MELODIC JAZZ DRUMMING by

Jonathan David McCaslin

A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts Faculty of Music University of Toronto

Copyright by Jonathan McCaslin 2015

ii MELODIC JAZZ DRUMMING by Jonathan David McCaslin Doctor of Musical Arts Faculty of Music University of Toronto 2015 ABSTRACT This dissertation examines and explores how jazz drummers consider the concept of “melodic drumming” and how it relates to their own personal performance practice. The drum set, in the context of jazz music, can easily be considered a primarily rhythmic instrument by its very nature. It is, nevertheless, worthwhile and necessary to discuss the significance of how jazz drummers consider other musical elements in their own personal style.

An overall musical approach to the drum set is recognized and encouraged, but the term and concept of playing “melodically” is also important. However, an exact definition of this idea is difficult to absolutely define. The definition and application of a melodic approach to jazz drumming is often as unique as the individual who chooses to either define or apply it.

For the purpose of this research, the question of how jazz drummers incorporate and consider melody in their own playing was determined through a series of extensive interviews with contemporary jazz drummers. The interviews also explore how melody is viewed in the larger scope of jazz drumming. The findings from these interviews, combined with various other available sources, were then compared with the findings further organized, compared and discussed.

iii In addition to the importance of playing the drums with an overall musical agenda, jazz drummers also describe using melody on the drum set in the context of being both an accompanist and a soloist. This includes very literal expressions of melodic structures on the drum set to more conceptual (and perhaps less obvious) applications. Many drummers also explored how melody can be an effective tool in pedagogical applications. Furthermore, many jazz drummers also discussed their sources of melodic influence. Jazz drummer Max Roach figured quite prominently in many of these interviews and his contributions and stylistic relationship to melodic drumming are also discussed.

iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to take this opportunity to thank the following people whose help and assistance were invaluable in making this project come to light:

My thesis supervisor, Dr. Russell Hartenberger, and dissertation committee members, Dr. John Brownell and Prof. Terry Promane, for their insight and guidance. Special thanks to Prof. Paul Read for his instrumental role in setting up the DMA program at the University of Toronto and for initially encouraging me to pursue my academic studies at the doctoral level.

Thank you to Adam Nussbaum, Matt Wilson, Kenny Washington, Joey Baron, Lewis Nash, Billy Martin, Barry Elmes, Dennis Mackrel, Ian Froman, Ali Jackson Jr., Peter Erskine, John Riley, Billy Drummond, John Ramsay, Yoron Israel, Bob Gullotti, Jason Marsalis, Nasheet Waits, Carl Allen, Dan Weiss and Joe LaBarbera for so generously and openly sharing their thoughts, ideas, opinions and personal experiences related to jazz drumming.

My doctoral colleagues at the University of Toronto: Dr. Tom Van Seters, Dr. Patrick Boyle and Dr. Mark Duggan for their collaboration, encouragement and fellowship.

A very special thank you to my family: My parents David and Roberta, my wife Chandra Thomas and son Seamus. Without their patience and unwavering support, this paper would never have been completed.

v TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................................. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS....................................................................................................... v LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................................. ix LIST OF APPENDICES........................................................................................................ x INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1

THE THESIS........................................................................................... 1

1.2

WHAT DOES MELODIC DRUMMING MEAN?................................... 2

1.3

WHAT IS MELODY? ............................................................................. 3

1.4

APPLYING MELODY AS A DRUMMER.............................................. 9

1.5

METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 15

1.6

LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................... 19

CHAPTER 1 1.1 CHAPTER 2

WHY IS MELODY IMPORTANT? ................................................... 29 THE FOUNDATION............................................................................. 29 THE MELODIC DRUMMER AS AN ENSEMBLE PLAYER ......... 38

2.1

MELODY AS A REFERENCE POINT ................................................. 38

2.2

ORCHESTRATION AND ARTICULATION AS MELODY ................ 42

2.3

COUNTERPOINT AS MELODY.......................................................... 47

2.4

SUMMARY........................................................................................... 52

CHAPTER 3

THE DRUMMER AS MELODIC SOLOIST..................................... 55

3.1

MELODIC DRUMMING = PLAYING PITCHES ON THE DRUMS? ............................................................................... 55

