Joe Morello Drum Clinic Mid-to-Late 1970s – Part 1

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: Relying solely on my sketchy memory, I taped this Joe Morello drum clinic at the Long Island Drum Center. As of this writing I am unable to pinpoint the clinic date. I’m guessing it was in the mid-to-late 1970s. My thanks in advance to anyone who can provide me the actual date.

There were several well-known drummers at this clinic: Jim Chapin, Butch Miles, Mousey Alexander, and Sam Ulano. Chapin, Miles, and Ulano — and maybe Dom Famularo — were trading fours and eights before Morello’s late arrival.

This audio begins with Joe Morello arriving with his Yellow Labrador guide dog Matthew.

Morello talks briefly to clinic attendees and plays a bit on one of the onstage drum sets. Soon, Dom Famularo announces a short break so Joe can remove his jacket, relax, and give LIDC time to prepare a drumset for Joe.

Joe returns and talks some more with the crowd. He notes drummer Mousey Alexander is in the house, and tells a story of Mousey’s kindness to Morello when Joe was a new young drummer trying to make his way in NYC.

Morello then says he will “play a little bit and then get into the clinic.” He explains how he likes to “try to develop a theme” when he solos — and he demonstrates.

Joe talks about “the type of drumset I use,” using the out-of-tune drums provided him as an opportunity to show drummers how he tunes his drums.

This Part 1 ends with Morello tuning his snare drum, demonstrating the pros and cons of loose snare drums vs tight snare drums. With a loose snare drum, Morello says, the snares do a lot of the work. But, “I like to hear my mistakes,” he says, and then plays an intricate Bolero on drums which, to my ears, is the highlight of this tape.

I will post Part 2 soon. The tape quality on the flip side of this cassette is bad in spots. Let me see what I can do to make the sound better.

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The Shuitar and the Drumitar

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: My friend, Kelly Hamilton Stoddard Cotiaux, introduced me yesterday, via Facebook, to Jano Rix’s Shuitar. Mr. Rix is a member of The Wood Brothers. He plays drumset too — with the largest hi-hat cymbals since Sonny Payne, I think.

Kelly asked, “Have you seen anything like this before?” Not exactly. The first guitar-like percussion instrument I thought of belongs to Roy “Futureman” Wooten: the Drumitar.

Of course, for years musicians have used — still use — objects like suitcases, cardboard boxes, wood boxes, phone books, washboards, and plastic buckets as drums. Still, Jano Rix’s Shuitar is pretty slick. The sounds he gets seem more fluid than Futureman’s Drumitar. Rix won me over with his brush playing on the Shuitar body.

But both the Drumitar and the Shuitar are very cool and musical.

Innovation Onward!

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Remembering Paul Motian: Songs and Drumming

Posted on January 20, 2018 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: Last week and this week I am putting together audio excerpts for posting from my interview with Paul Motian, published in the April-May 1980 Modern Drummer.

The first I remember hearing, and being drawn to Paul Motian’s drumming was through Motian’s beautiful song, Victoria, on his 1974 Tribute album (ECM). Guitarist Sam Brown and saxophonist Carlos Ward interpret the melody so well. And I was intrigued by Motian’s unique accompaniment, far removed from any other jazz drummer I knew.

As is my music listening habit, I bought Motian’s two other ECM releases: Conception Vessel and Dance. Searching for other Motian records, I noticed his name on Keith Jarrett‘s Byeablue album. The title song is a Motian composition. Again, I was drawn to that song as much as I was drawn to Motian’s playing on that track.

I am looking forward to re-listening to my Paul Motian interview almost 40-years later.

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Learning from Singers to Be a Better Drummer

Posted on January 13, 2018 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: Paging through books from my music book collection, reading again the passages I underlined, I remember I did so because all of these passages — or almost all of them — helped me become a better drummer.

Breathing properly, phrasing, melodies, lyrics, rising above mediocre band members — I applied all of these to drumming.

Here are some favorite singer passages I underscored in one chapter of Whitney Balliett‘s book, American Singers.

Teddi King

  • The lyrics direct my choice of notes.
  • A good accompanist breathes with you. An inferior one forces you back into yourself.

Mary Mayo

  • The lyrics light up the melody – give the melody a tongue. Most melodies are dumb before they have words.

Barbara Lea

  • I worked with a piano player in Boston who couldn’t read, couldn’t keep a beat, couldn’t transpose, couldn’t play the songs of the day, and hated to play the piano. And that gae me a great musical independence — I learned to sing with anyone, anywhere, under any conditions.
  • Phrasing has to do with the meaning of the lyrics and the play of rhythm against rhythm.
  • The most important quality musically in an accompanist is rhythm, and that means being able to swing and to control the motion of the song.

Source: American Singers, by Whitney Balliett, Oxford University Press 1979

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Art Blakey on Chick Webb’s Drum Lesson

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Scott K Fish

art blakey photos

SKF: Here’s Art Blakey recounting his drum lesson from Chick Webb.

Down Beat: [T]he public in the swing era always looked to the drummer for a wild solo. After that, as time went on, people began to appreciate the drummer for what he was doing all around, musically.

Art Blakey: When I first started playing drums, we had a trap table. I had temple blocks and a stick with a black string on it to the ceiling. …I wasnt playing drums, I was twirling sticks, and I’d say “bam” and throw the stick out, and the people would say “aaaah,” and it’d come back, and I’d catch it. Big deal.

Chick Webb came in to hear me, and he said, “You’re a drummer, kid?”

And I said, “Yeah.”

He said, “Bring your drums in the dressing room.”

So I brought my drum in there; he said, “Roll.”

I said, “Rat-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta.”

He said, “__________,” slammed the door, and walked out.

I said, “Mr. Webb….”

He said, “Look, rhythm is on the drum — it ain’t in the air.”

Source: Drum Talk – Coast to Coast, Down Beat, 3/26/64

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