Shelly Manne was one of my first drum heroes, and he remains a hero to this day. A swinging drummer in any context, he personified eclecticism while remaining a singularly unique musician. Shelly could do it all. Since the term “lick” carries negative connotations when it comes to discussing creativity, I’d like to focus this month’s column on a rhythmic and sticking pattern that might best be termed a “device.” And as devices are useful to have in one’s toolbox, I hope you’ll be inspired to add this to your bag of tricks. This triplet-based device works equally well for comping as it does for soloing (especially when trading 4s, 8s, etc.). Many readers will recognize this as as something that both Philly Joe Jones and Shelly Manne employed: Advertisement The dynamic range of this device is somewhat limited in the sense that it is not a power tool. The […]

May 2022 Issue