SKF NOTE: This is part of a conversation with Neil Peart circa 1987, when he had recently endorsed Ludwig drums. We talk about why he switched, but more interesting, how he switched. Neil talks about having six identical drumsets from six different drum companies in one place, where he could play-and-compare. It was the sound of the 9 X 13 toms that finally made the difference.
My original cassette recording had a fairly prominent hum throughout. I reduced the hum, which makes the voices easier to hear. But the voice audio fidelity was compromised a bit in the process.
SKF NOTE: Denzil Best has always been somewhat of a mystery drummer to me. In all my studies of drummers, Denzil Best was always praised by drummers and other instrumentalists as a swinging, supportive drummer. Best was a trumpet player who switched to drums after an attack of tuberculosis. He was a player in the same vein as Connie Kay and Dave Tough. I’ve never come across a great deal of biographical information about Best.
This video of the George Shearing Quintet seems to be live, not overdubbed. Tight, swinging, and the best footage I’ve seen of Best. Great brushwork on a jazz classic written by Denzil Best. I wish the cameraman would’ve zoomed in on Best’s hands at least once, but…. This is a great clip of a great drummer with a classic jazz group.
SKF NOTE: An instructive four minute interview segment with musician Jimmy Heath where he talks about the wonders of Billy Higgins, but also, some funny observations about Heath’s playing with Elvin Jones. “[Elvin] didn’t give you a one [beat] all the time, [If you’re] waiting for a one [beat] — you’re in trouble.”
SKF NOTE: Will learning to play a melodic instrument make you a better drummer? On balance, yes.
The most common melodic instruments drummers play are piano (keyboards) and guitar. I also know drummers who played trumpet or trombone.
Learning to sing, and familiarity with song forms (32-bar standards, 12- and 16-bar blues, etc.), is comparable to playing a second instrument.
Drummers with no interest or familiarity with melody always play stiff — at least to my ears.
I hear drum beats as melodies. I learn drum beats by their total sound, usually in two- or four-bar phrases. When it’s a beat I want to copy, I copy the sound. When I get stuck, when I’m having trouble reproducing a sound, then I use musical notation to uncover the beat.
Maybe what the drummers’ are playing is built from the song’s melody, or from the bassist’s part. Maybe the drummer locks in to the rhythm guitarist or strong lead guitar riffs.
The melodies can be as simple as a nursery rhyme, or more complex. But, whether it’s John Bonham or Elvin Jones, the best drummers play melodic.
SKF NOTE: Songs are time machines. In an instant (a heart beat?) a song can carry us back to faces and places, experiencing emotions, just as we did fifty years ago.
I was reminded of music’s mysterious power this weekend after buying and downloading guitarist Grant Green‘s album, “Mellow Madness: The Original Jam Master Volume 3.” The album title is deceptive. If you know nothing about Grant Green as an essential jazz guitarist you might think The Original Jam Master music has to do with hip-hop or rap.
It doesn’t.
The song that grabbed me is Cease The Bombing, which took me back to one gig at a Long Island, NY bar in the Hamptons. I was a year or two out of high school, playing drums and singing in one of many bands with my friend, Neil Ralph. The band had a bassist, pianist, Neil on guitar, a trumpet player, and a saxophonist.
Mostly in our bands we played blues tunes. Neil brought to this band Cease The Bombing. I don’t know why I liked the song so much. We played it true to the original. I’m not sure I ever heard Grant Green’s original album cut. Maybe. But I think I first heard Neil play the song at a band rehearsal where I developed a drumming framework.
Neither did I know the original drummer is Idris Muhammad. Had I heard this track back then, maybe I would have played the songs with sticks. But I used soft mallets on my wide open drums, with no muffling. And Cease became a drum feature, my interpretive solo with soft mallets.
Those post-high school years weren’t always easy for aspiring musicians trying to earn a living playing music. But I miss the camaraderie of those bands.
Maybe, overall, that’s the melancholy feeling reborn when I listen again to Grant Green’s Cease The Bombing.
Scott K Fish 
You must be logged in to post a comment.