SKF NOTE: This album, Mel Lewis & the Jazz Orchestra Play the Compositions of Herbie Hancock Live in Montreux, looks promising. Mel Lewis’s Orchestra in concert playing Herbie Hancock tunes arranged by Bob Mintzer. At $4.95 (as of Feb. 26, 2018) for the 49-minute MP3 album — I was more than willing to roll the dice on what looks like a sure thing.
Plus, whenever I can find Mel Lewis tunes I can listen to for the first time – that’s a good thing.
SKF NOTE: The band, Loverboy, was very popular at the time of my interview with Matt Frenette for a Modern Drummer cover story. This was the second interview with Matt. The first was done by one of my all-time favorite music writers, who contributed some exceptional interviews to MD.
It wasn’t until after Matt’s initial interview that the writer discovered the tape recorder was not working. None of Matt’s interview made it to tape.
The writer really wanted to redo the interview, but Matt was hesitant, thinking a “take two” interview with the same writer would have to lack the freshness, the spontaneity of the original.
I offered to interview Matt, he accepted. It was an uncomfortable decision because I had such respect for the writer, and because I had recorders crap out like that too. But….
Matt Frenette was fun to interview. Listening to it again 35-years later, Matt has several worthwhile tips for working drummers.
In this excerpt, Matt talks about his relationship with record producer Bruce Fairbairn in the recording studio. That is, Matt describes a working relationship that works, compared to one that doesn’t work, at least for Matt Frenette.
SKF NOTE: I knew there was a time in Buddy Rich’s life when he stopped playing drums, and tried to make it as a singer and dancer. But listening just now to Les Paul tell a story of Buddy Rich opening at The Blue Angel in NYC tap dancing on a drum and playing folk songs is news to me. Plus, there’s a guy in the audience who backs up Les Paul’s story, telling Paul he was at The Blue Angel the night Buddy Rich opened and folded his folk singer career.
Actually, on his 1999 Stick It album, Buddy and a guitarist recorded one of my favorite versions of Bein’ Green.
SKF NOTE: The full story includes an interesting account of how Kiss and recording engineers, using, in part, an elevator shaft, produced Eric Carr‘s “massive drum sound” on Kiss’s [1982] Creatures of the Night album.
I almost included the essence of the “massive drum sound” story here. Instead, I opted to include music producer Michael James Jackson‘s response to founding Kiss member Gene Simmons’s eagerness “to try and find a drum sound that was as close to Zeppelin [as possible.]”
Mr. Jackson’s response is in no way meant to put down Eric Carr’s drumming. To the contrary, Mr. Jackson gives Mr. Carr high praise. I post Jackson’s remarks because they are in sync with how I have always felt about drummers trying to copy another drummer’s sound. Of course, digital sound sampling has made copying much easier. But why not strive to have an identifiable sound of your own?
Here’s what Jackson had to say:
I’m a record producer, so I know if you want to have the drums sounds like John Bonham, then you have to give me John Bonham, you have to give me John Bonham’s drum kit and you have to put me in the same room where John Bonham plays that the drums sounds like that. Nobody can turn something into something it is not….
SKF NOTE: This video of an atypical Elvin Jones Trio is a welcome addition. It captures a live performance of Elvin with Richard Davis (bass), and Fumio Karashima (piano). This tv appearance includes a short Elvin Jones interview. In spite of the somewhat sketchy video quality and sound — the camera work here is very good. Enjoy.
Life Beyond the Cymbals
A Blog about Music and Popular Culture
Online Drum Tracks | Drum Recording | Remote Session Drumming | Pro Session Drummer
Life Beyond the Cymbals
Writing About and Reviewing Classical Music and Jazz
Life Beyond the Cymbals
A Drummer's Look at Drums and Drumming
Scott K Fish 
You must be logged in to post a comment.