Oscar Peterson & Louie Bellson "Cute"

Thanks to our Italian correspondent Fabio Baglioni, here's a great one of the ever musical Louis Bellson featured with the Oscar Peterson trio on Neal Hefti's "Cute" taken at a brisk tempo:



I think Bellson's explanation of his use of the Roto-toms was pretty cool! Nobody else can pull that off...

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

Hello everybody and I hope everything is super groovy in your part of the world these days. Things are busy over here in my neck of the woods with Canada's Jazz festival season kicking into high gear. But as usual here's a smattering of different things to check out:


- In honour of Father's Day, here's a nice piece from NPR's A Blog Supreme on some famous drummers and their drumming fathers:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2014/06/14/321791688/rhythm-runs-in-the-family-drummers-on-their-dads


- New Orleans drummer Geoff Clapp recently contributed a GREAT article on the nuances of playing the ride cymbal over at Drum Magazine:

http://www.drummagazine.com/features/post/drummers-conundrum-great-cymbal-sound/


- I really dug this article by Branford Marsalis over at Downbeat magazine recently:

http://www.marsalismusic.com/news/melodic-study-deep-listening-and-importance-context-downbeat-master-class-branford-marsalis


- George Colligan contributed a great blog post about Time and on playing with a metronome over at his blog Jazz Truth:

http://jazztruth.blogspot.ca/2014/05/in-search-of-rhythmic-humanity.html


- I heard through the grapevine that Vancouver tenor saxophonist Steve Kaldestad requires his ear training class at Capilano University to transcribe Jorge Rossy's drumming on "I Didn't Know What Time It Was" from Brad Mehldau's "Art of the Trio Vol.1". As you can see below, there is a lot of great information to learn from this one:

http://thatdrumblog.blogspot.ca/2014/06/transcription-jorge-rossy-i-didnt-know.html


- Here's some great insight on Ahmad Jamal and the drumming of Vernell Fournier from Kenny Washington:

http://jazzprofiles.blogspot.ca/2010/08/ahmad-jamal-on-mosaic-records.html?m=1

And then of course that led me to dig up this one courtesy of Ted Panken:

http://tedpanken.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/vernell-fournier-on-ahmad-jamal-wkcr-1990/


- My friend Phil Dwyer is now consulting on this CBC on-line Jazz stream. Check out some serious Canadian Jazz talent!

http://music.cbc.ca/#/genres/Jazz/blogs/2014/6/Listen-to-Phil-Dwyers-Jazz-Canada-stream

- A very insightful interview with the multi-talented drummer/vibraphonist Jason Marsalis:

http://artsmania.ca/2014/04/30/interview-with-jason-marsalis/


- And speaking of New Orleans drummers, here's two of the greats featuring Shannon Powell and Herlin Riley:

http://jazzinspired.com/2011/12/09/shannon-powellherlin-riley/

And then Shannon Powell with Johnny Vidacovich:




- Some nice solo drumming (as always) and interview from Billy Martin:

http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/hour-billy-martin/





- I'm really hoping that Brian Blade records with his recent trio project featuring Danilo Perez and John Patitucci (they are touring as "The Children of The Light" this summer). In the meantime check out this  very musical drum solo:




- Special thanks to Sir Dale James for sharing this one of percussionist and rhythm guru Efrain Toro with Peter Erskine and Alex Acuna:




- What am I listening to these days?

Coleman Hawkins, Buddy Tate, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis & Arnett Cobb "Very Saxy" - Arthur Edgehill (drums)

Amiri Baraka "New Music, New Poetry" - Steve McCall (drums)

Gerry Hemingway "Kernelings" - Gerry Hemingway (drums and percussion)

Buster Williams "Live at the Montreux Jazz Festival 1999" - Carl Allen (drums)

Miles Davis & Sonny Stitt "Live in Stockholm 1960" - Jimmy Cobb (drums)

Teddy Edwards Sextet "Jazz Scene USA" - Doug Sides (drums)


- Dig this crazy footage of Buddy Rich playing "Mercy Mercy Mercy" circa. 1975:



I love the gogo dancers and what's up with that left hand of his???
Man....I really don't think he was human!


