Remember: Swinging with Hank Mobley. Phase A-A ONLY

Remember: Swinging with Hank Mobley. Phase A-A ONLY. Tempo at 170 bpm. Will do a full recording later when time allows.

Kit is a Gretsch Club Jazz Drums including an Canopus 14″ x 5.5″ The Maple Snare with an all-Zildjian-K cymbal line-up.

• 14″ K Mastersound Hi-Hats
• 16″ K Custom Dark Crash
• 20″ K Custom Dark Ride

Recorded with a stereo recorder: Zoom H2 Stereo Recorder.

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Playing Drums to a standard 32-Bar Swing (CoolalittleFaster)

Playing Drums to a standard 32-Bar Swing (CoolalittleFaster). Tempo at 140 bpm.

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

• 14″ K Mastersound Hi-Hats
• 16″ K Custom Dark Crash
• 21″ K Custom Special Dry Ride

Recorded with a stereo recorder: Zoom H2 Stereo Recorder.

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Jazz is the Musician’s music

Source: http://www.mvdaily.com/articles/2009/05/musicians.htm

Jazz musicians meet and understand each other in a fusion of discipline and intuition. Without the discipline collective improvisation would be chaotic and have no meaning to the listener…

For those who have lived inside jazz it is obvious that there is a common denominator between the music and the personality of the musicians as well as the aficionados…

Jazz will never become the music for the masses as pop music or for a discerning audience as classical music. It demands ‘a special ear’ from the listener, being too esoteric and complex. It is in effect music for musicians.  Since classical music abandoned improvisation and thereby left the original mainstream of music, those who have grown up with classical music have lost the capacity to follow what jazz musicians play. Instead they will have to settle for the great landscapes in classical music, perfectly executed and with great beauty, created on a set of totally different principles. Jazz to their ears is an incomprehensible muddle, much as would be the Coran read in Arabic. As it is also perceived as socially inferior, it is safe to dismiss it in patronizing terms. To expect a Copernican turn-around in our flat world amounts to latterday heresy.

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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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Mosaic: Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White

I will be going to attend the Singapore Mosaic Music Festival and will be watching Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White in concert.

Not like I am a big fan of Chick’s Electric Fusion jazz stuff but I watched him a fair bit due to his performances in Legends of Jazz. The main reason I first heard of him was due to Roy Haynes who is very well-known for playing and “main-streaming” the flat ride cymbal.

Roy was one of the first drummers to use a flat ride which can be heard on Chick Corea’s album “Now He Sings, Now He Sobs” made in 1968. He used a Paiste 602 Flat Ride in those days but has been using Zildjians these days. He replaced his Paiste Flat with a Zildjian K Custom 20″ Flat Top Ride (Video clips below). Incidentally, that K Custom 20″ Flat Top Ride is one of my favourite rides and gets a lot of time on my jazz kit configuration.

Lenny is, of course, a legend by himself in Jazz-Funk/Rock and I really hope he will be using a Flat Ride as one of his rides in the upcoming Mosaic Music Festival Concert.

This concert will be a real treat for me. Thanks Bu.

Below: Roy pioneering on the Paiste 602 Flat Ride – Chick Corea: Now He Sings Now He Sobs.

Below: Roy using a Zildjian K Custom Flat Top Ride with Chick Corea.

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