3.2

EXPRESSING MELODY ON THE DRUMS ........................................ 62

3.3

THE USE OF FORM............................................................................. 64

vi 3.4

LINEAR DRUMMING.......................................................................... 66

3.5

IMPROVISING OVER STRUCTURES AND THE USE OF REPETITION.................................................................. 68

3.6

DYNAMICS AND STICKING PATTERNS ......................................... 72

3.7

ROY HAYNES - “IN WALKED BUD” ................................................ 75

3.8

MAKING MUSICAL CONNECTIONS ................................................ 79

3.9

SUMMARY........................................................................................... 84

CHAPTER 4

MAX ROACH...................................................................................... 87

4.1

THE INFLUENCE OF MAX ROACH .................................................. 87

4.2

MAX ROACH’S MELODIC SOLO STYLE ......................................... 92

4.3

SOLO DRUM SET COMPOSITIONS................................................... 97

4.4

INFLUENCES....................................................................................... 98

4.5

“CONVERSATION” ........................................................................... 100

4.6

SUMMARY......................................................................................... 107

CHAPTER 5

MANIPULATING THE PITCHES OF THE DRUMS .................... 109

5.1

THE PERCUSSIVE ROOTS OF THE MANIPULATION OF PITCH............................................................. 110

5.2

JEFF HAMILTON’S MELODIC APPROACH TO “A NIGHT IN TUNISIA”.................................................................... 114

5.3

ARI HOENIG – A METHOD TO PLAYING MELODIES ON THE DRUMS ...................................................................................... 118

5.4

FOUR DIFFERENT PARTS OF MELODIC DRUMMING ................ 119

5.5

HOW TO START PLAYING A MELODY......................................... 120

5.6

PLAYING A MELODY ON THE DRUMS USING CONTOUR......... 122

5.7

PLAYING ACTUAL PITCHES .......................................................... 124

5.8

TUNING.............................................................................................. 127

5.9

REACTIONS AND CRITICISM ......................................................... 128

vii

5.10 CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY......................................................................................... 130 MELODIC DRUM SET PEDAGOGY ............................................. 132

6.1

ALAN DAWSON AND MUSICAL DRUM SET PEDAGOGY.......... 133

6.2

SING A SONG .................................................................................... 140

6.3

LEARNING INSTRUMENTAL SOLOS............................................. 147

6.4

BIRD SONGS – THE INFLUENCE OF CHARLIE PARKER ............ 149

6.5

HARMONIC AWARENESS ............................................................... 157

6.6

SUMMARY......................................................................................... 162

CHAPTER 7

MELODIC INFLUENCES................................................................ 166

7.1

MELODY VITAMINS – THE INFLUENCE OF THE PIANO AND OTHER MELODIC INSTRUMENTS........................................ 166

7.2

BRAZILIAN DRUMMING AND WEST AFRICAN RHYTHM......... 169

7.3

NORTH INDIAN TABLA................................................................... 171

7.4

FUNK DRUMMING ........................................................................... 172

7.5

SUMMARY......................................................................................... 174

CHAPTER 8

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS ................................................. 176

8.1

WHY IS MELODY IMPORTANT? .................................................... 177

8.2

THE MELODIC DRUMMER AS AN ENSEMBLE PLAYER............ 178

8.3

THE DRUMMER AS MELODIC SOLOIST....................................... 180

8.4

MAX ROACH ..................................................................................... 182

8.5

MANIPULATING THE PITCHES OF THE DRUMS ......................... 183

8.6

MELODIC DRUM SET PEDAGOGY ................................................ 184

8.7

MELODIC INFLUENCES .................................................................. 185

8.8

LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES OF THIS RESEARCH............ 186

viii 8.9

FURTHER STUDY ............................................................................. 187

8.10 PERSONAL BENEFITS...................................................................... 188 8.11 CODA ................................................................................................. 188 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................ 190 DISCOGRAPHY.............................................................................................................. 195 APPENDIX A (List of Interview Subjects) ..................................................................... 196 APPENDIX B (Transcriptions) ....................................................................................... 198

