record date and we did some shows last year at this time and we're back at it this year but on a bigger scale. We're doing 15 shows in 19 days, hitting 6 out of 10 provinces, so it's a lot of flying and driving and packing and unpacking but we are having a gas. We do a mix of Sam's originals and some standards and we've had some great crowds so far. I've known Sam for close to 10 years now and it's been great to watch him grow into such a polished performer and composer.
Ben is a fantastic talent and really knowledgeable about the organ tradition so it's fun to play these gigs with a great musician on a rarely-played instrument.
Dave Laing is currently touring Western Canada with the Sam Kirmayer trio featuring Ben Paterson on organ and will be appearing at Lolita's Lounge in Calgary on Friday, September 27th at 7pm.
To commemorate the Fall Equinox, the end of Summer and the beginning of the Fall season, I'd like to offer these clips of Steve Jordan laying down some convincing backbeats to get everyone's attention!
Well, we are full into the swing of things now that Fall is here. Hope you are enjoying your time and working hard wherever you might be, back to school or back to work...
This is the first Monday Morning Paradiddle column in awhile now so here's more than a few things being passed around the Four on the Floor offices these days for your perusal and inspiration:
- Check out Ryan Shaw's new Jazz drumming blog Learn Jazz Drums. Lots of really great and practical Jazz drumming tips and advice to be found here on a regular basis!
- Listen to Dr. Collen Clark interviewed by the Drum History Podcast on her doctoral research "The Evolution of the Jazz Ride Pattern"
- Trumpeter Nicholas Payton recently offered his thoughts and opinions on the influential comping style of Elvin Jones (via the Instagram) and how to get it right. Definitely some important points to consider here:
"The “Elvin thing” most drummers get into, it often ceases to be conversational and becomes filler. You gotta make sure there’s substance and reason for everything you play. Don’t just play noodlely shit on the drums because you can. All fills and accents have to be about creating an energy, moving the song forward, and a dialog. If not with the soloist, a conversation between the kick and snare or the toms. Whatever part of the kit you’re engaging with, make it purposed. What a lot of kats miss with Elvin is his ideas were about cascading and signaled a buildup to some sort of resolution. He just had a verbose way of doing it. He wasn’t that far off from Philly Joe. He just took longer to get there. Only then does playing all of that stuff inbetween make sense....There’s a code in Black music. Every question has an answer. It’s also about getting into and creating a space when you’re comping. Not about what you’re playing as it is about propelling the energy. You have to speak the language. Certain phrases have a logical answer or maybe several, but there’s a complementary rhythm to every phrase, that’s what “comp” is short for. It’s like boxing where you gotta be able to read your opponent’s move before they make it. But you’re not fighting, it’s more like dancing or playing with LEGOs. You gotta provide the framework and setting to make what just happened make sense and suggest the next possibility. Elvin set up these points of tension and then had a release, but they’d appear to be more busy than what they were. It was all about creating these pivot points leading to a resolution. How you setup the melody dictates what will follow. Don’t default to being too busy on the head in. Maybe there’s nothing wrong with playing that much shit out of the gate, but there has to be a reason to support it. Comping for a soloist is oftentimes like answering a knock at the door. Look through the peephole to see who it is, then respond accordingly. Opportunity could be knocking, don’t miss it! You’re not there to fill up space, you’re there to create space. You’re also there to create resolutions and solve problems. Sometimes you’re both creating and solving those problems. ALERT! Repetitive phrases are always an easy opportunity to interact. But don’t interact at the expense of making it dance. It should feel good, regardless of how bombastic. Be able to keep it dancing in short bursts as well as when playing complex figures with longer resolution points. And don’t just focus on the soloist while missing the chance to lock in with the other rhythm section players. And if you’re going to play a lot of shit, you must justify it with larger points of resolution. And it has to be more about where it’s leading than the shit you’re playing at the moment." - Nicolas Payton, via Instagram
- Vancouver's Mike Allen was recently caught playing this tenor/drum duet with the great Andre White:
- Poly-rhythm maestro Peter Magadini shares this poly-rhythmic paradiddle triplet concept from a recent drum clinic:
- Nate Smith offers a lesson in counting and takes everyone to school!
- Tenor saxophonist Seamus Blake unleashing on Giant Steps with Joe Farnsworth stoking the fire from behind the drums:
- Thanks to Cruiseship Drummer's Todd Bishop for sharing this amazing music!
