Billy Drummond on Dubai

Just a short one today, but here's Billy Drummond with a quick demonstration of his unique drum beat for his original 7/4 composition "Dubai":



This album, and Billy's drumming in general, was quite influential to me during the late 90s. He was easily one of the first "current" Jazz drummers that I heard that I really identified with. He really had his own original sound and a modern concept but it was also clear to me that he had really checked out the tradition and, to my ears anyways, represented a real continuation of all the older Jazz drummers I had been checking out and studying to that point. I've always been a big fan of his playing and this morning the clip above put a smile on my face.

Oh yeah, Billy also has very good taste in old drums and cymbals!

I only have one question after seeing this: Where is the rest of this interview? Please share this!!!

Jeff Hamilton Tribute to Ed Shaughnessy

From a recent tribute to the late Ed Shaughnessy, here's Jeff Hamilton on his highly melodic version of the Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol classic, "Caravan":



Hamilton's impressive melodic approach to the drums is nothing new, there's great recordings of him doing this that have been around for a while now, but I really appreciate his overall approach to using melody around the drum set. Especially his technique of bending the pitch of the drums while on the fly. It's somewhat similar to what Ari Hoenig has also been doing for sometime as well. If you tune your drums low enough to give yourself enough room to get a good contrasting interval between pitches, this offers some really interesting possibilities.

Bassist John Clayton is a long-time colleague of Jeff Hamilton's, going back to their student days at Indiana University. Here's what Clayton has to say about his long time rhythm partner in swing:



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Hey, my friend Nick Fraser who is a great drummer from Toronto (and frequent reader of this blog!) is currently touring Canada with a great band featuring NYC tenor saxophonist Tony Malaby, promoting their latest album "Towns and Villages".

They play Calgary on Saturday, September 28th at the National Music Centre and I would highly recommend catching them either here in Cowtown or along the rest of their National tour.

Gigs!

Okay, time for a little self-less self-promotion! Here's a few exciting concerts of mine coming up over the next few weeks. Come on by and say hello.

I'll be presenting the music from Miles Davis' seminal recording "The Birth of the Cool" with a nonet consisting of Calgary's finest on Thursday, September 26th at the National Music Centre, presented by JazzYYC:

On Monday, September 30th I'll be joining renowned Canadian alto saxophonist PJ Perry, bassist Jodi Proznick and the UofC Jazz Orchestra for the University of Calgary's Monday Night Jazz Series season opener:

And finally, on Thursday, October 3rd tenor saxophonist Phil Dwyer rolls into town to join myself and bassist Rubim De Toledo for some trio fun down at the Kawa Espresso Bar:

These should all be very fun, exciting and different gigs to say the least. I consider myself very fortunate to play with such talented artists these days. This fall is really shaping up so stay tuned for more interesting events coming up.

Glenn Kotche in the Kitchen

I'd like to thank my father for forwarding me this brief but clever clip of drummer Glenn Kotche (of Wilco Fame) redefining the meaning of "Kitchen Music" (or is there even a meaning for that in the first place???) Anyways, enjoy this one...



And of course, here is Kotche's arrangement of "Monkey Chant" which demonstrates an incredible approach to playing solo multiple-percussion:



Here's another great clip of Kotche from the Modern Drummer Festival a few years ago in which he explains how he applies Steve Reich's "Clapping Music" to the drum set:



I have to say that Glenn Kotche is really doing a great job at exploring the possibilities and potential of solo drum set and how to integrate percussion instruments within the drum set. His use of "prepared percussion" is a also really a treat and very creative. It's all really quite inspiring and I look forward to seeing what he comes up with next.

Louis Armstrong on His Chops

This is an amazing story about two high school students who interviewed Louis Armstrong!

http://blankonblank.org/interviews/louis-armstrong-on-his-chops/

"You've got to be good or as bad as the devil...Even if we had two, three days off I still had to blow that horn a few hours to keep up the chops."

Billy Hart Interview

From South Korean television, here's a reasonably comprehensive and thought provoking interview with modern Master jazz drummer Billy Hart:

























Why can't American (or Canadian!) television be this forward thinking and interview Masters like this while they are still alive?

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Well it's finally September. Welcome back and now that summer is pretty much over (yikes!) the office staff over here at Four on the Floor are slowly making their way back to their cubicles and hard at work. Frequent blogging will now resume and our foreign correspondents have accumulated a wealth of fun things to share in the weeks and months ahead. Thanks for your support and please come back often.

