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Monday, August 31, 2009

Let's start with basic jazz pattern

Jazz drumming is kind of triplet
Let's start with very good lesson !!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

How to be a jazz drummer


So you have decided that you want to be a drummer but is at a loss as to which genre of playing style you want to master. Have you considered learning how to be a jazz drummer?

As you probably know, jazz is one of the most artistic and intriguing genre of music and especially so for the jazz drummer. Playing jazz music gives the drummer the opportunity to exhibit his amazing technical drumming skills and capabilities. However, most drummers choose not to take the time to learn how to play jazz drums properly which is partly due to its wide range of technicalities unlike most other forms of music.

Although jazz drumming seem to look very complicated, in reality, it is not that difficult to learn. The main difference is that most drummers are used to the 4/4 tempo of drumming where jazz is played with plenty of triplets and has a different feel from most other types of music. So the drummer may have to relearn some drumming techniques. Furthermore, most jazz pieces are relatively fast in tempo and thus most drummers also need to make improvements on their stick speed.

The first thing a new drummer needs to learn when playing jazz pieces is the basic jazz swing tempo or sometimes called the "swing groove". A jazz drummer's main role is to keep time for the rest of the band just like in any genre of music. The drummer should never overpower the rest of the band unlike when playing rock songs. To do this, simply use your hi hat and ride cymbal.

Ok. Let's start with your hi-hat stepping on the 2 and 4 count to a piece of swing music. It is critical to keep this count over top of everything else that you play. Next, add ride the cymbal with a triplet tempo and feel. Practice these moves to perfection before going further with your drum lessons.

Now that you have mastered how to keep the swing tempo with the hi-hat and ride cymbal, let's move on to the bass drum or sometimes called the kick-drum. Jazz drumming techniques are sometimes very subtle and because of this, the bass drum should not be too dominant. So do make sure that you do not play the bass drum too loudly. This again is unlike most other form of drumming. A good technique for this is keep your heel down when playing the bass drum. In this way, you are more in position control the strength of the kick more easily. A technique jazz drummers often use is the feathering the bass drum. This is done by lightly tapping the bass drum on the quarter or eighth notes.

You will probably know that is highly common for the bass drum to follow the bass guitar player. So you may need to know what kind of rhythm progression the bass player is playing and try to follow him. The bass drum should be played with more of a feel rather than powerful thumping like those in rock music.

The snare drum can be used to help as an accent for the band or can be used to play straight quarter notes.

Another common rhythm in jazz music is the shuffle and every jazz drummer must also master this form of drumming. Furthermore, since jazz music usually have musicians doing solo runs, the jazz drummer must also learn how to play drum solos. By developing these common jazz drumming styles, you will be playing jazz drums like a pro pretty soon!

Article by Chris Chew
http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-fitness-articles/how-to-be-a-jazz-drummer-486734.html

Monday, August 24, 2009

Stewart, Bill the modern jazz drummer


Stewart, Bill b. 18 October 1966, Des Moines, Iowa, USA. Percussionist Bill Stewart made his name as the rhythmic force behind guitarist John Scofield 's band, working with him for five years between 1990 and 1995. Self-taught on drums, Stewart is also a capable pianist, the instrument on which he composes. He grew up listening to his parents' jazz and R&B record collection, but otherwise jazz was a rare commodity in Iowa in the 70s and he played in a Top 40 covers band in high school as well as the school orchestra.

After graduating he enrolled at the University Of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, playing in the jazz and marching bands as well as the orchestra. He then transferred to college in Wayne, New Jersey, where he studied with Dave Samuels, Rufus Reid and Harold Mabern. It was here that he met future collaborator, saxophonist Joe Lovano. While still in college he made his recording debut with saxophonist Scott Kreitzer and recorded two further collections with pianist Armen Donelian. After graduation in 1988 he moved to Brooklyn, New York, where he set up home. There he began the slow process of establishing his reputation by regular appearances at jam sessions and by word of mouth, leading to his first gigs with the Larry Goldings trio.

