December 2012 Issue – Volume 37 • Number 12

Action Figures

Approaches for Big Band Rhythmic Articulation This month we’ll explore ways of approaching and articulating ensemble rhythms. As drummers, we obviously can’t perform note lengths with the same exactness as a horn player. We can, however, use the many long…

Fours and Sevens in 7/8 Part 2: Double Strokes

This month we’re going to work on playing the Fours and Sevens in 7/8 exercise with double strokes. The key is developing the finger control to play well-balanced and even doubles. The rhythmic placement of the doubles in this exercise…

The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra's John Riley Chats With VJO Sub Paul Wells

When you take over the drum chair associated with a bona fide legend, there’s a huge responsibility to get it right. John Riley certainly found this out when he began playing with the world-renowned Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, which carried on…

Buddy Rich — Unstoppable

When Buddy Rich took charge behind the kit, the air crackled. Buddy aimed to excite, to give audiences their money’s worth with precision, sophistication, and world-class quality. Oh, he could be as sensitive on a brush ballad as anyone. But…

December 2012 Issue – Volume 37 • Number 12

Steve Shelton

To the self-styled number cruncher with Confessor and Loincloth, if he’s communicating an “unbalanced” feel with his drumming, he’s doing something very right. For anyone who’s grown numb to metal drumming conventions, a first exposure to Steve Shelton can be…

Gregg Potter

No two drummers’ stories are exactly alike. From heavy rotation on MTV in the heyday of ’80s hair metal to his current role as the driver of the Buddy Rich Band, it’s clear that very few drummers’ career trajectories are…