ix LIST OF FIGURES Figure 3.1 Roy Haynes: “In Walked Bud,” measures 1-8............................................. 76 Figure 3.2 Roy Haynes: “In Walked Bud,” measures 9-16........................................... 76 Figure 3.3 Roy Haynes “In Walked Bud,” measures 9-13............................................ 76 Figure 3.4 Roy Haynes “In Walked Bud,” measures 7-14............................................ 77 Figure 3.5 Roy Haynes “In Walked Bud,” measures 37-39.......................................... 78 Figure 4.1 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 2-9................................................ 101 Figure 4.2 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 10-17............................................ 101 Figure 4.3 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 18-25............................................ 102 Figure 4.4 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 26-32............................................ 102 Figure 4.5 Max Roach Rhythmic Pattern .................................................................. 103 Figure 4.6 Max Roach Rhythmic Pattern (variation).............................................. ... 103 Figure 4.7 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 50-53............................................ 104 Figure 4.8 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 62-65........................................... 104 Figure 4.9 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 82-89............................................ 104 Figure 4.10 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 99-106 ........................................ 105 Figure 4.11 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 123-130 ...................................... 105 Figure 4.12 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 179-190 ...................................... 106 Figure 4.13 Max Roach “Conversation,” measures 195-202 ...................................... 106

x LIST OF APPENDICES APPENDIX A (List of Interview Subjects) ................................................................. 196 APPENDIX B (Transcriptions) ................................................................................... 198

1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE THESIS

This dissertation will examine how contemporary jazz drummers address the musical concept of “melody” in the context of their own personal drumming style and overall approach to playing the drum set. It will also examine the role that melody plays in other areas related to jazz drumming. It is my goal to determine and answer the principle question: How do jazz drummers use melody when they play the drums?

Often referred to as “melodic drumming” or “playing melodically,” these general concepts and terms will be examined thoroughly by discussing and comparing the thoughts, opinions and personal experiences offered by various individual jazz drummers. These interviews were, for the most part, all done specifically for the purpose of this research.

Discussions with these artists form the central basis of my research. Information from other sources including existing literature, published interviews, and pedagogical materials are included to complement the material collected from the interviews.

My primary aim is to compare and contrast a broad range of ideas, opinions and philosophical approaches that drummers use when considering the potential use of melody in their own playing. It is my goal to consider the overall means of how playing “melodically” is achieved in the context of jazz drumming. The goal is not to present a final definition of what “melodic drumming” absolutely means but rather to collect a variety of possible applications and considerations. Nor is the intention of this research a focus on an absolute or in-depth definitive

2 technical approach as to how one can play melodies on the drum set (i.e. through the process of extensive transcription and specific technical analysis and procedure). The techniques that drummers use to apply melody will certainly be discussed, however, it will not represent the only focus of this document.

When considering the ideas and opinions presented by those who were interviewed, there are really no wrong answers. Rather, they are all opinions, albeit sometimes contrasting or conflicting, that are formed by personal experience and all are considered to be equally valid approaches. It is my contention that these experiences and opinions help form a musician’s unique and personal approach to playing music, and ultimately shape the basic framework that musicians use to make musical decisions on their instrument.

Technique is an important and essential element needed in order to express oneself musically on an instrument. However, I believe that it is also the intention behind that instrumental technique that allows for a demonstration of musical expression and a significant individual artistic style to emerge. Therefore, for the purpose of this paper, the discussion of the conceptual approaches to melodic drumming as well as its technical possibilities will both be addressed.

1.2 WHAT DOES MELODIC DRUMMING REALLY MEAN?

Many might consider drummers to be only concerned with elements of rhythm. An assumption could easily be made that a drummer is not able to achieve any degree of melodic continuity from playing the drum set. A survey and analysis of the history of jazz drumming styles and of its innovators up to the present, or indeed a discussion with any accomplished present day jazz

3 drummer, will prove this assumption to be false. The drums are in fact capable of a profound melodic expression, and melody holds a significant place in every jazz drummer’s approach.

Experienced drummers are quick to point out that any approach to playing the drum set that deals exclusively with rhythm and ignores melody (or harmony for that matter) is actually limiting in overall musical potential. The means and methods in which jazz drummers use melody in their own drumming style varies considerably, but at the very least its significance is consistently acknowledged. Not only do drummers acknowledge the overall importance of using the concept of melody while playing the drums, but its application can be considered in a variety of ways as well. These applications range from literal and precise expressions of melodic statements on the drum set to broader conceptual approaches that use melody to inform and facilitate musical expression in a variety of circumstances and contexts. So then, what can the term “melodic drumming” mean? How can we use melody on the drum set?