- Speaking of Buddy Rich....this is just hilarious (But I dig it. It still sounds like Buddy Rich!):





- And the last word today goes to this gentleman:



Thank you for all your great music Mr. Silver...

Denny' s Combos

I've been messing around with this snare drum exercise lately and thought I would share it with you all today.

This exercise, known as "Denny's Combos", was written by Tom Float and taught to me by Jody Mario and Chris Worthington (who both played snare with the Blue Devils) during my drumline days back in the early 1990s. I guess Tom really dug his bacon and eggs...

It's a great exercise because it emphasizes transitions between a progression of several different rudiments, something every rudimental drummer should be able to do effortlessly.

I also really dig this one because it has a subtle Wilcoxin vibe to it (probably because of the hand-to-hand flams, I suppose).

Here are the four variations:

(Please forgive the change in size of these examples. I just recently switched over to a newer version of Sibelius and haven't quite mastered creating .jpeg files from it quite yet!)

I was going to record an audio track of me playing this but found this one of the Impulse drum line playing through it instead (and I think they do a pretty good job!):



Remember:

- Take it slow at first

- Play it with a metronome and strive for rhythmic accuracy

- Try leading with both the Right and Left hands

- Play it with brushes!

- Attempt replacing the double stroke rolls with 32nd note single strokes rolls!

- Add some kind of bass drum/hi-hat pattern underneath

Peter Erskine on Brushes

Peter Erskine is a great brush player and a great teacher so lucky for us the folks over at Drumeo were nice enough to host and post this lengthy brush lesson with the Maestro himself (although he does start the program with sticks!) There is lots to learn here:



And to put some things into context, here's Peter from a recent appearance right here in Canada from Victoria Drum Fest 2014:



(If you'll notice Peter is also playing one of the new Zildjian Kerope ride cymbals.)

I've also really been digging and practicing along with Erskine's play-a-long Apps currently available on the iTunes App store, all downloaded to my iPhone. The Erskine Jazz Essentials Vol. 1 & 2, Afro-Cuban Essentials, Joy Luck Play-a-Long and The Code of Funk are all very useful resources to practice with. Check them out here:

http://www.petererskine.com/ios-apps.html

Moving (around the drums)

Rochester, NY drummer Aaron Staebell was kind enough to contribute this very useful and practical exercise that he learned from Rich Thompson, his teacher at the Eastman School of Music.

Here's what Aaron had to say about his contribution:

"This is a short video demonstrating a movement exercise that we were all doing at Eastman back in the early 2000s. Our teacher was Rich Thompson, a really tremendous drum set pedagogue. He did some time with the Basie band in the 80s. The point behind this exercise was to play as smoothly and comfortably as possible. It was always paired with the term "Conservation of Motion". Hopefully your blog readers dig it!"

It's pretty self-explanatory from this short demonstration that Aaron put together:

Basically, your Right hand moves around the drums either clockwise or counter-clockwise, then your Left hand follows one eighth-note and one drum behind the Right hand.

I actually messed around with this very idea when I was still in high school (!) many years ago but had forgotten about it. Grant Laxdal and I came up with some other variations in the same style as well where the hands travel in opposite directions and start on different drums. Throw in some 3/4 or 4/4 foot pattern ostinatos and perhaps even incorporate the cymbals, then you'll have a wealth of variations to deal with that will get you around the drums in creative and, possibly, uncomfortable ways. We could probably write all these variations down but we are better off to use our imagination and work it out. Thank you Aaron and get to work everybody!

