album review
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Charlie Benante - “Silver Linings” Album Review 5/23/21
by Josh Buchignani Charlie Benante, drummer of famed thrash metal group, Anthrax, has pushed the envelope of creativity and collaboration in a way that has brought a plethora of talented artists together for the making of this 14-track album…
Steve Gadd Band At Blue Note Tokyo – New Live Album Review – April 3rd, 2021
Review by Mike Waltz On Dec 18, 2019, Steve Gadd took the stage at the Blue Note in Tokyo Japan with Jimmy Johnson on bass, Walt Fowler on trumpet, guitarist David Spinozza and newer member Kevin Hays on keys and…
A Look Back - Thomas Lang's 'ProgPop' Album Review (Video Lessons Attached!)
Review by Rob CoenThomas Lang’s latest solo project ProgPop has a great deal of musical flavor with accompanying musicians that include Marc Bonilla, Ginny Luke on vocals, Wojek Pilichowski, Ed Poole on bass, Leah Woodward, Jeremy Barnes, and Tobias Mertens…
Music Review: Steve Vai, Aquiles Priester and Gustavo Carmo, Adam Moore
Guitars, guitars, and yet more guitars, served up hot. The drums ain’t too shabby either. by Ilya Stemkovsky Steve Vai Stillness in Motion—Live in L.A. drummer: Jeremy Colson Recorded fifty shows into an extensive tour, Stillness in Motion finds…
A Six-Pack of Jazz and Fusion
This year has already seen its share of top-shelf jazz and fusion releases. Here are six that have been in high rotation at the Modern Drummer offices over the past few months. Chris Potter Underground Orchestra Imaginary Cities Drummer:…
Billy Joel A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia
Essentially an expanded rerelease of Billy Joel’s 1987 live album, Концерт, the double-CD/Blu-ray/DVD package A Matter of Trust: The Bridge to Russia delivers unreleased audio and a more complete performance of the album’s companion concert film, Live in Leningrad. It…
Nels Cline Singers Macroscope
Genre-hopping has been Wilco guitarist Nels Cline’s method of operation across his solo efforts, and that sense of adventure surely permeates the proceedings on the fifth album by this trio, which also features bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Scott Amendola.…
Gorden Campbell Secrets of the Working Drummer
DVD LEVEL: INTERMEDIATE TO ADVANCED $24.99 What makes a working drummer? Here, the top R&B player Gorden Campbell defines the gig in artistic and practical terms. Musically, he focuses on the importance of concepts like knowing song form and getting…
Paul Motian ECM
In the jazz world, where idiosyncrasy is embraced, Paul Motian is among the most idiosyncratic musicians. This box set is an ideal format to track the development of the drummer’s quirky, deeply personal compositional voice. Indeed, it’s a showcase for…
Love For Levon: A Benefit To Save The Barn
DVDS (2) LEVEL: ALL $24.99 When Levon Helm left us last year, mourners hoped to preserve his legacy by sustaining the Barn. In this beloved venue, Levon hosted the Midnight Rambles, where top musicians gathered for homespun concerts in a…
Joe Mccarthy’s Afro-Cuban Big Band Play-Along Series, Volume II
DVD LEVEL: ADVANCED $19.95 Discussing skills development, McCarthy sites “concentration” as an additional “limb” that requires equal exercise. And, man, this drummer’s fifth limb is muscle-bound. McCarthy’s astonishing independence and disciplined groove focus are a thrill to behold. Showcasing his…
The Running Jumps The Consciousness Set
The “about” section on this L.A. band’s Facebook page does well by comparing their music to the’60s psychedelic pop sounds of the Beatles and Zombies and ’90s indie-rock heavies such as Guided By Voices and Superdrag. They could easily add…
Jonathan Scales Fourquestra
The cover art’s mirror-reverse title script and fanciful imagery seem to suggest we’re down the rabbit hole. Maybe not Wonderland, but certainly an alternate universe. Inventive steel pan player Jonathan Scales delivers a disc that’s dazzling, shaded with surprising sonorities,…
Intronaut Habitual Levitations (Instilling Words With Tones)
Prime musicianship and haunting melodies make excellent bedfellows, especially when mixed with mesmerizing polyrhythms and punishing heaviness. On Intronaut’s latest, drummer Danny Walker proves that he’s perfectly suited for whatever feel is waiting around the next corner. The infectiously jilting…
