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March 2018 Issue – Volume 42 • Number 3

Ben Riley This past November 18, the American jazz-drumming great Ben Riley passed away at the age of eighty-four. A brief list of Riley’s credits includes Alice Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Woody Herman, Ahmad Jamal, Kenny Barron, the New York Jazz Quartet, and—most notably—the Thelonious Monk Quartet. Riley appeared on the venerated Monk recordings It’s Monk’s Time, Monk, Underground, and Straight, No Chaser, as well as the reissued 1964 recordings Live at the It Club and Live at the Jazz Workshop. Riley was born in Georgia and moved to New York City with his family when he was four. After graduating high school, he served in the army, then moved back to New York in 1954. The drummer began playing professionally around the city in 1956 and joined Monk in 1964. His tenure with the idiosyncratic pianist and composer would last until 1968, when Riley took a four-year break […]
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Articles in March 2018

Seven-Over-Three Polyrhythms

Exploring the Space Between an Odd Grouping

by Aaron Edgar
Jan 31, 2018

Professional Drum Shop

Hollywood, California

Interview by Patrick Berkery
Jan 31, 2018
by Michael Dawson
Jan 31, 2018

Ulysses Owens Jr.

During his long tenures with the jazz stars Christian McBride and Kurt Elling, Ulysses Owens Jr. aspired to build his own standing as a leader. The dazzling and seriously swinging drummer has taken another strong stride in that direction on…

Article by Jeff Potter | Photo by Rayon Richards
Jan 31, 2018

Phantogram’s Chris Carhart

ON STAGE AND UP CLOSE

Interview Michael Dawson | Photos by Nicholas Shelestak
Jan 31, 2018
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Edit Bunker’s Zach Danziger

FROM FUSOID WILDCHILD TO ELECTRO-VISIONARY

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by Lloyd Bishop
Jan 31, 2018

The Fundamentals of 5/4 Rock

Backbeat and Ghost Note Placement

by Joel Rothman
Jan 31, 2018

Jimmie Vaughan's George Rains

As music journalists, we try to avoid using superlatives, like, say, “the greatest living blues drummer.” At the same time, it’s inarguable that for those who’ve been in a room where the Austin drumming icon George Rains is playing, the…

by Cleve Warren
Jan 31, 2018

Drum Fills: Keep It Simple, or Shred?

Drummers have to consider plenty of options when choosing an appropriate fill to play in a given situation. Factors such as voicing, subdivision, density, and speed comprise just a few of the choices. While keeping these options in mind, we…

Modern Drummer
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John Clardy On Tera Melos’s Trash Generator

Diving Deep Into the Experimental Trio’s Latest Release

Article by Austin Burcham | Photo by Colin Eldridge
Jan 31, 2018

Ddrum - Dios Maple Series Drumset

After being shelved for six years, the go-to shell pack is back and better than ever.

by Michael Dawson
Jan 31, 2018

The Chick Corea & Steve Gadd Band, Arturo O’Farrill and Chucho Valdés, Good Tiger, Quartet NL, and more!

RECORDINGS Courtesy of Steve Gadd The Chick Corea & Steve Gadd Band Chinese Butterfly Two iconic instrumentalists reunite, striding further. In a highly anticipated reunion, keyboardist Chick Corea and STEVE GADD co-lead a top-flight band in a mix of electric…

Modern Drummer
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Drum Wisdom: Legendary Educator Michael Carvin

One could take issue with Michael Carvin’s insistence that he isn’t a jazz drummer. His credits as a sideman for Freddie Hubbard, Jackie McLean, and Pharoah Sanders, of course, suggest he’s wrong in that assertion. But in talking with him…

by Keith Carne | Photo by Rahav Segev
Jan 31, 2018

Three Birds With One Stone - Optimize Your Practice Time

Time is tight for many of us. If we had unlimited time to shed, we’d probably spend hours behind the kit. But the reality is that life’s twists and turns can keep us busy. Therefore, I try to practice things…

by Chris Prescott
Jan 31, 2018

Former Hole and Current Upset Drummer Patty Schemel

MD spoke with the former Hole and current Upset drummer just before the release of her new memoir, Hit So Hard, which recounts her early life, her rise through the Seattle music scene of the ’80s and ’90s, and her struggles with addiction.

Interview by Ben Meyer | Photo by Alex Solca
Jan 31, 2018

Appreciation and Gratitude

Photo by Jeff Smith Happy New Year! It’s that time again, when we reflect back on the past year and appreciate all the wonderful opportunities we’ve been blessed with. Time has always fascinated me. Maybe being a drummer has something…

by Billy Amendola
Jan 31, 2018

Web Exclusive! Alex Rüdinger of Good Tiger on the Group’s Sophomore Album, We Will All Be Gone

MD checks in with the former drummer with the Faceless, Threat Signal, and the HAARP Machine on the occasion of his current band’s highly anticipated sophomore album, which is due out on February 9.   MD: We Will All Be…

by Ben Meyer
Feb 1, 2018

John Convertino on Calexico’s The Thread That Keeps Us

A presidential election, a trip west to the coast, and an immersion in nature invigorate the indie mainstay’s latest foray into Tex-Mex-infused Americana bliss.

Article by Willie Rose | Photo by Eric Stoner
Jan 31, 2018
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The Failure Percentage

Preparation and Professionalism Always Win Out

by Russ Miller
Jan 31, 2018

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