At one of their regular sessions at Augie's Club in Manhattan, Maceo Parker attended and invited him to contribute to a forthcoming recording date (for Roots Revisited ). Afterwards he was invited to join Scofield's band, which also included Lovano, who has featured on both of Stewart's solo albums to date. The first, Think Before You Think, was issued on the Japanese label Jazz City and featured Dave Holland on bass and Marc Copland on piano in addition to Lovano. The second, Snide Remarks, featured pianist Bill Carrothers, trumpeter Eddie Henderson and bassist Larry Grenadier. This boasted nine original Stewart compositions, highlighting a sophisticated compositional technique that Lovano once analogized as being that of 'a melody player within the concept of rhythm'.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Oh Who Am I (The Susan Howatch Edition)

Well, clearly I'm not Charles Ashworth. Nor even Neville Aysgarth. It would be a minor blasphemy to put me as Jon Darrow.

I'd be massively offended if you called me Christian Aysgarth.

i'd be unbelievably gratified if you thought I was Lyle Ashworth (nee Christie).


Sadly, this is my destiny -

Eddie Hoffenburg, less the war-suffering. Oh how awful.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Bullshit Proof

Here's what I will never be trapped by again:

1) The "soulmate" crap. That's about control, guilt and the pretence of tender-heartedness. If someone says it to you, ignore it. Falling for it is irredeemably beta.

2) The relationship shit-tests like "were you looking at her?" to which all possible answers are wrong. The best thing to do is to respond in kind, ie: "Well, of course: she's as hot as fuck".

3) The absence of communication. If she doesn't text you, that's her fucking problem. *Never* get trapped into sending loads of texts to a silent woman. She will loathe you for your spinelessness.

4) Sexual intimacy. There ain't no such thing. You are just number n. So, to some extent is she. We don't communicate souls in sex, however much hand-wringing Christian clergyman think we do. We just fuck like animals. At last we're learning how to do it properly. Remember that kissing is absolutely nothing at all.

5) Rows are good. If she gets cross with you, get cross back. Never, ever appease a woman's anger. Women hate craven, cringing men.

6) Never believe what a woman says about the type of man she finds sexy. All that stuff about kindness, intelligence, etc is all crap. Women are as sexually predictable as we are, and we find big tits and slim hips sexy, and they find big, dominating men sexy. Believe me, your reading of Heidegger will be utterly irrelevant to whether she likes your cock, and she will, whatever she says, not be turned on by your claim to be a poet.


Well, that's it. As you can guess, some of this is inspired by reading less savoury stuff about "game", but my experiences over the last two years (of steadily being battered into the ground like the beta I am) suggest that there is a lot of truth in it.

Women are not hard-wired to be caring, or loving, or care-givers or whatever. They, like men, are animals, and their desires and preferences are far more animalistic than we often think.


The title of this post is inspired by the extremely cool track Bulletproof by La Roux, which is 80s synth pop for 2009, with a video whose visual imagery is what many 80s groups would have made, had the technology allowed it. It shows that this kind of music really does have meaning: archetypal grid patterns, geometric solids, splintered images, too much lighting, asexual or androgynous characters (she's a mixture of Toyah, Hazel O Connor and Flock of Seagulls). I wonder if the grid patterns, reminiscent of laboratories and prisons, are trying to say something in particular...

And not a single whoremark arse tattoo in sight. No lingering cunt-shot either.


Even crap 80s synth pop had more to say about real life and real personalities than Lily Allen, whose failure to reach an orgasm is not really inspiring me. Nor am I rendered speechless by Black Eyed Peas' prediction of a great night's clubbing and sex. I'm also unprepossessed by Lady Gaga's somewhat tired attempt at edginess. Equally, Evacuating the Dance Floor could have had intriguing cold-war psychological subtones - but it doesn't. It's just shit.

Yeah, ok. I'm spending 2 hours a day in the gym right now. So I know my music. Thanks to TMF.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

The Legend of Buddy Rich...


