No one redefined playing jazz in 3/4 more than Elvin Jones. Minute of Drums 45 taught you a short snippet from a solo Elvin played on "Someday My Prince Will Come" from his brother Hank's 2003 Great Jazz Trio album of the same name. This extended lesson breaks down an entire 16-bar phrase from this incredible solo.
Give that hihat foot a workout! More Minutes 44 teaches you more fast hihat comping phrases from Jack Dejohnette's playing on "The Brain" from Chick Corea's 1969 recording The Complete Is Sessions.
Finally some brushes! Minute of Drums 43 taught a brush trading phrase from the great Art Taylor. This extended lesson digs deeper with some brush basics and more great solo phrases from Taylor.
You may not have heard Ben Riley's name much, but you've definitely heard his playing. Riley is on some of Thelonious Monk's most iconic recordings, including the 1967 classic “Straight, No Chaser”. In this extended lesson, you'll learn 4 comping phrases Riley plays on this recording that clearly mark phrases while propelling the music forward.
I'm a huge Ahmad Jamal Trio fan, especially his classic trio with Israel Crosby on bass and Vernel Fornier on drums. In addition to his highly swinging and perfectly supportive straight ahead playing, Fournier created iconic grooves for the trio inspired by his New Orleans roots. This More Minutes lessons shows you a variation on the groove from "Autumn Leaves" featured on Minute of Drums 41, and also two grooves from the iconic Live At The Pershing recording of "Poinciana".
Ever wonder how Art Blakey creates so much forward momentum with his comping on the classic Jazz Messengers track "Free For All"? This EXTRA-extended lesson takes a deep dive into this concept, and helps you master Blakey's 3 against 2 comp phrasing.
Further exploring the Tony Williams fast triplet phrase from Minute of Drums 39, this extended lesson offers you 3 variations to practice.
Expanding on the short solo phrase from Minute of Drums 38, this extended lesson teaches you a full 16-bar phrase from Al Foster's solo on “Ornithology” from Hank Jones’ Great Jazz Trio - Chapter II record. This is a prime example of Foster's use of clear, melodic motifs to build incredibly musical drum solos.
Working with the Jack DeJohnette comping phrase in 7 from Minute of Drums 37, this lesson teaches you how to superimpose 7 over 4-bars of 4/4 time. This is a great way to break up your phrasing, and break out of old comping habits.
Louis Hayes swings SO HARD on the live recording of "Work Song" from Cannonball Adderley's Radio Nights record. In this More Minutes lesson you'll learn 2 additional bars of the original Minute of Drums comping phrase, as well as an 8-bar phrase from earlier in the track.
Picking up where Minute of Drums 35 left off, this extended lesson teaches you an entire 4-bar Jimmy Cobb solo phrase from "Out Front" on the 1965 Wynton Kelly Trio record Undiluted. I also use the phrase to create two improvisation exercises that will help you integrate this new content into your own playing.
Roy Haynes' performance on Chick Corea's 1968 record Now He Sings, Now He Sobs was a pivotal moment in jazz drumming. His driving time on a dry flat ride, paired with his crisp and fluid 3-voice comping set a new standard that continues to influence drummers today. This extended lesson takes the uptempo comping phrase from the album's opening track "Steps - What Was" that I explored Minute of Drums 34, and teaches you 3 new variations displacing the idea around the measure.
Diving deeper into a solo phrase from "Gertrude's Bounce" off of the Clifford Brown & Max Roach At Basin Street record, this extended lesson explores Max Roach's use of ostinatos in his soloing. Using Roach's bass drum and hihat motif to anchor the phrase, I explore some variations that will help you integrate this concept into your own improvisation.
Specs Wright is one of the unsung legends of jazz drumming. Carl Allen originally introduced me to Spec's masterful playing on Red Garland's 1959 live recording At The Prelude. In this extended lesson you'll learn three additional 4-bar solo phrases from the trading from the track "M-Squad Theme".
Sam Woodyard is the drummer who helped Duke Ellington usher in a more modern sound in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among his most iconic performances are the unique grooves he created for the Ellington/Strayhorn adaptation of the Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker. This extended lesson explores a variation on Woodyard's hand groove on "Sugar Rum Cherry" as well as his seamless bass drum feathering and accents on "Peanut Brittle Brigade".
One of Elvin Jones' most iconic recordings is Wayne Shorter's album Speak No Evil (recorded in 1964 and released in 1966). Among the highlights (and this record is full of them!) is his MASSIVE lead-in to Wayne Shorter's solo on the track “Witch Hunt”. More Minutes 28 explores this phrase along with two others from “Witch Hunt”, showcases Elvin's unique driving triplet comping style.
Few jazz drummers have contributed more to the essential jazz vocabulary than Philly Joe Jones. This More Minutes lesson explores the way Philly Joe used comping and short fills to mark new phrases in the music. You'll learn 4 phrase-ending fills along with the comping that leads into them, transcribed from "Blues for Philly Joe" off Sonny Rollins' Newk's Time record (recorded in 1957 and released in 1959).
Tony Williams playing on "One Finger Snap" from Herbie Hancock's 1964 record Empyrean Isles was game changing. His level of independence and the way he puts phrases together breaks all of the rules. In More Minutes Episode 28 you'll learn 3 iconic phrases transcribed from this track.
More swingin' comping from Billy Higgins, this time from the track "Homage" off Charles Lloyd's 1999 Voice In The Night record. Learn a 6-count variation and longer 4-bar phrase based on the idea from Minute of Drums Episode 27.
Minute of Drums 26 featured a short trading phrase on "Familiar Ground" from Elvin Jones' 1984 record Brother John. In this More Minutes lesson you'll learn the full 8-bar transcription.