Here's what's buzzing around Four on the Floor HQ these days:

- New York Latin Jazz drum Steve Berrios passed away earlier this summer. Here's a few nice articles from around the web about this very influential and yet underrated percussionist:

http://blogs.artinfo.com/blunotes/2013/07/remembering-drummer-and-percussionist-steve-berrios/#.UfMxtZDL4uw.facebook

http://wamc.org/post/walking-encyclopedia-rhythms-remembering-steve-berrios

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/arts/music/steve-berrios-master-of-latin-jazz-and-drums-dies-at-68.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2013/07/29/206704940/a-walking-encyclopedia-of-rhythms-remembering-steve-berrios

I first heard Steve play with the Fort Apache band at the Sweet Basil in New York around the year 2000. I had just come straight from my audition at the Manhattan School of Music and was determined to hear this alleged master of the Latin Jazz drumming continuum. And I wasn't disappointed. His drumming had all the roots of both Afro-Cuban and Jazz drumming mixed and matched in a very personal and musical way. I don't think I've ever played a cowbell with my drums the same way since.

I was first introduced to Steve's drumming when his name was mentioned in an interview with Jeff "Tain" Watts. Apparently Steve was the drummer that Tain sought out after he had left the Tonight Show Band and moved back to New York. You can definitely hear a modern Latin Jazz/Timba influence in Tain's drumming at times and a lot of this comes via Steve.

Here's a few videos of Steve Berrios doing his thing:










- Here's a couple of things from drummer Carl Allen to check out.

First, a roundtable chat with Allen and Allison Miller:

http://www.openskyjazz.com/2013/06/drummer-roundtable-allison-miller-carl-allen/

And here's a masterclass from Carl taken from the Montreux Jazz Festiaval:

http://www.tcb.ch/video___sound.html

If you didn't catch Carl's masterclass on ride cymbal playing from last year's JazzEd Conference, here are some highlights:



- My good friend, New York Jazz drummer Alvin Atkinson Jr. has a cool series of interviews on-line called "The Drummer Speaks". Check out this episode featuring none other than Gregory Hutchinson:



- Here's Adam Nussbaum in action from a recent masterclass over at Drummer's Collective featuring guitarist Oz Noy:



- What am I listening to these days? I've been checking out a lot of great music over the past few months. Here's what's been spinning on my CD player, turntable, mp3 player and car stereo lately:

Jackie McLean "Swing, Swang, Swingin" - Art Taylor (drums)

Elvin Jones "Puttin' it Together" - Elvin Jones (drums)

Christian McBride Trio "Out Here "- Ulysses Owens Jr. (drums)

Alan Jones Sextet "Climbing (Rough)" - Alan Jones (drums)

Miles Davis "The Birth of the Cool" - Kenny Clarke/Max Roach (drums)

Mike LeDonne "Speak" - Joe Farnsworth (drums)

Igor Stravinsky "The Rite of Spring"

Erik Satie "Gymnopedies"

Ted Nash "The Creep" - Ulysses Owens Jr. (drums)

Warren Wolf - "Black Wolf" - Jeff "Tain" Watts (drums)

David Virelles  "Continuum" - Fransisco Mela (drums)

Fort Apache "Rumba Buhaina" - Steve Berrios (drums & percussion)

Sonny Stitt "Sonny Stitt and Hank Jones" - Shadow Wilson/Roy Haynes (drums)


- A nice quote here worth considering from former US President Theodore Roosevelt:

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

- I studied with Jazz drummer Chris McCann from 1995 through 1999 while an undergrad at McGill University in Montreal. His teachings and wisdom were quite profound in terms of my development and resonate even to this day.

Chris has been working on some original music for quite some time. Thanks to Montreal trumpeter Andy King for passing this along, here is a taste of Chris's unique music:

http://chrismccannmusic.bandcamp.com

- I've really been digging Kendrick Scott's drumming lately and this next clip with Kurt Rosenwinkel is no exception!

Interestingly enough, here is Kendrick's teacher, Craig Green, who has also taught many of the great young drummer's that have come out of Houston, Texas in the past few years (see Kendrick Scott, Eric Harland, Chris Dave, Jamire Williams...)

Here is another interview with Scott where he shares some of his thoughts on music:

- Finally, I'm very pleased to announce that my latest album "Sunalta" has been nominated for "Best Jazz Recording of the Year" by the Western Canadian Music Awards. The conference and awards ceremony take place in Calgary this coming October. http://breakoutwest.ca/2013-wcmas/

Thanks again to all who helped make this album happen!

Tommy Flanagan "Oleo"

Thanks to Irish bassist and rhythm guru Ronan Guilfoyle who sent along this fine clip via the Facebook:



This is a great reminder of what a great brush player Elvin Jones was!

