Which Came First? The Drum or The Drummer?

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Scott K Fish

no_name_drummerIt has been awhile since I first thought about an interesting variation I was seeing in drum equipment advertising.

I have no data to support this. Just the observation of a lifelong drum equipment ad reader. As I mentioned in my post yesterday, before the internet, drum ad photos were the only chance young drummers had to see their favorite drummers sets and cymbals up-close. A chance to see what equipment they used and how they used it: Did the drummer play his snare flat or at an angle? Oh, he’s a left-handed drummer? Wow, keeping a ride cymbal at that angle doesn’t look comfortable at all!

My recollection of growing up is most drum equipment ad copy was a variation on this theme: Great drummers choose our equipment.

The drummer came first, then the drum or cymbal or other drum equipment.

The ad copy shift I noticed in the 1980’s was a new theme: To be a great drummer, choose our drum or cymbal or other drum equipment.

The drum equipment came first, then the drummer.

I have always believed the drummer comes first. Good equipment is great, but not essential. Great drumming comes from the heart. Great drummers are great on anything. That’s the point I would like to see taught to young drummers.

Yes, I can cite specific ads, but it might be more useful (and fun) to suggest readers look at drum equipment advertising and see if I have a point.

Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.

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Joe Morello Ludwig Ad 1962

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: I have seen three Ludwig ads with this same terrific look. I posted a Buddy Rich ad from, I think, this series, here.

This ad is from the inside front cover of the July 5, 1962 issue of Down Beat.

Looking at this ad yesterday I was reminded how influential this and other drum ads were to me — probably to many drummers — pre-internet. Look at how Joe Morello is holding the stick in his right hand, playing his ride cymbal. A young drummer in 1962 could be forgiven for thinking, “So that’s how Joe Morello holds the stick in his right hand all the time.” Which is not true. But….

Bottom line: Drum ads were fun to study — yes, study — for hours and hours, looking for clues on how to play like our drum heroes.

Joe Morello 1962

Joe Morello 1962

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Scott K Fish: Innovators of Jazz Drumset: Pt 2 of 2

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Scott K Fish
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SKF NOTE: In 1994, my friend and former Modern Drummer colleague, Rick Mattingly, was on staff at the Percussive Arts Society’s magazine, Percussive Notes. Rick asked if I would expand on and take a slightly different tack on a subject I touched on in a five-part series I wrote for Modern Drummer called History of Rock Drumming.

I gladly accepted Rick’s assignment. The resulting article was published in two Percussive Notes as Innovators of Jazz Drumset: Part 1 and Innovators of Jazz Drumset: Part 2. Here’s Part 2.

This link will take you to Part 1.

HINT: If you click on the photos below they will expand into full size pages.

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Scott K Fish: Innovators of Jazz Drumset: Pt 1 of 2

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Scott K Fish
151009_percussive_notes_aug_1994

SKF NOTE: In 1994, my friend and former Modern Drummer colleague, Rick Mattingly, was on staff at the Percussive Arts Society’s magazine, Percussive Notes. Rick asked if I would expand on and take a slightly different tack on a subject I touched on in a five-part series I wrote for Modern Drummer called History of Rock Drumming.

I gladly accepted Rick’s assignment. The resulting article was published in two Percussive Notes as Innovators of Jazz Drumset: Part 1 and Innovators of Jazz Drumset: Part 2. Here’s Part 1.

Part 2 is posted here.

HINT: If you click on the photos below they will expand into full size pages.

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Tony Williams – Why I Play the Way I Do

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Scott K Fish
Tony Williams

SKF NOTE: This segment is from a good interview by Vernon Gibbs called, Tony Williams: Report On A Musical Lifetime, in the January 29, 1976 Down Beat. I am unable to find the full interview online.

Vernon Gibbs: What was there about Art Blakey and Max Roach that impressed you?

Tony Williams: The sound was the thing I liked about Art Blakey. At the time, ’54 or ’55, that sound was pretty huge, as big as any sound today. The thing about Art Blakey was his rhythm and the way he made music sound when he played it. Art Blakey was the first drummer that impressed me because he played with such steady drive, the feeling he had was a feeling that no one else was playing with.

Max Roach played more musically than anybody else. When Max took a solo, if the solo was a 32-bar tune, he could take the tune and make you know exactly where he was. Whether he was in the bridge or the last eight, you’d know it by what he was playing. At the time that’s what made him the master, he took playing the drums to a really sophisticated level. He played with such command.

Philly Joe Jones was the other drummer that influenced me. He played more animated than the two of them. His stuff was stuff that drummers just wouldn’t play. Max played things that were really logical, Art Blakey played things that were just feeling, but Philly Joe played things that were just caricatures of music, he could do things that were just magical with the drums.

The way all of them looked when they played had something to do with the way they played and I was drawn to the glamour of all of it. That’s why I play the way I do.

Roy Haynes was also very influential. I also learned a lot from Louis Hayes and Jimmy Cobb. They gave me a lot of personal help because they actually sat down and showed me things.

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