1.3 WHAT IS MELODY?

Before a discussion can begin as to how a jazz drummer applies melody to the drum set, it should be worth considering an initial definition of the musical concept of melody.

According to the Webster’s New World Dictionary of Music its definition derives the term melody from the combination of the Greek words melos and aeidan which translates into “Sung Music.”1 This would imply that a melody is a musical idea that can be sung or at least has a lyrical, vocal-like quality to it.

1

Slonimsky (1998: 311)

4 In terms of a more specific technical definition of melody, Webster’s New World Dictionary of Music also offers that: “Melody involves successive tones projecting a self-governing sense of a logical progression. In modern usage melody is a tonal line vivified by a rhythmic beat.”2 Similarly, The Oxford Companion to Music defines melody as: “The result of the interaction of rhythm and pitch.”3 In its simplest terms, the important assertion is made between these two sources that a melody is basically comprised of a series of tones (pitches) connected by a rhythmic line. We are presented with the idea that in order to construct a melody we require two musical elements: pitch and rhythm.

This definition of melody, basically described as being a musical intersection between pitch and rhythm, provides us with a satisfactory basic starting point that we can use towards a discussion about melodic drumming. However, as the current definitions continue, several other views of melody are presented and worth considering as well.

Webster’s Dictionary of Music asserts specific observations of what fundamentally constitutes a good or pleasing melody: “Aesthetically an ideally beautiful melody has a perfect balance between the high and low registers and a symmetric alternation of ascending and descending tonal groups.”4 From this description Webster’s Dictionary of Music explores the definition of melody as being a collection of tones organized not only in terms of its range but in its tonal direction as well, all organized in what is described as being a “perfect balance.” According to this definition, melody can also be defined in the context of tonal music by its intervallic construction. For example:

2

Ibid Whittal (2002: 758) 4 Slonimsky (1998: 311) 3

5 Most memorable melodies move within the range of an octave between 2 dominants in a major key with the important points on the tonic (root), the mediant (major 3rd) and the upper dominant (perfect 5th). In acoustical terms this octave is outlined by the 3rd (lower dominant), 4th (tonic), 5th (mediant), and 6th (upper dominant) overtones in the harmonic series. It may therefore be conjectured that Western melodic lines are functions of this harmonic series.5 This definition suggests that an emphasis on certain specific pitches derived from the harmonic series also contributes to creating an “ideal” melody. This relationship to the harmonic series is also purported to be an important part of melodic construction in that: “Many consider the derivation of melody from the harmonic series to be one of the most persistent and irrefutable phenomena in melodic construction, and therefore in all music.”6

However, while the construction of a melody can be examined in terms of its relationship to the harmonic series, this definition would seem to best fit in the context of Western tonal music. Both the Webster’s and Oxford dictionaries acknowledge how melody is manifested differently in other cultures or even in atonal music, where music is not necessarily organized according to the same harmonic principles as in Western music. Webster’s Dictionary of Music acknowledges that: “the principles underlying the melodic structure of much non-Western music differ widely from those of Western melodies, there are fewer harmonic implications and scales that may be derived from intervals and pitches not found within an equally-tempered octave.”7

5

Slonimsky (1998: 312) Ibid 7 Ibid 6

6 Similarly, with regard to atonal music: “Atonal melodies follow structural plans entirely different from those of tonal melodies and excludes all triadic confirmations and has no link with the harmonic series. Organized atonal systems…follow their own rules of aesthetic structures, with the idea of beauty derived from special considerations of intervallic motion.”8

From this statement we are presented with the idea that in atonal music the role of intervallic construction plays a very important role due to the absence of a link to the harmonic series. Significantly, its musical successes from a melodic standpoint often “follow their own rules.”