Aaron is also an active educator in the Rochester area. Here is a recent masterclass of his on the subject of setting up one's drums properly:



Do you have anything you'd like to contribute to Four on the Floor?
Drop me a line at: fouronthefloorblog@gmail.com

Jeff Hamilton Meets Stanton Moore

Who doesn't love a good drum battle?

Here's Jeff Hamilton and Stanton Moore going tete-a-tete:

El Peje

I was pleasantly surprised to see this one pop up the other day, featuring Cuban drummer Juan Carlos "El Peje" Rojas (with Chucho Valdez) thanks to the nice people over at Vic Firth:



I spent some time in Cuba during the fall of 2006 and it was a life-changing experience for me. This was in large part due to the time I spent studying and learning from "El Peje" (aka "The Fish"). I didn't speak any Spanish and he didn't speak any English however our mutual love for the drums and rhythm allowed us to communicate.

We spent a great deal of time working on contemporary/modern approaches to Afro-Cuban drum set playing and, in fact, almost eight years later I'm STILL trying to figure some of these things out!

He was really big into learning various cascara variations with the right hand and then playing counter-rhythms and syncopated figures against those with the left hand, between the snare and toms.

I hastily wrote down as many of these variations as I could at the time and will hopefully post these once I find them....

T.S.Monk @ Newport

This footage has a special place for me:



This piece featuring drummer T.S. Monk's sextet is from a 1992 A&E Channel televised special that featured performances from the Newport Jazz Festival. Most notably were footage of Monk's hard swinging outfit and Max Roach's quartet (including Roach performing a piece for solo hi-hat!) as well as Shirley Horn and Maceo Parker.

Being a young person, having only been exposed to Jazz music shortly before this, watching this program was a huge revelation for me (in fact, I videotaped this and watched it over and over again for years...) Growing up in Regina, Saskatchewan wasn't exactly a hot bed of Jazz music during the early 1990s so myself and my peers who were also hungry for anything Jazz-related were always eager to get our hands on anything we could. This one certainly made a huge impression on me. It's really amazing how formative experiences like this shape our direction, even years later. Watching that video of T.S. Monk instantly brings me back to another lifetime....

The Monday Morning Paradiddle

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

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

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


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

http://jazzcloset.blogspot.ca


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

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

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

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


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

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


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

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


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




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



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


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




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




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




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




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




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




- What am I listening to these days?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


- A few words of wisdom from drummer Dave Grohl:




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

Any questions?

Have a great week everybody!

Steve Lacy's Words of Wisdom

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

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

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

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

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

- Strive for straightforward purity and logical simplicity.

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

- Rhythm is all and everywhere.

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

- Be disciplined. Study and practice hard.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Learn to let things cook!

Happy Birthday Duke

Slide Hampton Octet with Vinnie Ruggiero

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

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





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

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

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

Greg Hutchinson Berklee Drum Clinic

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



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

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

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

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

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

Kenny Clarke "Lady Bird"

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

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

Zakir Hussain Carnegie Hall Workshop

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

Steve Smith: Zakir Hussain Workshop

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

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

Five Years!

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

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

Anyways, back to business...

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



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

Thanks again and have a great weekend everybody!

The Drummer as Composer Part Four: Influential Recordings

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


- Eric Platz (Professo Jazz Drums, Brandon University)

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

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

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

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

Bob Moses - "Nishoma" (2001)

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


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

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


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

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

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

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


- Rob Vanstone (Sports Editor, Regina Leader Post)

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

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


- Nick Fraser (Toronto Jazz Drummer)

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

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

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

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

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

Honourable Mentions:

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


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

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

Brian Blade Fellowship - "Perceptual"

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

Billy Hart - "Oshumare"

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

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

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


- Morgan Childs (Toronto Jazz Drummer)

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


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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


- Tom Van Seters (Professor, Grant MacEwan University)

Peter Erskine - "You Never Know"


- Ted Warren (Toronto Jazz Drummer)

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

Another Brush Off...

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



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

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