the final statement must be full of human experience and expression" - Jim Blackley
Jazz Drumming: Transcriptions - Page 2
July 30th, 2012
So What - Jimmy Cobb vs. Bill Evans Comping
More Miles, and as previously mentioned on this blog "Kind of Blue" is one of the albums that all jazz musicians ought to study in depth. Here is Jimmy Cobb's comping behind Miles' solo on "So What", which is understated but utterly effective providing great support and momentum. In addition studying the rhythm of Bill Evans' brilliant comping is immensely rewarding. Evans' has a wonderful rhythmic sense and a lot can be learned from studying him. You should experiment with voicing his figures around the kit. (It's generally a good idea to actively listening to how pianists and guitarists comp behind soloists). Have fun getting it together and playing along with the recording.
- Click here to download the transcription as a pdf.
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Philly Joe Jones: Milestones
With it's mix of post-bop codas and early modal explorations "Milestones" has to be one of the truly great Miles Davis albums. It is worth studying in detail not least because the sextet featured legends John Coltrane and Cannonball Adderley and had the equally great Philly Joe Jones on drums. The title track "Milestones" was originally just called "Miles" and what is unusual and interesting from a jazz drummers perspective is that Philly Joe just holds a groove the whole way through with a rim click on beat 4. Especially for drummers like myself, who love the creativity of comping behind a soloist, this requires great discipline, but it swings and grooves so hard. It's a great way to get your medium-up groove together. Just sit back and enjoy playing along with some amazing solos. Oh and keep counting through the B section!!
- Click here to download the transcription as a pdf.
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| | Download the Album: US UK |
| | Download the Track: US UK |
January 4th, 2012
Eric Harland: A Blues
I don't usually like to post videos on this blog and in some ways I'm not a great fan of instructional DVDs, but in both cases I will back an exception here. Why? Well, because the playing from Harland here is fantastic. More importantly, though, it stresses the importance for a drummer of knowing forms, not the least of which is the blues. This simple (sometimes not so simple) 12 bar form is probably the heart and soul of jazz (not to mention rock and roll - Led Zepp. anyone?!). I would highly recommend learning to play a blues on the piano so you can hear the changes clearly. As for playing along you can't go wrong with "Coltrane Plays the Blues".
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Tony Williams: E.S.P
One things I admire most about Tony Williams was of course his playing with Miles and more specifically his up-tempo cymbal time. The title track from the album E.S.P provides a great introduction and it interesting for several reasons. First of all, and perhaps most important, is how everything flows from the cymbal time, all the fills and comping, and how it carries and drives the time. He doesn't leave the cymbal for more than a few beats except to mark the end of a chorus. Secondly, is the way he varies the cymbal pattern. Here is a transcription of his playing behind Wayne Shorter's solo, it does get more intense during Miles' solo, but Wayne's solo serves as a great introduction to Tony's uptempo playing. I haven't included all the comping, just some of the more obvious bits, as my focus is on the cymbal time.
- Click here to download the idea as a pdf.
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Download the Album: US UK |
| | Download the Track: US UK |
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