October 2017 Issue – Volume 41 • Number 10
On 01st Oct 2017
Articles in October 2017
Daxx Nielsen With Cheap Trick
Since Cheap Trick finally got its due with a 2016 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the giant of ’70s and ’80s pop-rock has witnessed a rebirth of sorts. With a dense touring schedule and a new…
Tony Williams’ Concepts
Tony Williams redefined the role of the modern jazz drummer with his original and innovative vocabulary. This lesson presents some of the central themes of his lexicon as heard on the up-tempo version of “So What” from the Miles Davis…
HeadHunters - Crossovers Hybrid Rods
The Canadian manufacturer HeadHunters focuses on creating innovative percussive implements. One such product is what the company calls Crossovers. A Perfect Balance Crossovers inhabit a middle ground between regular drumsticks and rods. These hybrid implements employ a stick lathed from…
Custom-Shop Chops
This one-of-a-kind kit comes to us from New York City–based drummer Adam Romanowski, who commissioned a budding drum builder for the set in 2003. “My friend Ilya Hamovic started making drums after a short stint working at Manny’s Music in…
Tucker Rule
Thirty-nine-year-old New Jersey native Tucker Rule has remained more than busy since his band Thursday—one of the most successful to emerge from the brutally passionate hardcore/emo/screamo scene that took hold on the East Coast in the 1990s—disbanded in 2012. Following…
Paiste - Masters Thin Series
https://vimeo.com/221435523 Paiste launched the Masters series in 2011 as a collection of twelve unique, high-end ride cymbals made from traditional b20 bronze. The series was expanded in 2014 to include three crashes and two sets of hi-hats. This year Paiste…
Gavin Wallace-Ailsworth
Since forming in 2009 while the members attended the Berklee College of Music, the group known as Bent Knee has released several records and done extensive touring, including a string of European dates last summer followed by opening slots on…
Hybrid Rudimental Ritual
The following material is an addendum to legendary drummer and educator Alan Dawson’s rudimental ritual, an exercise for jazz independence that combines the standard rudiments into a single routine that’s played over a foot ostinato. (For Dawson’s original ritual, check…
Odd Groupings in Four-Bar Phrases
One of the basic skills required for playing jazz is the ability to trade fours, or improvise four-bar solos, with other members of a band. In this lesson we’ll look at some possible approaches to trading fours in 4/4 using…
The 2017 Chicago Drum Show
The Chicago Drum Show, the enduring brainchild of drum historian Rob Cook, returned to the Odeum Expo Center in Villa Park, Illinois, this past May 20–21 for its twenty-seventh edition. Global manufacturers and collectors packed the venue with tantalizing vintage,…
Yes’s Close to the Edge
When the term independence is applied within the context of a Modern Drummer feature, it’s usually in reference to a technical skill drummers possess by which they simultaneously orchestrate different rhythmic patterns with multiple limbs. On Close to the Edge,…
Video Interview with Buddy Rich Writer and Arranger John LaBarbera!
John LaBarbera is a Grammy-nominated composer and arranger whose works have been recorded and performed for nearly fifty years by many of the top artists of jazz, including Woody Herman, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Tormé, Bill Watrous, Phil Woods,…
Outlaw Drums - Heritage Series Snares
When Outlaw Drums founder Michael Outlaw decided to try making snares from reclaimed lumber, he began with the estate remains of former Confederate soldier Charles Edward Wilder, who served in the 17th Georgia Infantry Regiment. Upon returning from the Civil…
New gear from Yamaha, SlapKlatz, Vater, British Drum Co., Overtone Labs and Tama!
Yamaha Tour Custom Maple Drumset Suitable for recording and live playing, Tour Custom Maple drumsets are constructed with 6-ply maple shells using the company’s proprietary staggered, diagonal-seam shell construction. Additional features include 2.3mm inverted Dyna Hoops that help focus the…
Jazz in the 21st Century
Many scholars argue that jazz, which was first documented on record one hundred years ago by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, is America’s greatest musical gift to the world. I couldn’t agree more. I mean, what other art form encapsulates…
Buddy Rich: A Timeline
No player in history could so confidently—and inarguably—wear the title of “the world’s greatest drummer.” Buddy Rich was simply a phenomenon, astounding vaudeville audiences in the late 1910s and early ’20s, well before most children began their conventional schooling. Indeed,…
What’s Your Favorite Jazz Drumming Album?
When we recently asked our social media followers for their favorite jazz drumming record, enthusiastic responses quickly flooded in. We tallied up the drummers that appeared on each pick and made a top-five list. The late pioneer Elvin Jones played…