The Oxford Dictionary also points to melody being an inherent part of the human experience and how human speech relates to melody, particularly in non-Western cultures. In language, intonation is an important source of meaning. Many African and Asian languages depend on an intonational system much richer than those with Indo-European roots. The use of any kind of “melodic” inflection to determine meaning in language is quite remarkable.9 The observation is made that many African, Asian and non-Western languages use an intonational system in the form of language that is much more varied and complex than others. For example, the meaning of a word or sentence can change depending on the emphasis or the intonation. Similarly, the complexity of how a culture uses melodic inflections in their speech can also be reflected in how a culture expresses melody in its music. It is said to be so complex that: In music, just as in language, the way different qualities inhere in such a form of expression is complex. Musicians consider it to be so complex, and there are so many different types of melodies from different cultures and ages, that melody is the least well explained aspect of music theory.10

8

Slonimsky (1998: 312) Whittal (2002: 758) 10 Ibid 9

7 While both Webster’s and Oxford Dictionaries acknowledge melody as being the important intersection of tones and rhythm, they also agree on how the overall organization of pitches and intervals that create melody varies across cultural contexts. Given the different cultural approaches to music and sensibilities to intonation, it is actually considered to be very difficult to fully explain melody.

In Otto Karolyi’s Traditional African & Oriental Music (1998), the author examines the definition of melody from an African perspective. Given the general rhythmic and percussive nature of African music, this provides an interesting inclusion to our discussion of how the drum set could be considered a melodic instrument as well.

While the author acknowledges the initial definition of melody as being: “a succession of upward and downward moving pitches (notes)”11 he also offers that melody is: “…obviously more than an impersonal reference to a succession of pitches” and that this basic definition of melody: “is not satisfactory when we think of music which effects our emotions.” For Karolyi: “That essential extra is easy to feel, but rather difficult to describe.”12

While the author acknowledges certain characteristic aspects that do contribute to general melodic construction, he takes issue with the idea that melody is the central focus of music and that this comes from a Western mentality of music that places so much priority on harmony: In the West, it is a debatable but strongly held view that the ability to create significant melodies is the very essence of musical artistry and a sign of individual creative genius. The West’s preoccupation with harmony leads melody to be seen as part of the composer’s overall harmonic thinking, and the horizontal and vertical aspects of music

11 12

Karolyi (1998: 18) Ibid

8 are thus strongly related. This harmonic view of music is debatable because music may also be more rhythm orientated and its melody therefore subordinated.13 According to Karolyi: “In African music, rhythm can in itself be the music”14 and melodies can be derived from as little as two, three, four or five notes as long as the continuity of the rhythmic line is complete. This author’s approach to describing melody (specifically while considering melody from an African perspective) is important as it recognizes not only that melody can be successfully expressed using only a limited collection of pitches but it also stresses the importance of rhythm in the context of melodic construction. This will present a number of possibilities when further considering the drum set as a melodic instrument.

In general we can summarize these points and focus on a basic framework to define melody for our purposes: -

Melodies often have an inherent “vocal” quality to them.

-

Melodic construction is considered as a confluence between rhythm and pitch.

-

Attention is often given to the use of intervallic construction (in particular in conjunction with structures derived from the harmonic series, as is often the case in Western Music.)

-

Melodies found in other forms of music (such as atonal music or from other cultures such as Africa) often “follow their own rules” with regards to melody given the lack of a harmonic series to draw from.

-

What is considered to be melodic is ultimately relative to the musical culture from which it comes.

-

Melody is considered to be difficult to define and perhaps the least understood of all musical principles.

13 14

Ibid Ibid

9 Given the broad nature of what constitutes a melody, these general points will all be considered over the course of this dissertation when discussing how melody can be applied to the drum set.

1.4 APPLYING MELODY AS A DRUMMER

Melody can be expressed on a variety of percussion instruments such as the vibraphone, xylophone, and marimba (among others). Many other percussion instruments found around the world that are designed and tuned in a specific way can express melody in the same capacity. This is consistent with other common melodically-inclined instruments (for example: the human voice, piano, string, woodwind and brass instruments; that is to say using specific pitches organized in an organized tuning system). But how does the drum set relate to the concept of melody if it doesn’t necessarily have a collection of pitches to draw from in the same way a piano or other instrument does?

