Download December 2020 Issue
Following a prolific period when Ginger Baker made his name with Cream, Blind Faith, and Ginger Baker’s Air Force, and collaborated with Fela Kuti, the mid ’70s found the drummer setting up a recording studio in Africa, playing polo, trying to kick heroin, and later forming another short-lived rock band, the Baker Gurvitz Army. By the early 1980s, Baker had moved to Italy to try his hand at olive farming. He played very little drums during this period but was eventually coaxed out of “retirement” by producer/bassist Bill Laswell, who produced PiL’s Album, which we discussed in Part 2 of this feature. Laswell’s hand is also all over Baker’s proper 1986 solo album, Horses & Trees.
At only six tracks and at a mere thirty-four minutes in length, Horses & Trees is an all-instrumental affair of pulsating rhythms and crafted textures. This is not the wild-eyed double bass mayhem of Baker’s early years, but signature playing still emerges from the veteran drummer. Opener “Interlock” is a tight, insistent, funky tune. Baker lays down the 2 and 4 like his life depended on it, while Middle Eastern–sounding guitars and organs and bass lines swirl around him. There’s a vibe set here, and Baker “behaves” in the best possible sense, letting the melodies carry the music. These flavors continue in “Dust to Dust,” where one of Laswell’s frequent collaborators, guitarist Nicky Skopelitis, plays an almost country-ish picking lick on top of Baker’s four-on-the-floor kick pattern. Baker’s placement of a heavy snare backbeat on the 4 makes everything feel like he’s slowing the music down, but he’s got your head bobbing nonetheless. Baker moves both hands to his snare for a march-like straight New Orleans feel, and the effect is sublime. Again, absolutely no pyrotechnics and almost no fills to speak of. When Baker throws something in, it’s within the context of the overall feel and beat—and forget hearing a big crash cymbal at the ends of phrases; it’s almost as if he didn’t even have them set up. Later Baker does work a ride on the funky “Satou” and shares some space with the percussion on the bombastic toms and snare workout “Mountain Time.”
For another Baker/Laswell world music-meets-hypnotic jazz effort, seek out Ginger’s 1990 album, Middle Passage. It’s one more example of how the drummer can massage his playing to also be a cog in the grander machine, just one singular part of the rhythmic line that makes everything sound as a whole together. Baker gets his licks in, but Laswell grounds him successfully and adds other percussionists to the stew, so the record achieves a “bigness” without anyone taking too much of the center stage.
Articles in December 2020
Gretsch, Latin Percussion, Steinberg, Peavey and more
Gretsch Brooklyn Series Drumkits Two new Nitron finishes have been added to the Brooklyn series: Blue Burst Pearl and White Marine Pearl. Constructed from 6-ply North American maple and poplar, Brooklyn series drums are finished with 3 mm double-flanged 302…
Download December 2020 Issue
The Modern Drummer November 2020 Issue – Volume 44 • Number 12, comes in two versions the print version and the extended digital version that includes bonus articles and was used to create our new flipbook. The flipbook experience is…
Sonor - Benny Greb Signature Snares
A duo of high-performance drums set to meet—if not exceed—all your backbeat needs. Ten years ago, Sonor introduced the original 5.75x13 signature beech snare for top endorsing artist Benny Greb. Greb and Sonor recently revisited that incredibly popular model to…
Remembering Neil Peart
Part 4: “YYZ” This transcription is from the Buddy Rich Memorial Concert where Neil Peart played a big band version of the legendary Rush instrumental track “YYZ.” The introduction was conducted and written in 5/4. The main melody is in…
Childish Gambino’s Dani Markham
With hard-core academic training in her back pocket, the drummer/percussionist has dipped her toes in every imaginable musical scenario—and, crucially, trusted her instincts. Dani Markham lives in perpetual motion. The New York City–based, Louisville, Kentucky–born percussionist/mallet player spent the last…
Bennie Rodgers II
The Oakland, California, native has been applying his vast skills to a style that originated halfway across the globe—and like K-pop itself, he’s been winning over fans from sea to shining sea and beyond. Bennie Rodgers II is a veteran…
Cajon You Dig It?
The owner of this month’s KOTM took the now-ubiquitous percussion instrument to its next logical step. The kit that Luke Ross uses with his all-acoustic band Company of Crows is composed entirely of cajons built by the Croaker Percussion company,…
Chris Frantz’s Remain in Love
The Talking Heads never fit neatly into the grimy mid-’70s New York punk scene that bore the Voidoids, the Ramones, and Johnny Thunders’ Heartbreakers. Transplants from the Rhode Island School of Design, the band’s initial clean-cut aesthetic ran contrary to…
Stick Technique Revisited
Part 6: Perfect Practice and Building Speed Many drum instructors say, “Play naturally.” The problem with that statement is that we naturally hold on to things tightly. Have you ever seen someone pick up a drumstick for the first time…
Simon Phillips
Showbiz history is dotted with “triple-threat” performers who were top-flight actors, singers, and dancers, from Gene Kelly to Judy Garland to Sammy Davis Jr. to Beyoncé. Rarer still are those who can boast extraordinary performance and technical skills, bona fide…
Dafnis Prieto
Whether it’s through his recordings, performances, videos, or multiple forms of instruction, the drummer actively seeks to knock down barriers of thought and expression. How can you expand your drumming palette for only seven dollars and in only thirty minutes?…
Khari Parker (1974–2020)
Drummer Khari Parker passed away on June 27. He was forty-six. Widely respected for his diverse musical skills and top-flight professionalism, Parker was a first-call player for many of the top bandleaders and producers in Chicago and throughout the country.…
Bill Bruford - Part 1: One of a Kind
Trailblazing West Coast swing drummer Shelly Manne once mused that a true jazz musician never plays it the same way once. Throughout his stellar career, the iconic progressive rock and jazz drummer Bill Bruford had adopted Manne’s paradoxical mantra as…
Playing to Type
People like to put other people in psychological boxes, and boxes within those boxes: Being an artist takes a certain kind of personality. And among artists, your average actor is said to be like this, while a musician is like…
The D.I.Y. Guide to Drums by Lisa Schonberg
While it was always a quirky addition to pedagogic literature, this hugely expanded 2020 volume retains the handmade charms of the original ’zine and leverages the author’s years of teaching experience to deliver an approachable, delightful roadmap for beginners and…
Marla Leigh
Having “good time” can mean many things to a musician. For this veteran frame drummer, waiting for the right moment to execute a plan, even if that means years, can turn out to be the best decision. For twenty years,…
Vic Firth Re-Mix Brushes
A quartet of interchangeable implements for varying degrees of attack, tone, and volume. Vic Firth recently expanded its catalog with four pairs of uniquely designed Re-Mix brushes/rods made from different types of organic material, ranging from soft and subtle broomcorn…
In the Studio with Drummer/Producer Evan Hutchings
Evan Hutchings made the move from Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Nashville in 2006, enrolling at Middle Tennessee State with a plan to be a studio musician. “I wanted to be Steve Jordan,” he says. “That was the goal.” Like many…
What Now?
The Four E’s As I write this, we are smack dab in the middle of the COVID crisis. This pandemic has affected us all now for many months. I mention this because it’s had a massive impact on musicians working…