Sal Ferreras on Rhythm

I came across this very profound documentary from Vancouver percussionist Sal Ferreras:



Learn more about Mr. Ferreras and his music over at his website: www.salferreras.com

"Rhythm is what we are!"

Drummer Wanted...

I think this one speaks for itself...

Mark McLean - "Musical Approach to Drumming"

Drummer Mark McLean has always impressed me with his versatility and musicality whether laying down backbeats or swinging cymbal beats.  Here's a full-length in-studio lesson with Mark in which he discusses his approach to making music on the drums:

Jazz Heaven.com

You've probably noticed the banner on the right side of my blog that has been advertising a fine website entitled jazzheaven.com for some time now. This website is a great collection of Jazz instructional videos, all produced by Falk Willis, that feature the likes of Eric Harland, Ralph Peterson Jr., Ari Hoenig, Lee Konitz, Jerry Bergonzi, Jean-Michel Pilc, Oz Noy, Kenny Werner and many, many others. I can tell you from first-hand experience that the quality of these DVDs is exceptional and second to none. Buy these DVDs and you will learn something!

Falk Willis is also a very fine drummer himself. I first heard Falk play at Cleo's Jazz Bar in Montreal (around the corner of St. Laurent and Rachel) around 1996 while he was playing with pianist John Stetch and bassist Joe Martin. I was a fresh undergrad at McGill at the time and hearing these guys play really changed my perspective on piano trio playing. Young New York Jazz drummers, such as Falk Willis, that would make the occasional trek to Montreal really had quite an impact on me (I would also include drummers such as Jorge Rossy, Joe Strasser, Daniel Freedman, Darren Beckett, Jim Black and Jeff Watts as others that I heard around that time as well.) It was all really quite a insight as to what was going on in terms of contemporary Jazz drumming in New York City during the mid 1990s.

Falk was nice enough to answer a few questions for Four on The Floor about jazzheaven.com:

Tell us all about jazzheaven.com. What is it?

It is a kick-butt music instructional video site with lessons and interviews with many of today's finest jazz musicians, ranging from Lee Konitz to Eric Harland. Formats are in DVD as well as streaming online versions, plus optional versions for mobile devices.

Why did you decide to pursue this project?

I had been a professional jazz drummer myself for 14 years. Then life took a left turn and I did completely unrelated things for ten years: running my own businesses, real estate investing among them. One day I listened to an interview with CDbaby.com founder Derek Sivers and he mentioned that the question he asked himself before starting CDbaby.com was "What would be a dream come true for...[fill in the target audience of the business you are starting]?" That really resonated with me, and when answering this question for young, aspiring jazz musicians, JazzHeaven.com was my answer to it. (I would have killed for something like the Ralph Peterson instructional video we did, when I was younger!)

What were the logistics involved in completing such a project?

A LOT more than I anticipated! I worked on this for over two years with a team of fantastic videographers, video editors & audio engineers. I leased a storefront in Brooklyn, NY, converted it into a video recording studio, bought loads of high-end video & audio recording gear and then we got busy! 20 test shoots and 31 real-life projects have been shot at this point. A lot of work, a lot of fun, and a couple of banks had to be robbed in the process to allow the production level we are going for.

What can you tell us about your background as a musician?

I am originally from Munich, Germany. As mentioned, I was a professional jazz drummer for 14 years, many of which in NY. In the mid-nineties, I had the pleasure to play (and live...) with many fine musicians that are now "Village Vanguard regulars", from Kurt Rosenwinkel to Ethan Iverson of The Bad Plus.

How did your musical background and experience shape and inform your ideas about developing jazzheaven.com?

A lot! The fact that I personally know a lot of our artists already, had played with a lot of them myself years ago, sure made things easier. And I definitely needed my understanding of the music for directing the videos, where needed. Let's face it, most master players are not master teachers, and many of them can not remember how it feels when you are not a master yet. So, one line I frequently use at the shoots is: "Freeze! Don't change subjects now! But rather explain it to the "Cave Man" now!" True story. For fairness sake, some artists were really prepared and I didn't have to say a word. But that's the clear minority. As a result, I am proud to say that I feel all 31 shoots overall came out well and the viewer will have a real chance of actually learning something - rather than just sitting on the couch and watching somebody great, but later on not knowing more him-/herself. That's very important to me.

What have been some of the highlights and challenges while working on this?

Too many to list them all. Getting artists to respond. Getting artists to prepare. Dealing with building department violations. Wearing 278 different hats. Dealing with endless technology challenges. Exploding our budget. But...I can happily stand for the final result - and I am not easy to please. I think we have created something valuable and needed, and, not to toot my own horn, but we are treating the artists multiples times better than any other situation like this I am aware of. So, hopefully a great thing for everyone involved has been created.

