Energy is, and always has been, very important to drummers. Years ago, the toughest task for a drummer was to play an extremely fast tempo, while one horn player after another attempted to “cut” or “top” the previous soloist. These super-fast “cutting” sessions could last 30 or 40 minutes. The volume level was not too high, but the energy requirements were great. Drummers used to spend hours honing their fast-tempo skills in order to avoid being embarrassed at a jam session. The only thing tougher than the fast-tempo jam session was playing fast tempos with brushes. Piano players were famous for saying, “Just play brushes.” (In fact, my auditions for Benny Goodman, Teddy Wilson, and Joe Bushkin required me to play fast tempos with brushes before I played anything else.) I spent many an hour playing brushes on the back of an album cover along with the fastest records in […]