Drumming and Comping to a medium-tempo Walking Bass Line

Drumming and Comping to a medium-tempo Walking Bass Line. Song is in 12-Bar Form: 3 x Melody ONLY. Tempo at 120 bpm.

Kit is a Gretsch Club Jazz Drums including an all-time classic venerable Ludwig Acrolite LM404 with a mixed cymbal line-up:

• Bosphorus: 17″ Traditional Crash, 18″ double-rivet Antique Crash and a 22″ Masters Vintage Ride.
• Turkish: 9″ Classic Splash.
• Zildjian: 14″ K Mastersound Hi-Hats.

Recorded with a stereo recorder: Zoom H2 Stereo Recorder.

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Playing Drums to a medium tempo major 12-Bar Blues

This is me playing to medium tempo Major 12-Bar Blues. I used a background track from Peter Retzlaff and Jim Rupp (Pick it up a little). Song is in 12-Bar Form: 2 x Melody; 1 x Piano Solo; 1 x Bass Solo; 2 x Trading 4’s; 1 x Melody. Tempo at 120 bpm.

Kit is a Gretsch Club Jazz Drums including an all-time classic venerable Ludwig Acrolite LM404 with a mixed cymbal line-up:

• Bosphorus: 17″ Traditional Crash, 18″ double-rivet Antique Crash and a 22″ Masters Vintage Ride.
• Turkish: 9″ Classic Splash.
• Zildjian: 14″ (A)vedis New Beat Hi-Hats.

Recorded with a stereo recorder: Zoom H2 Stereo Recorder.

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Playing Drums to a easy tempo minor 12-Bar Blues

This is me playing to easy tempo Minor 12-Bar Blues. I used a background track from Peter Retzlaff and Jim Rupp (Let’s Play One). Song is in 12-Bar Form: 2 x Melody; 1 x Bass Solo; 2 x Trading 4’s; 1 x Melody. Tempo at 100 bpm.

Kit is a Gretsch Club Jazz Drums including an all-time classic venerable Ludwig Acrolite LM404 with an all-Bosphorus Cymbal Line-up (13″, 17″ Traditional, 18″ double-rivet Antique and a 22″ Stanton Moore Signature Wide Ride)

The stereo recorder is a Zoom H2 Stereo Recorder.

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Playing / Comping Drums to Satin Doll Take II – 20 Apr 2010

This is the second take where I separated the audio stereo recorder from the video camera (1st take here was done using the in-built microphone recorder of the video camera)

The stereo recorder was done using the Zoom H2 Stereo Recorder. This 2nd recording sounds much better with a much-focused sound.  The sound from the 1st recording was really all over the place.

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Playing / Comping Drums to Satin Doll – 18 Apr 2010

This is me playing and comping to Satin Doll, which is one of the most popular jazz standards used in many open jazz jams and also a big band favourite.

I used a background track that was performed by Paul Gonsalves and Roy Eldridge. Song is in AABA Form of 8 bars each. Recorded 2 Forms, comping to the 2nd Form which is Roy’s Trumpet lead.

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Pearls of Wisdom

After my rambling and my excitment of having found JMW here, just the first session signifies he has done some work for me by giving my some sheets and cutting a CD for me for some of the more popular jazz songs that I would like to play to.

He proceeded to play a couple of jazz standards and asked me to listen out for some parts and how the handover between musicians was done. Gosh – I learnt so much from him just from that one session alone. This sure beats the hell out of – “Here, this is the MP3, go listen.”

He also gave me some Pearls of Wisdom. I found it all to be so true and the last one by Miles Davis to be most insightful. I will list it here for reference for all:

• 2 factors that stop people from improvising: Fear of getting Lost and the Fear of playing wrong notes.
• If you dont think before playing a phrase, it is not improvisation, it is just an exercise.
• It is easier to sing what you hear in your head than it is to play it on your instrument – your objective is to be able to play what you hear in your head.
• Most music is grouped in 2, 4 and 8 bar phrases. Learn to feel them, not count them.
• Listen, Listen, Listen – all the answers to your questions are there if you listen.
• Once you can hear what you are trying to play, things get a lot easier.
• If you think about what you are doing, you will remember a lot better.
• Written music is a crutch – memorize instead.
• Good musicians have a large reportoire in their heads, they dont rely too much on books.
• It takes a long time to play like yourself – Miles Davis

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Serial Jammer is born

When it rains, it floods.

So, I spent a good part of last Sunday jamming on 2 separate occasions. One is the Open Jazz Jam at Tanglin Music Club at the Tanglin Community Club where I semi-jam to a nice catchy tune in which I have no clue what the song was called. The other was at my place later that evening with my friends and Bu where we belt out a couple of Jazz Standards. Nothing fancy and no complex chord progressions or abstracted renditions – just simple recognizable tunes

• SummerTime
• Autumn Leaves
• Girl From Ipanema

So as not to overpower the accoustic guitars, I used a simple 3 piece setup – 13″ Hats, 14″ Snare, 20″ Flat Ride.

I think we all did well, considering this is the first time we are actually doing it after barking at it for so long. I am truly looking forward for more to come.

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Newest (and Shiniest) Addition to the Family

Below is the latest, newest and shiniest addition to the family. Doesnt take a strain of the eyes to figure out what it is. Great – now we have horns and wind with the wood 🙂

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Jamming to my first 3/4 Time Signature Song

Fresh off after our earlier jam, I just discovered a great song that sounded so good to apply a Swing Pattern to.

So, there I was minding my own business when the wife played one of the most recognizable tunes on the piano: Rainbow Connection as made famous by Kermit the Frog from the Muppets. I played in my head how the song would spin with a swing feel and immediately took my 20″ Zildjian K Custom Flat Ride and placed it next to the piano and started playing a swing pattern to it – and then realize that it is a 3/4 Time Signature Pattern.

It was real cool and it sounded real good on a nice rainy evening… I will see if I can record a short clip of it and post it here.

In the meantime, here is a YouTube Video clip of one of my favourite female vocalist, Sarah Mclachlan singing her own “jazzy” rendition.

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