The drum set was not initially conceived as an instrument meant to express and interpret melodic ideas. Traditionally the role of the drum set in an ensemble was fundamentally that of being a timekeeper, and the musician used the drums to maintain a steady pulse for the benefit of the entire ensemble. Paul Berliner describes the central rhythmic role of drumming in jazz music and its historical roots in early jazz bands, commonly used to accompany dancers: The importance of the drums within jazz groups reflects the general value attached to rhythm in African American musical tradition. Because of the early commercial position of jazz as accompaniment for dancing, the drummer's central function has been to maintain a strong, regular beat within the framework of conventional tempos and meters. The trap set's performance practices have remained integral to the stylistic evolution of jazz as the music moved from dance halls to nightclubs and concert halls where serious listening was the main attraction for audiences, and danceability no longer imposed its constraints upon performance. At the same time, the practices of contemporary

10 drummers reflect the legacy of their early forerunners.15 The first drum set was assembled during the early 1900s and was actually an evolution of military-style drumming used to accompany early New Orleans brass bands16. The percussion section of these early brass bands was a combination of two drummers - a snare drummer accompanied by a bass drummer. As these two instruments evolved into the first drum set (with two instruments, then more, being played by one drummer) the role of the drummer was still the same. The drummer provided a steady pulse or “beat” for the benefit of the musical ensemble.

However, as jazz music developed, the drum set as an instrument, and the creativity and imagination of drummers themselves, evolved as well. Over the course of jazz history the role and possibilities of the drum set as a musical instrument developed significantly to the point where the drum set could no longer be considered an instrument that exclusively “keeps a beat.” Rather, jazz drumming has developed to a point where the drums can contribute musically to an ensemble at the same level of sophistication and interaction as any other musician or instrument.17

Specific to the topic of this paper, the consideration of the drums as a melodic instrument takes on great significance in terms of exploring the possibilities of the drum set in jazz music, beyond that of being primarily a timekeeper.

15

Berliner (1994:324) See Daniel Glass’ drum instructional DVD The Century Project:100 Years of American Music from Behind the Drums (1865-1965) (2012) for more information regarding the evolution of the drum set instrument. 17 The fact that less people danced to jazz music over the course of its evolution is reflective of this phenomenon. 16

11 For many, the label of “melodic drumming” might simply infer the concept of literally playing the actual rhythms of a given melody on a drum set or percussion instrument. This translates into the idea of playing a “melodic rhythm” on the drums. In Sayin’ Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction (1996), Ingrid Monson points to this interpretation of the concept of “melodic drumming”: When drummers speak of playing melodically, at the most basic level they are referring to melodic rhythms – either those that imitate the melody or the soloist’s line of those that form thematic ideas developed by being played at different pitches and timbral levels around the drum set. In addition, great musical variety can be achieved by playing a given rhythmic idea between two or more parts of the drum set tuned in contrast to each other.18 According to Monson, her interpretation of “melodic drumming” implies that when doing so, a drummer is actually using the rhythm of a melody (possibly either from the soloist or the composition itself) combined with contrasting textural and timbral choices offered by the drum set to imply or create a melodic structure on the drums. While there is certainly much more to the concept of playing melodically (and this will be discussed), Monson’s description is a basic and valid approach to this concept and is a good place to start this discussion.

From a technical standpoint, playing literal melodies on the drum set in a specific way (that is to say reflecting specific pitches) is indeed possible but can represent a significant challenge from a simple logistical point of view. The drum set is generally considered to be an instrument of indeterminate pitch. However, it is still possible to discern certain pitches if a drum is tuned properly or high enough. But if a melody were to be played on a drum set, note-for-note, in exactly the same way we expect to hear a melody from, say, a piano then we might require a sufficient number of drums to facilitate this exercise (depending on the complexity of the melody

18

Monson (1996:61)

12 in question and the number of pitches involved, of course). While some drummers have adapted a larger set-up of drums to explore this idea, the logistics of this approach are, for the most part, not necessarily practical.19

This is not to say that using pitch and melody on the drum set in a literal way is not plausible, nor unattainable. Many drummers have developed specific technical approaches that allow them to manipulate a smaller collection of drums in order to create a larger collection of pitches to draw from or at least create the illusion that they have more pitches at their disposal than they actually do.

