Skip to content

Funk

Learn to Play Zigaboo Modeliste’s Groove on Sailing Shoes

Zigaboo Modeliste is one of the true forefathers of funk drumming and in this YouTube video I explain the groove he plays on Robert Palmer’s Sailing Shoes. The song was written by the great Lowell George and was on the Little Feat record of the same name. Palmer’s version of Sailing Shoes appears on his 1974 debut album, Sneaking Sally Through The Alley. The song is brought to life here by Palmer’s energy and the Meters’ awesome funky backing as… Read More »Learn to Play Zigaboo Modeliste’s Groove on Sailing Shoes

The Blockheads: Beyond the Call of Dury

The greatest British band ever, The Blockheads, are the subject of a documentary called – The Blockheads: Beyond the Call of Dury. The film makers are raising money via Kickstarter to finish the production of what will hopefully be a brilliant documentary telling the story of this legendary band. Quoth the Kickstarter page: The story of how the band came to back Ian Dury is quite amazing and the career that each member has had is quite frankly unbelievable. What… Read More »The Blockheads: Beyond the Call of Dury

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

Cruise Ship Drummer’s Book of The Blog – 2013 is Here

My copy of Todd Bishop’s latest book-of-the-blog has arrived. His blog, Cruise Ship Drummer (he’s based in Portland, Oregon, despite the .co.uk thing) is a frequently updated stream of drum lessons, transcriptions, music suggestions and bits of drumming related wisdom. Todd’s previous publications include the Book of The Blog – ?2011 and the fantastic, almost pocket-sized, 100 Grooves. The 2013 Book of The Blog has 122 pages and contains all of the downloadable drum exercises and transcriptions that appeared on… Read More »Cruise Ship Drummer’s Book of The Blog – 2013 is Here

Ronald Shannon Jackson

Sad news to hear of Ronald Shannon Jackson’s recent demise. Although he was well known for his avant garde jazz playing, I am familiar mostly with his work with James “Blood” Ulmer. Jackson’s drumming is very gritty to my ears, and he plays with a wonderful touch. Here is a great clip – Jazz is the Teacher.

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy