Puggo - Jar Jar's Yoda said:

twooffour said:
A question about jazz drums, doesn't the whole practising thing they've got going on with all the rudiments and technique, include being able to actually play evenly?

That's an interesting question. Yeah, I certainly spent many years drilling those rudiments and how to apply them. Somewhere along the line, you learn to make them flow with the ups and downs of an improviser. The biggest problem I had playing rock was getting my bass drum to sound even. In a jazz group, the bass drum ranges from tiny nudges to explosive bombs, even in the same measure. In rock, the bass drum is so steady it can often just as well be synthesized and played on a pad. I just couldn't make my bass drum sound solid like that - if I didn't concentrate really hard, my bass drum would waver in volume. But a rock bass drum sound would be the fastest way to get yourself run out of a jazz group.

I know Buddy Rich's single strokes sound damn even and controlled ;)

Yeah, Buddy was a freak of nature. Saw him several times and still wonder how on earth anyone could achieve that much facility. It's interesting to compare him with someone like Billy Higgins. Buddy could play circles around someone like that, but ask a jazz musician who they'd rather listen to.

Heh, yea, I get what you mean - you notice this kind of thing at the piano, where, at some point you've learned how to play a melody, or a scale "cantabile" and intuitively do crescendos and decrescendos and accents at the "fitting" notes and segments, and you realize you can't actually play the "even sewing machine".

Then again, same happens with tempo - if you get too used to applying rubato everywhere, you might realize one day you can't actually play in time.

But as far as I've heard, classical pianists often need to apply the "sewing machine" both in dynamics and tempo, let alone jazzers - so training that is kinda of necessary anyway ;)

Not sure if I can say I "prefer" Billy Higgins, especially since Buddy did his "quiet, tasty" solos as well.

As far as tasty, catchy, mind-blowing jazz drum solos, I probably prefer the kind of Joe Morello the most.