Jazz Drummer's Workshop
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Approaching Standards
A Framework for Musical Practice, Part 3: Language and Vernacular Welcome to the final installment of our series on applying the rhythmic phrasing of jazz standards to the drumset. This time we’re exploring ways to extract themes from the…
Wisdom And Technique
Lasting Lessons From Ed Shaughnessy I grew up watching Ed Shaughnessy drive Doc Severinsen’s Tonight Show Band. For twenty-nine years, Shaughnessy held the throne of one of the most visible and respected groups in television history, and for many of…
Time And Its Nuances
This article will deal with time in its basic form, as applied to swing, bebop, gospel, Dixieland, Latin, rock, country & western or whatever. The basic principles will apply when playing any rhythmical style which requires a steady pulse. Time…
Bass & Drums: A Dialogue with George Marsh and Mel Graves
It is rare that a writer has a chance to collectively interview musicians noted for their amazing ability to perform together as a rhythm section. However, bassist Mel Craves and drummer George Marsh surpass that simple classification. TO READ THE…
Dannie Richmond: "Three Worlds of Drums"
From the album Me, Myself An Eye by Charles Mingus (Atlantic SD-8803). This transcription is from For The Record, a new book of drum solos by some of the world’s greatest drummers, written by David Wood. TO READ THE…
Rhythmic Conversions, Part 6: Funk Grooves and the Half-Note Triplet
In this lesson we’ll superimpose a new tempo over an existing pulse using a half-note triplet, and we’ll manipulate the subdivision to create funk grooves in the implied pulse. Be sure to practice these patterns with a metronome and work…
Studies In Style: Part II - Tony Williams
Tony Williams joined Miles Davis in 1963, setting levels of drum technique, musicality and interaction which are models for drummers today. On Miles’ Four and More, the tightness of the rhythm section seems to give Tony the confidence and the…
Pete La Roca Sims Style & Analysis
The great jazz drummer Pete Sims was born on April 7, 1938, in New York City, and passed away on November 20, 2012. He gained early professional experience playing timbales in Latin groups, and it was during this period that…
Rhythmic Conversions - Part 5: Brazilian Grooves and the Half-Note Triplet
In this lesson we’ll superimpose a new tempo over an existing pulse using a half-note-triplet subdivision. We’ll then manipulate the subdivision to create Brazilian grooves in the new tempo. I recommend that you practice these patterns with a metronome and…
Make A Statement!
Concepts for Drumset Improvisation Improvisation is at the core of every great jazz performance, and as we mature as musicians we become more confident in expressing ourselves on our instrument. The rhythmic or melodic concepts that we play illustrate a…
Jazz Drummers Workshop - Studies in Style: Part 1
Philly Joe Jones The “perfect combination of Blakey’s unquenchable fire, Catlett’s melodiousness, and Roach’s subtlety”—such is MD‘s description of Philly Joe Jones. Joe was all of the above, and more, on the 1958 album, Milestones, with Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley,…
Jazz Drummer's Workshop - The Beauty Of Brushes
Brushes are the playing implement in the drummer’s array of equipment which can, if handled properly, produce a wide range of sounds, moods and textures. Brushes are normally thought of for soft playing on ballads, and in trios playing small…
Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Exploring Self-Awareness
Most drummers I have talked to have some form of body tension they would like to be rid of.