Arguably the greatest jazz drummer of all time, the legendary Buddy Rich exhibited his love for music through the dedication of his life to the art. His was a career that spanned seven decades, beginning when Rich was 18 months old and continuing until his death in 1987. Immensely gifted, Rich could play with remarkable speed and dexterity despite the fact that he never received a formal lesson and refused to practice outside of his performances.

Born Bernard Rich to vaudevillians Robert and Bess Rich on September 30, 1917, the famed drummer was introduced to audiences at a very young age. By 1921, he was a seasoned solo performer with his vaudeville act, "Traps the Drum Wonder." With his natural sense of rhythm, Rich performed regularly on Broadway at the age of four. At the peak of Rich's early career, he was the second-highest paid child entertainer in the world.

Rich's jazz career began in 1937 when he began playing with Joe Marsala at New York's Hickory House. By 1939, he had joined Tommy Dorsey's band, and he later went on to play with such jazz greats as Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Ventura, Louis Armstrong and Gene Krupa. Rich was regularly featured in Jazz at the Philharmonic during the late 40s. He also appeared in such Hollywood films as Symphony of Swing (1939), Ship Ahoy (1942) and How's About It (1943).

Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Rich toured with his own bands and opened two nightclubs, Buddy's Place and Buddy's Place II. Both clubs were regularly filled to capacity by fans of the great master drummer. After opening Buddy's Place II, Rich introduced new tunes with elements of rock into his repertoire, demonstrating his ability to adapt to his audience's changing tastes and establishing himself as a great rock drummer.

Known for his caustic humor, Rich was a favorite on several television talk shows including the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, the Mike Douglas Show, the Dick Cavett Show and the Merv Griffin Show. During these appearances, Rich entertained audiences through his constant sparring with the hosts and his slights of various pop singers.

This famed musician received outstanding recognition throughout his career. The Downbeat Magazine Hall of Fame Award, the Modern Drummer Magazine Hall of Fame Award and the Jazz Unlimited Immortals of Jazz Award are just a few of his numerous honors. Rich gained international attention for such master compositions as his 10-minute West Side Story medley. During his lengthy career, Rich toured around the globe, performing for millions of fans and several world leaders including the king of Thailand, the queen of England, Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Regan and King Hussein of Jordan.

On April 2, 1987, Rich died of heart failure following surgery for a malignant brain tumor. Long-time friend, Frank Sinatra, presented the eulogy at Rich's funeral. Today, Buddy Rich is remembered as one of history's greatest musicians. According to jazz legend Gene Krupa, Rich was "The greatest drummer ever to have drawn breath."

From www.drummerWorld.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Cricket and Game

OK. Here are some facts.

Strauss = beta
Cook = beta
Bopara = beta
Bell = omega
Collingwood = lesser alpha
Prior = alpha
Broad = alpha
Swann = beta
Anderson = beta
Harmison = lesser omega
Onions = beta

Watson = alpha
Katich = beta
Ponting = alpha
Hussey = beta
Clarke = alpha
North = alpha
Haddin = alpha
Johnson = beta
Clark = alpha
Siddle = alpha
Hilfenhaus = alpha


There's the problem. The England cricket team is populated by beta males.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

100 Greatest Jazz Drummers


Jazz has had the broadest perspective of all genre's in music since it's first note to the present day. It is for that reason that this list is presented in the same manner, with respect to all the myriad forms & interpretations of Jazz that exist today.

Criteria: - These musicians were chosen for their originality, versatility, impact & influence within the genre. For their innovations & the technical ability for improvisation & musical expression in addition to their compositional skill & creative inspiration.

I found this site is useful for Jazz Drummers History
http://digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com/pages/best_jazz/best_jazzdrum.html

Blues

Another important influence to jazz was the blues, an expression of the hardships experienced daily by slaves, in direct contrast to the work song, a celebration of work. Its musical inspiration came from where its players did, Africa. The rhythmic form of blues was a basis for many developments that would appear in jazz. Though its instrumentation was mostly limited to melodic instruments and a singer, feeling and rhythm were tremendously important. The two primary feels were a pulse on alternating beats that we see in countless other forms of American music, and the shuffle, which is essentially the pattin' juba rhythm, a feel based on a division of three rather than two.

