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Jazz

Todd Bishop’s New Album, Travelogue, Out Now

Todd Bishop of the Cruise Ship Drummer blog puts out a high volume of interesting, valuable and varied drum set lessons and exercises. I like to show my support by buying the stuff he’s got for sale like his books and records. It’s come to my attention that Todd’s latest album, Travelogue, is out so I thought I’d give it a mention here. I haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet but you can preview it on the… Read More »Todd Bishop’s New Album, Travelogue, Out Now

Royal College Of Music Festival Of Percussion – With Gavin Harrison

The Royal College of Music Festival of Percussion takes place in London on the 6th of July. I attended last year’s event where I got to see the amazing John Riley, a clinic with Geoff Dugmore, a jazz trio, some classical percussionists, Nick Mason and a big band. It was a brilliant day out which I wrote about here and here. This year’s festival features the super-competent Gavin Harrison who has many notes to play, I imagine. It also features… Read More »Royal College Of Music Festival Of Percussion – With Gavin Harrison

Snarky Puppy – Quite The Musos

A student of mine mentioned Snarky Puppy to me, a modern fusion outfit playing sell-out shows all over the place. “Fusion” is not normally a term that excites me seeing as I can’t afford the cuisine and in a musical context, I don’t need to be reminded of traumatic experiences listening to Jaco’s solos or Garibaldi’s mullet, not to mention Brecker and his EWI. But… Watch this, it’s amazing! Apparently, they do all their records live with no overdubs and,… Read More »Snarky Puppy – Quite The Musos

Don’t Think!

This is sage advice but not so easy to follow. As a nouveau jazzer, I find myself thinking about everything too much. I get pages of Riley flashing through my head mid-performance. I’m playing in a restaurant so I am thinking about keeping the volume down and thinking about whether the next thing I do will be too loud. I think about tensions arising in different body parts, my posture, what drum-striking implements I need in the next song. I… Read More »Don’t Think!

Lesson with Ralph Salmins

I saw Ralph Salmins at a clinic put on by my old teacher, Phil Solomon, in Brighton a few years back. Ralph’s playing and approach were presented in a fun and informative way and his professionalism and practical attitude towards his work as one of the UK’s leading session drummers was inspiring. I asked Ralph for a lesson but due to complicated schedules, we couldn’t find a suitable date. My next meeting with Ralph was at this year’s Ultimate Drum… Read More »Lesson with Ralph Salmins

That Steve Gadd Bloke is Pretty Good

Been trawling YouTube for recordings of songs I need to learn for a new project wot I’m working on and happened upon this version of Billy Strayhorn’s Take The A-Train. I’ve seen the late Michel Petrucciani a couple of times in the past but not with this particular combo. Steve Gadd is just wonderful here, his light touch a marvel to behold. Drummers, you don’t need gear or seven-way coordination. You just need a thimblefull of this good stuff. Listen… Read More »That Steve Gadd Bloke is Pretty Good

John Riley

The Royal College of Music Festival of Percussion Part 2

So, where was I? Oh yes, John Riley. John Riley’s clinic was, for me, the highlight of the RCM’s Festivl of Percussion. It was a treat to see a talk by the guy who’s book is such an essential part of drumming education. The presentation was at core a walk through the history of the drumkit which was told very engagingly with the accompaniment of samples of the drumming of each era. We were introduced to the topic with the… Read More »The Royal College of Music Festival of Percussion Part 2

Geoff Dugmore

The Royal College of Music Festival of Percussion

This past Sunday I met up with my dad just behind the Albert Hall in Kensington and went to the RCM’s (Royal College of Music) Festival of Percussion. It was a brilliant day out with an amazingly broad range of percussion-related performances and activities. The styles on offer included rock and jazz drum kit, Western classical percussion, “World” music, “Latin” music, military snare drumming and that very important part of music, selling stuff. The packed schedule had enough in it… Read More »The Royal College of Music Festival of Percussion

What I’m Listening To This Week – Elvin

I have been getting back into jazz lately. I went through a period of only listening to Jazz, mostly bebop. Once I heard Dizzy Gillespie, the rock ‘n’ roll I loved seemed flat and simple. From my late teens until my mid twenties I listened only to jazz. Actually, jazz and some classical music of the Romantic era. I studied Chapin’s legendary book and spent my twenties at Ronnie’s soaking up some of the greatest music on the planet. Then… Read More »What I’m Listening To This Week – Elvin

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