- What am I listening to these days?
Scott Colley "This Place" - Bill Stewart (drums)
Gonzalo Del Fra "Standards in Dublin" - Gonzalo Del Fra (drums)
Peter Beets New York Trio "Page Two" - Willie Jones III (drums)
Christin McBride's "New Jawn" - Nasheet Waits (drums)
Gary Smulyan "Alternative Contrafacts" - Rodney Green (drums)
Mike LeDonne "Partners in Time" - Lewis Nash (drums)
Nathan Hiltz "Songs Poetic" - Morgan Childs (drums)
Charlie Rouse "Unsung Hero" - Dave Bailey (drums)
Craig Scott "Introducing Craig Scott" - Joe Poole (drums), Craig Scott (vibraphone)
- And today's Final Words go to Ron Miller with these important thoughts on improvising (sorry...the text is a bit fuzzy but it's worth the read!):
And then this one of course...
"Listening is the most important thing in music" - Duke Ellington
From a recent performance at the Cotton Club Tokyo, here's Kenny Washington in action with the Bill Charlap trio, demonstrating his exceptional brush technique on a set of Canopus drums:
Check out this amazing and recently discovered French television footage of Miles Davis from 1957 featuring Kenny Clarke on drums with Barney Wilen on tenor saxophone, Pierre Michelot on bass and Renee Urtreger on piano:
Apparently Kenny Clarke was also the very first Jazz drummer to play on the moon. Who knew?
Recently I was excited to come across this trailer for John Riley's latest web-based instructional initiative through onlinelessons.tv:
I've always learned a great deal from John, while taking lessons with him privately over the past ten years as well as working from his excellent books "The Art of Bop Drumming", "Beyond Bop Drumming", "The Jazz Drummer's Workshop"and his DVD "The Master Drummer". John is a great player and a wonderful teacher and I always learn something from him, whether it's from watching him play or benefiting from his extensive experience and tremendous insight as a pedagogue.
Here's what John has to say about his latest project:
"The online course is for Florian Alexandru-Zorn’s platform. Maybe you’re familiar with a great brush DVD he did years ago. I did 4 hour+ courses which are progressive and will be available in October by subscription from onlinelessons.tv.
I discuss the aspects of jazz drumming, demo techniques, discuss philosophy, play with a trio and provide play-along tracks. I’m really happy with the way the lessons came out and the way everything was captured from the sound to the camera work and to the transcriptions of the lesson material."
So make sure to sign up for John's latest offering once it launches later this Fall.
In the meantime, here's an older interview with John to check out from All About Jazz:
Hope you all had a nice summer and now that September's here, it's time to get to work and back in the swing of things, so to speak...
And what better way to do so than with a few doses of inspiration from the great Bill Stewart, shown here in a quartet with John Scofield, Joe Lovano and Ben Street:
Some B3 organ trio action featuring Stewart with Peter Bernstein and Larry Goldings on Miles Davis' "Milestones":
And this one is a repost but it's so darn good, here it is again (!) featuring Bill Stewart close-up and in action with Nicolas Payton's trio from a few years back at Washington D.C.'s Jazz Alley:
Finally, here's a more recent interview with pianist Pablo Held whose ongoing interview series offers some real depth and insight into the minds of Jazz music's current generation of creative artists:
Jazz drumming great Charli Persip recently turned 90 years young and Adam Nussbaum has informed me that Persip is also facing some medical challenges these days. A Go Fund Me fundraiser has been set up in his name to help with the cost of the medical bills and he would sure appreciate any help you can offer:
From the Go Fund Me webpage: "Famed jazz drummer, Charli Persip, known for his band SuperSound, has played with jazz legends such as Dizzy Gillespie and Billy Eckstine. Unfortunately, in recent years, Charli Persip has been struggling with illness. Due to this, he had to stop doing what he loves the most; performing and teaching. This has left him to fall on hard times financially due to medical bills. We are reaching out to the jazz community at this time for any contributions towards the Charli Persip medical fund. He would greatly appreciate the support. You can e-mail his family at charlipersip@yahoo.com as well."