What does the future have in store for jazzheaven.com?

Keep on doing what we are doing, namely building a great catalog of timeless jazz instructional videos.

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Here's a few fine examples to give you an idea of the invaluable information to be found within these volumes:







Keep up the great work Falk !

Philly Joe Jones "Spontaneous Expression"

This is a pretty rare album (originally released in France) that has popped up on youtube.com. The entire album is up there as well but this particular track, I think, really stands out and is a real tour-de-force in itself:



All in all this piece is a nice reminder that I need to re-visit my brush technique and my snare drum (Wilcoxin!)

About Time...Steve Gadd

For the last post of July, here's a preview of a GREAT upcoming documentary featuring the great Steve Gadd:

Klook with Rene Thomas

Still in summer mode over here at Four on the Floor, but in the meantime here's some rare footage of the great Kenny Clarke with guitarist Rene Thomas to check out (in colour too!):



I don't know much about Rene Thomas except that a few years ago Montreal drummer/pianist/recording engineer Andre White played me some unreleased recordings of Thomas with Kenny Clarke that were absolutely burning (a version of "A Night in Tunisia" that featured Klook stands out in particular...) Does anybody out there have any more info about Rene Thomas and, in particular, his association with Kenny Clarke?

It's also nice to hear/see Klook playing in an organ/guitar trio format. These configurations always seem to bring out a different side of a drummer's playing, in my opinion...

Jimmy Cobb Masterclass!

Jimmy Cobb recently visited Russia and here's some footage of the master trading some phrases with Oleg Butman, a great Russian Jazz drummer (complete with his trademark suspenders!):

Tyshawn Sorey Meets Pedrito Martinez

Well, I thought this was pretty bad ass when I stumbled across it...

Here's Cuban-born percussionist Pedrito Martinez and drummer/visionary Tyshawn Sorey engaged in an intense percussion discussion:



This is the kind of thing I'd like to see more of, that is to say a drummer and percussionist working together to create some deep grooves. All too often either one or the other will end up over playing (as I've witnessed all too often!) I'm thinking that later this summer, when I have some time, I'll give a call to my favourite Cuban percussionists here in Calgary and get some serious rhythm sessions happening over at my place.

I recently played at the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival with Canadian alto saxophonist PJ Perry and a stellar big band. The Outer Bridge Ensemble (from New York) was the band in residence and played several shows as well as hosting a great nightly jam session at the Bassment. I was really impressed with how drummer Jerome Jennings and percussionist David Freeman really worked together, never overplaying nor stepping on either's rhythmic toes. The balance between the two was perfect. I'd venture to say that's the bar that we drummers and percussionist should strive towards when playing together. Thanks for the lesson Jerome and David!

Jake Hanna Interview

Jake Hanna was a great drummer, equally comfortable in larger ensemble settings such as Woody Herman and Toshiko Akiyoshi's big bands as well as in smaller configurations (see Oscar Peterson).

Here's a rare, informal interview with Hanna recorded in Victoria, British Columbia:






And to put things into context, here's a clip of Jake Hanna with the Woody Herman band demonstrating how to play breakneck, up tempos at ease on the classic flag-waver "Caldonia":



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We're presently in summer mode now over here at the Four on the Floor offices. Posting will be sparse but regular over the next couple of months.

Thanks again for your continued support and Happy Canada Day everybody!

Stewart Copeland - Next to You

Thanks to the miracle of isolation technology, here's a little lesson in drumming from Stewart Copeland:

John Betsch

Last month I had the pleasure of playing with New York clarinetist Oran Etkin and his Timbalooloo project at the Calgary International Children's Festival. While learning Oran's music I checked out some youtube.com footage of his Jazz-themed children's show from a recent performance at the Paris Jazz club Duc des Lombards which featured none other than American ex-pat, Paris-based Jazz drummer John Betsch on drums.

Now I haven't really heard Betsch's name in a few years however one of my most memorable concert experiences was actually seeing him with Steve Lacy's trio at the Montreal Jazz Festival in 2001. I have to thank Montreal bassist Solon McDade for dragging me out to that show and I'm sure glad that he did! The concert featured mostly Lacy's interpretations of Thelonious Monk's music and I don't think I've ever heard anyone play this music with quite the same deep understanding and authenticity (and Betsch's drumming was certainly a big part of this.)

Here's a taste of Betsch demonstrating some nice custom made drums to give you a sense of this great drummer: