Mike Downes q-tet

Hey,

Here's a tune of Mike's entitled Gemini that we played at the Rex about 2 months back.

See? Another reason to memorize the music!

Power of the Backbeat!!!!

The other day I had an incredible experience. In fact, it's hard to describe so I hope I can do it justice.

As some of you can tell from the blog. Sometimes I work on rather "brainy" stuff at the drums.

There's nothing wrong with this necessarily but a lot of this material is long term. I can't use it tonight on a gig.

Also, I would never want anyone to think that I think this stuff is more important than some of the basic tenants of drumming. Dynamic control, good feel and tempo, pleasing sound, good balance of the limbs, appropriate stylistic choices are just a few of the immutable elements of playing that I try to work on continually and bring to any musical situation I'm in.

Anyway, when I'm feeling like my playing in general is sounding "brainy" I'll play along to recordings. This is always a good way to get me back focusing on what's really important.

I did this the other day. I played along with 3 tracks. Although I don't think it's all that important what they were, I'll mention them just the same.

1. Wah-Wah- George Harrison (Loose Classic Ringo.)

2. Lazy Susan- Sweet Thing (Tune by a current Canadian band. Drummer Tyler Kyte basically plays a Disco beat in the chorus that's tricky to get to sit exactly right, at least for me!)

3. I'm the Flyer- Saga (Canadian 80s art rock.)

When I was playing along to these recordings that I knew quite well, I just concentrated on keeping the groove as tight with the recordings as possible and playing with a very consistant sound. What's hard to describe is that because I was just concentrating on these elemental things rather than worrying about being more complex or the next difficult thing I was going to practice is that I could feel the drums getting more and more powerful. I felt like I was putting every bit of my soul into every back beat. Every time I had my heart broken, all joy, all sorrow, was being channeled into the drums. It was like playing those back beats was the reason I was put on this earth for.

I was playing the little drums I'm usually playing on the video but I swear they sounded like big huge Rock type drums from the amount of intent I was putting into it.

Definitely a mind over matter situation.

..and now my goal is to make everything feel that way and hopefully reach people the way I think it will.

Someone on CBC recently said something like "Music from the heart touches the heart."

Unfortunately for 37 some years now I have been playing a lot of music from the head, the ego the fear, and the jealousy, to name a few not so good places.

I'm attempting to leave that all from now on.

I don't think one can do this only with Pop or Rock Music. I certainly hear this whenever I hear Tony Williams, for example. In fact I noticed on the live Miles from '67 I've been checking out I swear I can hear Tony's later set-up with the black dot heads and the 24" bass drum. He was hearing that sound and was able to produce it almost 10 years before he used that gear!!!!

Anyway, Rock and Pop work really well because if we're confident that we can physically play the grooves we can concentrate on playing the drums like it's the only thing we've ever wanted to do in our life. Also the very elemental way of playing in Rock (sometimes) where details like how open the hi-hat is or trying to play the time on an almost microscopic level gets us to focus on just playing. I think it also helps us get there if it's music that we have an emotional connection to. You know, not just "I like this because it's complex and shows how smart I am". Stuff we REALLY DIG. THAT GIVES US GOOSEBUMPS. It doesn't matter what it is. Don't be ashamed.

There was a time when I was into flash and would mock players like Phil Rudd. It's now with a mix of wonder and horror that I can ever imagine thinking that way. He's a heavy as any of the "cats" because he plays perfectly for the music!

One more thing. (I can't remember if I've posted this before. Bear with me if I have.)

Some years back I was with a band that played in Vancouver at the Cellar and a great piano trio from Seattle (with special guest Joe LaBarbera) actually opened for us. Joe didn't want any hassles at the border so he brought his stick bag but used all my gear otherwise.

When Joe got up to play, he didn't move anything one INCH from where I had left it.

He sounded as if he had been playing those drums his whole life and played so musically and beautifully as always.

Then we went on and actually were recorded for the gig. I played okay but was having a lot of trouble focusing and certainly didn't play my best by any stretch of the imagination.

Afterwards the bassist came up to me and said. "Joe f*cked you up, didn't he?" I said something like "It was that obvious, huh?" and his reply was, "Oh yeah!"

Why did Joe mess me up? Which actually was me messing myself up.

Well besides making my drums and cymbals sound way better than whenever I played them, he also played just the music. No empty flash, no "Look at me". Everything he played (again, he always does this) was for the betterment of the music, not for his ego.

So when I go on my mind was filled with thoughts such as. "Man Ted you play a lot of B.S." or, "That thing you just did, how does that have ANYTHING to do with the tune we're just playing?"

It was sort of like seeing monster chops player at a drum festival, except in reverse!!!!

Obviously, this is a lesson I keep getting taught over and over. Hopefully I'm internalizing it more as I mature.

I think if I can get my intent/ears chops together I can start to become the player I've always wanted to be!!!!!

Thanks,

TW

Oh, just for fun, here's the Saga tune.

WES!

Hey everyone.

Here's some great Wes Montgomery footage from the mid 60s in Holland. Check out Han Bennink playing straight ahead swing. Killing!

Also lately I have been listening to.....

You Know What I Mean?-Cannonball and Bill Evans

Transition-Coltrane

Seven Steps To Heaven- Miles (Alternate takes of "So Near, So Far" and "Summer Night' mainly)

Miles In Europe '67- Miles

Sound Travels- Jack DeJohnette

Dansere-Jan Garberek

Maggot Brain- Parliament

Various-The Meters

Evolution-Grachan Moncur III

True confessions time. I often will listen to these one at a time with my BlackBerry on random.

Bad, bad Ted!!!! :)

Don't authentic your way out of a job

Hey folks,

I've touched on this a bit before but it's recently come up again. A musician friend was talking about how when he works with a certain drummer, if a tune gets into a Brazilian or Cuban vein, that it's way too heavy for the ensemble.

Boy, do I know this one!!

I think no matter what music we're playing, we need to be considerate of the instruments around us. If we're playing with acoustic bass and piano, we have to play transparently enough so that they don't have to fight to be heard.

The problem is when we drummers are learning authentic, folkloric, type grooves they often are:

-Played in a large percussion section

-Played outside

-Sometimes played with electric instruments

We often don't have these conditions when we're playing so we need to not play them like we do.

Playing world grooves verbatim (on small group Jazz gigs especially) often results in too loud drums or too much drums verses cymbals in your "mix", pattern-y grooves where a looser approach may be more appropriate, etc.

I was terrible for doing this to people until eventually I realized why it was so important for me to play a Cascara pattern exactly the way I learned it and force it on people who said something innocent like "Let's play Green Dolphin St. but let's play it Latin all the way through."

I often was trying to prove to everyone I had learned the "correct" beat and justifying the time I spent working on it, whether it had anything to do with the music or not.

In other words, I was playing from my EGO, and whenever I do that, the music really suffers.

Let me be clear, I would recommend anyone to learn as many World Music styles as thoroughly and authentically as they can. It's important, however, to know when to let go of that and just listen.

Here's a Hybrid Songo/Swing thing that I came up with today.

And here's the video

I may never use this beat, especially on a Country gig!

Rubato drumming

Hey people,

I struggled with playing rubato (playing without a steady pulse in the music) for many years.

I think my experience was typical because so much of the playing drummers usually do is about maintaining a pulse (sometimes against all odds!)

So just like soloing, I think we need to work on playing without a strict tempo on our own, because we often don't get a chance on gigs.

Here's a few things I've learned.

1) Don't abandon musicality just because you've abandoned tempo

I really used to not listen and just play a bunch of nonsense in rubato situations. Often there's no tempo in "free" or as I would prefer, "open form" music.

However all the normal principles apply. Be very aware of dynamics, thickness or thinness of sonic textures, who is in the foreground of the music at any given point, the shape of the piece (does it have a beginning, middle, and end?) What is the overall mood (joyous, angry, sad, humourous?) and what can we do to represent that mood etc.

Now sometimes people will play rubato on a standard tune. In that case much of the work is done for us in terms of the melody and phrases but another point about that is.....

2) Be willing to take charge sometimes

Often with rubato playing (especially with a preexisting tune) it can sound like everyone's waiting for everyone else, and nothing kills it quicker than that.

You want to be sensitive, and not just mow your way over everything, but you also want to realize that not all the beginnings and endings of phrases will line up with the rest of the band, and that actually is part of what makes it sound cool sometimes.

Listen to Paul Motian's trio with Frisell and Lovano to hear how great they are at keeping things moving.

3) Sometimes the effect comes from several pulses at once, rather than no pulse

Again, Motian's band is brilliant at this. I'll have some recommendations and examples at the end.

4) Learn from other styles and instruments

Classical players are taught to use the pulse as a means of expression rather something to be strictly adhered to. (A way of learning that can often cause problems for them when they do play a music with a strict pulse.)

Again, drummers aren't naturally very good at this.

I have a sad confession to make. Until I was in University I didn't understand that most Classical music was played in tempo. I didn't really hear it that way because I wasn't used to the looser way they play the pulse.

Yes, you can say something like, "That's not swinging", but that's missing the point. It grooves in a different sort of way and we can learn from musics that are looser with the pulse rather than being slaves to it.

5) Play textures of different drum grooves, just not always at the same speed

If we play gentle, sweeping sounds with brushes, it's still going to sound like a ballad even though it's not a steady tempo.

Try this with all sorts of grooves Rock, Samba, Cascara, Swing, etc. Also try to use the amount of space in the groove to suggest a tempo, even though you're not playing one strictly. (The great Rashied Ali was brilliant at this. Andrew Cyrille too!)

6) Work on loosening up your strict pulse playing too

The looser you can play in time, the more it will help you see possibilities even when you're not playing in tempo. It's funny, sometimes it's hard to tell at the beginning's of paul Motian trios recordings whether they're playing in time or not because their time playing is so loose and their rubato playing is so logical, yet groovy.

7) As always, listen to infinity... and beyond!

Listen and watch examples of great drummers doing this to help you with the concept.

Speaking of examples , here's Coltrane and Rashied Ali from "Interstellar Space'. The composition is "Jupiter".

Most of the Coltrane rubato stuff (even when it's duo) is very thick, texture wise. it sort of feels like waves of sound that crest, crash against the shore, and then build up again. When I'm attempting to play music like this, one of the main things I'm trying to do is create variety within these thick textures. Other good Coltrane examples are, "Expression", "Ascension", and "Meditations".

Here's the aforementioned Paul Motian Trio

Notice in this case, even though it's an agressive tune as well, there is more space in it than the Coltrane example, and how Motian keeps a texture of timekeeping even though he isn't playing a strict pulse. Also, he often limits the sonic palette (notice he's generally right hand on cym. left hand on snare) to give everything a context.

And here's a gentler tune with Motian playing brushes (and sort of playing a tempo at one point)

I would also recommend the great recording "Time and Time Again" for more great examples for this trio's out of time playing.

Also check out Bartok's string quartets (and play along with them)

Keith Jarrett's American and European 70s bands (they also both play a mean tempo groove as well). Anything with Han Bennink is great too as well as any of the Albert Ayler stuff with Sunny Murray. Try "Unit Structures" by Cecil Taylor to hear Andrew Cyrille play beautiful textures.

I remember seeing a Joey Baron clinic where I asked him a very convoluted question about playing out of tempo (as he is also an expert at this) and his response was simply "Play the music.". Sage advice.

So remember not to get hung up about rubato playing and just think about it as another way of expression yourself musically.

Short drum song

Hey people,

This a little thing that was inspired by one of Bob Seger's early hits. Hope it gets you dancing!

Smatter? Dontcha like Jazz?

Today we're going to look at 2 performances of Kenny Wheeler's "Smatter".

The first is from his great album Gnu High which features Dave Holland, DeJohnette and in his last appearance as a sideman, Keith Jarrett.

There have been some very good posts lately, particularly on Cruise Ship Drummer about the so called ECM feel. I will add a couple of elements of this type of playing as my 2 cents on the subject as they come up in this post.

One of the elements of "modern" time keeping is the concept that we're using the whole drum kit.

Notice how even during the head of this tune, Jack switches cymbals or gets off the metal completely sometimes and just focuses on drum sounds yet this never sounds arbitrary.

One of the ways Jack creates variety in this situation is the amount of space he leaves.

Notice how after the in head (played 2Xs after the rubato intro without the bass and drums) he starts playing more half notes and letting the cymbals ring more rather than playing every quarter note on them. This is a great way of signaling that the melody is over and the trumpet solo has started. Jack has been quoted as saying that he feels the cymbals are like the sustain pedals on a piano, and that we don't necessarily have to play every quarter note on the cymbal to feel the pulse. This performance certainly demonstrates that. He also uses the splashed hi-hat sound to allow him to explore lots of drum textures in his time keeping.

After leaving the space at the end of chorus 2, (This is also a great example of using figures from the head to delineate the solo form as well.) Jack and Dave start some serious 4, thus increasing the energy and excitement. ( Although this could be typically called a "broken swing" type of tune, the swing feel is played pretty straight 8th, and lends itself to broken phrasing on any sort of 8th note ideas on the cymbal.) They keep this up for all of chorus 3 and 4, then start "gearing down" by breaking up the feel again in chorus 5 tapering off Kenny's solo beautifully and leaving lots of space and a lower volume to start Jarrett's solo.

Notice how during the 1st chorus of piano, Jack pretty well keeps time on every one of his cymbals at some point.

By the 3rd chorus, Jack is sort of playing in 4 while Dave Holland still is playing of a more broken 2, then on the next chorus they play in 4 together. When we get to chorus 5 Dave Holland is clearly still in 4 while Jack opens up the feel more by leaving more spaces and getting off of the cymbals more. By the end of the chorus both bass and drums are playing more open.

I think this also demonstrates that in this style it isn't always as simple as both bass and drums play in 2, and then both go to 4. Notice how the rhythm section as a unit creates these peaks and valleys in the music but aren't always necessarily doing the same thing at the same time.

When I was at Banff for the Jazz program, Dave Holland use to talk a lot about how the rhythm section could create "counterpoint' by playing like this.

Okay, here's another great version of this tune with a completely different band...

Now I won't do a play by play like I did with the first version but I encourage you to check out both versions and note how they're different. Do you like one more than the other? Why?

How are the arrangements different?

I will say I love Erskine's recovery when he thinks the out head is going to be rubato and it turns out it's not.

One of the great things about Kenny Wheeler's music is how many different visions of it it can sustain.

I remember when Erskine started appearing on his recordings I found it a real departure from DeJohnette's approach and found it quite shocking at first. Same when he made some recordings with Joe LaBarbera. I love all these drummer's approach equally now (as well as the not nearly well known enough Bill Elgart on "Flutter by, Butterfly"). It just proves again that all great drummers carry a whole universe with them!

Beware the ides of March!!!!!