Fortunately for us, Charli's 90th birthday celebration concert was recently shared on YouTube and featured a plethora of great musicians and drummers including appearances from the likes of E.J. Strickland, Kenny Washington, Taru Alexander, Lloyd Haber, Warren Smith, Marcus Baylor, Jack DeJohnette, Nasheet Waits, Eli Fountain, Jeff Tain Watts, Carl Allen, Andrew Cyrille, Darrell Smith, Adam Nussbaum and more. Check it out:
Happy Birthday indeed!
Adam Nussbaum was also kind enough to offer these words, some thoughts on the impact that Persip had on his own development:
"Charli was one of my early teachers. He was such an inspiration beyond just the drums. What I got from him was that it was all about the music and the commitment. That had a major impact on me. It still does!"
Personally, I was first made aware of Charli Persip's drumming from listening to the 90s CD reissue of the album Gretsch Drum Night at Birdland. This album featured Persip along with the drumming powers of Elvin Jones, Art Blakey and Philly Joe Jones in an epic drum battle but Charli Persip, at the time, was brand new to me. However, once I heard him do his thing (and, in my opinion, more than keep up with the others!) I was like...."okay now who is THIS guy???" Needless to say, I've been a fan ever since.
Adam Nussbaum, Chad Anderson, Jesse Cahill and Brad Shigeta also all reminded me to check out Persip's swinging playing with Dizzy Gillespie (Have Trumpet Will Excite, Dizzy Gillespie at Newport and Sonny Side Up with Sonny Stitt and Sonny Rollins), Lee Morgan's Blue Note recordings, Cecil Payne's The Connection, piano trio dates with Red Garland, Benny Golson's New York Scene and his own Charles Persip and the JAZZ Statesmen:
Some wonderfully musical and inspired drumming today from Allison Miller with her Boom Tic Boom project:
And thanks to Four on the Floor correspondent Tim Mah for sending along this recent interview with Miller over at the Burning Ambulance Podcast.
I've also posted these next two before but because they are so much fun and I really dig them, here they are again:
As you can see from the informative clips above, Allison Miller is a creative force on the drums, a musical drummer that brings together the legacy of jazz drumming in the present while also pushing the sonic possibilities of the instrument forward in a highly personal way.
A few interesting things to listen to today that I've been enjoying lately...
- Uncle Paul's Jazz Closet is an excellent podcast curated by Paul Motian's niece Cindy McGuirl that features the life and music of Paul Motian, including many unreleased and private recordings.
A recent episode features some rare rehearsal recordings of Motian's in which he is tuning his drums, practicing the drums (!) and rehearsing original material with other musicians.
I was also really impressed with a previous episode that featured Motian's private recordings of him practicing the piano and playing through several of his original compositions (on a piano that he allegedly bought from Keith Jarrett and apparently Motion was a very serious student of the instrument, even taking regular lessons for a number of years). I don't think that Motian meant for these recordings to be heard by anyone other than himself however I don't think he would really mind either (*this is purely my speculation of course!)
Anyways, I think these recordings are highly significant and I think we can all take a lesson from this. Given the technology readily available to us, there is no reason why we all shouldn't be recording ourselves on a regular basis for self-evaluation (even if not intended to be shared with others). Perhaps no one will be curating a podcast in our name after we're long gone however there is still much to be learned and gained by regular documentation of your own creative process.
I recently spoke with Dr. Patrick Boyle about this very subject, Ted Warren blogged about this earlier in the week and Chad Anderson is a constant inspiration via his posts on Instagram.
- Jerry Fuller is a name that often comes up in Canadian Jazz drumming circles. When I ask other musicians about him, he is always remembered fondly (in fact, whenever Nick Fraser is asked: "Who is the best Jazz drummer in Toronto?" Fraser usual replies: "Jerry Fuller"....even though he's been deceased since 2002!)
Here's an article written by long-time Montreal Jazz critic Len Dobbin on Fuller's career.
A couple of great examples of Jerry Fuller's drumming to check out, both from the Canadian Jazz Archives on-line (a great resource!):
Both of these concerts were recorded live at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto.
- Here's some more Canadian Jazz: guitarist Sonny Greenwich with pianist Don Thompson, bassist Jim Vivian and drummer Barry Elmes, recorded at the Upstairs Jazz Bar in Montreal on a spirited version of Cole Porter's "I Love You":
I think I may have been in the audience for this concert now that I come to think of it...