Jazz drumming

is the art of playing percussion (predominantly the drum set, which includes a variety of drums and cymbals) in jazz styles ranging from 1910s-style Dixieland jazz to 1970s-era jazz-rock fusion and 1980s-era latin jazz. The techniques and instrumentation of this type of performance have evolved over several periods, influenced by jazz at large and the individual drummers within it. Stylistically, this aspect of performance was shaped by its starting place, New Orleans,[1] as well as numerous other regions of the world, including other parts of the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa.[2]

Jazz required a method of playing percussion different from traditional European styles, one that was easily adaptable to the different rhythms of the new genre, fostering the creation of jazz drumming's hybrid technique.[3] As each period in the evolution of jazz—swing and bebop, for example—tended to have its own rhythmic style, jazz drumming continued to evolve along with the music through the 20th century. One tendency that emerged over time was the gradual "freeing" of the beat. But older styles persisted in later periods. The borders between these periods are unclear, partly because no one style completely replaced others, and partly because there were numerous cross influences between styles.

from en.wikipedia.com

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Hello Jazz Drummer

Friday, August 7, 2009

Not Dead Yet

No, not dead yet. Despite all predictions, of his arse, his head, his bollocks: he is not quite dead.


Citalopram is a soft but stupid drug, which makes you shake and makes you tired. Especially when you ignore your quack's orders to give up the booze. Then it's worse. You shake all day, you feel like death (oh the irony). Also you don't want sex. You want death more than sex. Heh. Death and sex are indeed two sides of the same filthy coin, with Edward VIII on it.

It's a fuckwitted drug, which makes you want to drink to calm down, even though you oughtn't to drink. Well fuck that. I feel great on citalopram and loads of Stella. Citalopram and no Stella then I feel like shit.

I seem to have the DTs!!!! Fuck me I have the DTs!!!


Alright. Well no-one cares about that. Well what have I been up to. I have spent the last two weeks throwing out year after year of my life. The tip is my second favourite place. They let me put my clothes, tea towels, videos, computers, anything. All my life goes into the skips there. Thirty two years of rubbish. Lots of it. Any sign that anyone loved me. The things I loved as a child. The VHS videos I spent years recording. The books I collected.

All gone. In a flash of bin bag, all gone.

My car, even. Gone even before I sold it, thanks to an utterly unscrupulous Ford dealer!!!

My poor little Fiesta. Don't get me wrong, I love my sexy new Focus, with its glorious, vast, curvy arse, and its tempting Pacific blue colour....but my poor little Fiesta which did me so well up and down the M4 and took me to Frogland 3 times....


*sigh*

Can one have an affair with an ex - car?? Is it ethical?

Oh but I'm still in love with my Fiesta and her little teardrop rear lights....her invitingly tight front grille....oh Fiesta, would you take me back, even though I abandoned you so?

No. I knew it. Even when you had gone when I went to pick up the Focus, I knew you'd moved on. You'd never have me back. Someone else was driving you. Someone else was getting their foot soaked because of your malfunctioning aircon, someone else was having to get in via the passenger door because the driver's side door was fucked, someone else was feeling your utterly lame braking. Someone else knew that your foglights were shit. Someone else knew that your brakelights never ever fucking worked.

Not the Ford dealer, thankfully, but, I guess, someone else. The someone who'd taken you out even before I'd sold you.

And the Focus? Yes she is as sexy as hell. Her tits (front fog lights) are fucking amazing and her arse...well, I've fucked it already. Twice. But you know she doesn't love me like you did. It's like her mind is on someone else, someone bigger. Someone who doesn't need to move the seat forward. Who doesn't need to lean to see the blind spot. Who doesn't need to move the rear-view mirror. Who can just park it in reverse with hardly needing to look. Who just knows where the front end of the car is when they do tight turns and that.

My Focus will never love me, I'm not man enough. And I still fancy the sexy little thong off my ex-Fiesta, not that she ever wore a thong but you get the picture.

Oh fucking hell, has ever a man had such a problem with his beloved cars??