June 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 6
Articles in June 2018
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…
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…
Diego Arcaute with Juana Molina
Whether playing odd-time indie electronica, contemporary pop, or folkloric acoustic music, the Argentinian drummer brings a seasoned sensitivity and open mind to the studio and the stage.
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…
Turkish Cymbals Lale Kardeş Signature Series
Big, bold tones based on the classic sounds of ’60s and ’70s rock.
Keith McMillen Instruments - BopPad
A seemingly simple USB pad controller with virtually limitless capabilities.
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…
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.
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…
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…
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…
Techra - XCarb Drumsticks
Light and fast carbon-fiber models designed for utmost durability.
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…
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…
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.
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…
Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Mike Mangini with Into the Great Divide, Legend of the Seagullmen with Danny Carey, and more
RECORDINGS Miles Davis & John Coltrane The Final Tour: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 6 Wes Montgomery In Paris: The Definitive ORTF Recording Two releases of fabled, much-bootlegged European jazz concerts are finally given proper treatment with remastered sound and impressive…