- Thanks to Adam Nussbaum for passing along this rare one of the John Coltrane Quartet from 1960, recorded at the Jazz Gallery, featuring Pete LaRoca on drums:
- And speaking of Coltrane....here's Montreal's Yannick Rieu and his quartet performing Trane's Untitled Original 11383 from a recent performance at the Montreal International Jazz festival with ANDRE WHITE on drums:
- Kenny Washington first played this Philly Joe Jones drum solo for me a few years ago at his apartment in Brooklyn. It's extremely rare and out-of-print but fortunately it's still up on YouTube:
Some creative drumming today from Antonio Sanchez featuring his expansive drum set-up and the Sensory Percussion trigger system (also recently featured on this blog with performances from the likes of Marcus Gilmore and Kendrick Scott):
Further to that example, Sanchez discusses his personal approach to soloing on the drums:
And here's an interview with Sanchez in which he talks about his influences, working with Pat Metheny and his recent projects:
Okay, one more (!) Here is a quick lesson on his approach to cymbal technique:
As you can see and hear, Sanchez is not only an accomplished drummer but a creative artist as well who is pushing the boundaries of his craft.
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.
- 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).
- 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)
- 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!
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.
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 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!)
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)
This is a blog about jazz, jazz drumming and all things unrelated. Thanks for stopping by!
A Bit About Me...
Jonathan McCaslin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. Jonathan began playing the drums at the age of nine. He progressed through the Regina Lions Junior Band and the music program at his high school, Campbell Collegiate, soon developing a passion for playing the drums and jazz. Ultimately, Jon's interest in music led him to enroll in the Jazz Studies program at McGill University, graduating with distinction in 1999.
While at McGill Jon had the opportunity to study with some of the finest jazz educators in the country including Gordon Foote, Kevin Dean, Jan Jarcyzk, Chris McCann, Andre White, Michel Lambert and Dave Laing. He also attended the prestigious summer jazz workshop presented by the Banff Centre for the Arts in 1997, where he performed with Canadian jazz greats Hugh Fraser, Don Thompson and Kenny Wheeler.
Jon has also been fortunate to have performed with many of Canada's jazz elite including Charlie Biddle, Brian Hurley, Louise Rose, Alaister Kay, Mart Kinny, Gary Guthman, Mike Rud, Hadley Caliman, Greg Clayton, Chase Sanborn, Andre White, Tilden Webb, John LaBelle, Kevin Dean, Dave Turner, Ralph Bowen, Don Thompson, Dionne Taylor, Jim Vivian, Kelly Jefferson, Ian McDougall, Brad Turner, Jim Brenan, The McGill Jazz Orchestra, Jeff Johnston, Lorraine Desmerais, Steve Amirault, Hugh Fraser, Chucho Valdes, Kieran Overs, The Altsys Jazz Orchestra, Pat LaBarbera, The Regina Symphony Orchestra and The Montreal Jazz Big Band.
In the spring of 2002 McCaslin completed his Master's in Jazz Studies at McGill University where he studied jazz drumming, improvisation and composition.
In January 2003 Jon released his debut CD, “McCallum’s Island”. Featuring his quintet, the CD contains an exciting collection of McCaslin’s original compositions, featuring himself and his band. The release of this CD was followed by a twenty-day tour of Western Canada, performing to enthusiastic, capacity audiences. During March of 2003 Jonathan was the recipient of a fellowship from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and attended the “Betty Carter Jazz Ahead” residency in Washington, D.C. Along with twenty other distinguished young jazz artists, McCaslin was featured with such jazz icons as Terence Blanchard, Carmen Lundy, Winard Harper, Curtis Fuller and John Clayton.
McCaslin’s quintet performed at the 2003 edition of the Montreal International Jazz Festival and was nominated for the General Motors Grand Prix du Festival (awarded to the most outstanding Canadian group). From 2004 until 2006, Jon toured North America, Asia and Europe with the high-energy, critically acclaimed music production troupe “Barrage”. Featuring a cast of seven world-class fiddlers and a four-piece band, this dynamic show featured high-energy music and fiddle traditions from around the world set to upbeat choreography and movement.
In 2015, Dr. McCaslin received his Doctorate through the University of Toronto and completed his dissertation on the conceptualization of contemporary melodic jazz drumming. He is currently based in Calgary, Alberta where he maintains a busy performing and teaching schedule across Canada.
