When I was younger, I had the incredible opportunity to study with the great Gary Chaffee. Of the many invaluable lessons he shared, there was one that always stuck with me, and relates directly to this month’s transcription. When teaching jazz, Gary would make cassette tapes (which, for anyone under 25, were like playlists trapped inside a tiny plastic brick you had to flip over halfway through,) featuring select drummers he believed every serious student should study in depth. The two main drummers he emphasized were Tony Williams and this month’s featured artist, Elvin Jones. One of the exercises he had me do was to sit and transcribe only the ride cymbal patterns from these players across multiple recordings. This turned out to be an incredibly effective learning tool— it was such a powerful way to learn because it helped you really dig into how they approached the music, how […]

October 2025 Issue