June 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 6
On 01st Jun 2018
Articles in June 2018
New York Jazzer Jimmy Macbride
Still only in his mid-twenties, the drummer has been making a name for himself in the ultra-competitive New York City jazz scene for several years now, bringing an assured command of his instrument to recordings and live work with a sound that belies his age.
Russ Kunkel - The Song Server
At the dawn of the ’70s, music fans noticed the credit “Drums: Russ Kunkel” popping up on reams of LP jackets. From that pivotal point, Kunkel’s momentum as a session ace surged through five decades. The drummer’s tasteful parts and…
Techra - XCarb Drumsticks
Light and fast carbon-fiber models designed for utmost durability.
2017 Sydney Vintage and Custom Drum Expo
Australia’s finest craftsmen shine among celebrated international mainstays during a day of exhibits and performances.
Drum Wisdom: Jim Mola
By his own admission, Jim Mola moved to New York in 1985 to set the world on fire as a drummer. Now, after thirty-three years of experience in the trenches as a working musician, the types of gigs he’s playing…
Ben Riley, Pat Torpey and Z’EV
Ben Riley: 1933-2017 Monk’s main man was the epitome of swing and style. Jazz drumming great Ben Riley died last November 18. He was eighty-four. Although best remembered for his high-profile 1964–67 tenure with the iconic pianist Thelonious Monk, Riley…
Peter Criss on Peter Criss
In 1978, the four members of Kiss simultaneously released self-titled solo albums, a brilliant marketing move that pushed the already famous group further into the stratosphere. Though it’s not considered a groundbreaking “drum record”—that was never the intention—Peter Criss neatly…
New Drum Gear From Tama, Remo, SJC Custom Drums, apulSoft, U.S. Drum Supply, Basal, and Vater!
Tama Star Reserve Volume 4 Snare This snare’s copper shell is hand-hammered by master metal craftsmen in Japan and is said to produce a fat sound and rich resonance coupled with an extreme dynamic range. Also featured on this…
Five-Note Phrasing - Part 2: Adding More Tension and Release
In this lesson we’ll continue exploring five-note phrases within a 16th-note subdivision. To become fluent with these groupings, you need to internalize where the five-note phrase begins and ends. To review, let’s reinforce the ability to hear the starting point…
Dafnis Prieto on the Dafnis Prieto Big Band’s Back to the Sunset
The prolific Afro-Cuban and jazz connoisseur honors his musical heroes with a heavy ensemble.
What You Need to Know About Bass Drum Heads
While drums have existed since the dawn of civilization, it wasn’t until the 1950s, after the chemical corporation DuPont trademarked a new polyester film called Mylar, that drummers were presented with more ways to tailor their sounds via their choice…
Blake Richardson on Between the Buried and Me’s Automata, Part 1
Digging Into the Veteran Technical-Metal Group’s Latest Offering
Rick Marotta
For the drummer, who’d built a sterling session and live career for nearly ten years with artists including John Lennon, Paul Simon, Jim Croce, James Taylor, and Steely Dan, 1978 was yet another super-busy year. In the studio, on the…
Foreigner’s Dennis Elliott
“I was blessed to land a gig as life-changing as Foreigner,” the London-born drummer Dennis Elliott says. “It was a band I totally believed in.” Elliott played with the group for seventeen years, powering solid-gold tracks like “Urgent,” “Feels Like…
What’s Your Favorite 1970s Jazz or Fusion Drumming Album?
This month, as we delve into the music and drumming of 1978, we asked our readers and social media followers to name some of their favorite records from the entire decade. Here they weigh in on great ’70s jazz and…
A Year in Transition
Photo by John Leiby There have been numerous landmark events in music history that have made certain years seem more significant than others, such as the death of Johann Sebastian Bach in 1750, which signified the end of the Baroque…
Dashboard Confessional’s Ben Homola
Consummate touring/recording drummer Ben Homola has recently been sporting a new C&C drumkit on the road with alt-rock band Dashboard Confessional. “The C&C maple kit I have out on the road was built for this tour,” says Homola. “One thing…