However, for many drummers the idea of “melodic drumming” goes far beyond just being able to imitate a melodic statement on the drums using its rhythm and approximating the change of tones or a collection of pitches. Peter Erskine offers his opinion with regard to this: If a drummer played Mary Had a Little Lamb on their tom-toms or snare drum by changing the surface tension of the head with their elbow (which is kind of an old trick) and the reaction was “that’s the most melodic drumming I’ve ever heard,” I’d say – I would disagree. Because playing Mary Had a Little Lamb doesn’t really constitute any melodic profundity or anything like that. It’s not just the fact that pitches can be made apparent on a percussion instrument. You can’t say that it’s not a melody, but at the same time I don’t think that’s what we mean by melodic drumming. In the end they may be playing a melody on the drums and yet still be playing some really dumb stuff!20 Erskine does not deny that imitating a melodic statement on the drums is plausible; he only suggests that a broader consideration and musical application of the idea of “melodic drumming” is indeed possible and necessary. As Erskine continues:

19

For example, drummer Terry Bozzio has explored the use of an extraordinarily large drum setup using a combination of chromatic and diatonic drum tuning in the context of solo drum performances for some time now. 20 Erskine (2011)

13 Melodic drumming, I think, carries a little bit of baggage with it (and not bad baggage) in that it means being musical. Being a melodic drummer means one doesn’t play from sticking habits or playing for effect, but they’re actually playing with a consciousness and awareness of all the elements that make a piece of music sound the way it does. Personally I think often times a melodic drummer is analogous to being a musical drummer.21 Similarly, Barry Elmes describes how the term “melodic drumming” can be misunderstood: I mean, this thing that people have talked about for years, melodic drumming, can be a real misnomer because melodic drumming to me doesn’t necessarily mean that someone’s sitting there trying to bang out melodies on the drums. It can mean that, yes, but that’s not what it means to me. Melodic drumming to me is a concept where what you play on the drums is based on melodic information as opposed to strictly rhythmic information. So instead of just playing things on the drums, you’re trying to express melodic ideas. You don’t have to play the actual pitches, but melody has shape and you can play shapes on the drums. You can play contours of lines on the drums and that’s what I try to do.22 To further this idea of melodic drumming being used in a broader and, perhaps, less obvious way, Joe LaBarbera recalled that his first encounter with the idea of “melodic drumming” came in the form of a question posed to him during a clinic in the 1970s while performing with pianist Bill Evans. He was even confused about its initial meaning, not exactly sure how to explain this specific concept: I remember the first time I was asked in a clinic back in the 70s about melodic drumming. I had no idea of how to answer that question because for me it was just something intuitive that I did. I remember that first clinic and I just didn’t have an answer for that guy. I thought: “Oh, do you mean playing actual melodies on the drums?” It’s only after years of more experience and after becoming a teacher that I’ve had to analyze my own drumming and reflect on what it is that I’ve been doing and to be able to come up with some way to verbally express it.23 From LaBarbera’s experience a clear definition of “melodic drumming” was not even initially apparent to him before years of careful consideration. His own initial assumption after being asked about this in a drum clinic even suggested a definition of “melodic drumming” that relied 21

Ibid Elmes (2007) 23 LaBarbera (2011) 22

14 on the concept of “playing actual melodies on the drums.” LaBarbera has since further developed and refined this conceptual approach following years of musical experience and reflection.

From these three drummers and Monson’s assertion we can quickly see that melodic drumming can take on a broad, multi-dimensional definition and shouldn’t be considered or limited to a singular conceptual or technical approach on the drum set. The questions therefore present themselves: how far can one go with this idea of using melody to inform and shape one’s drumming? How does the concept of melody factor into the wider spectrum of how a jazz drummer thinks, plays and operates conceptually? How many ways can melodies be expressed on the drum set? How does pitch factor into this? The answer to the initial concern “What does melodic jazz drumming mean?” can indeed seem elusive.

From the comparison of discussions with many of the world’s leading practitioners of jazz drumming it is evident and safe to say that for many the idea of “melodic drumming” goes far beyond that of simply trying to play melodies on the drums, in a note-for-note context (whether in a literal or approximate way). For many, the implication of “melodic drumming” has far greater meaning and overall consequences in the broader spectrum of music making on the drum set.

This dissertation will continue to examine, primarily through the use of interviews, how there is no singular definition of the concept of “melodic drumming.” As the information presented in this document will show, its ultimate meaning and application is often as personal and unique as the drummer who chooses to express himself using the concept of melody in their music.

15 1.5 METHODOLOGY

With the main question of this research project being: “How do jazz drummers use melody?” the main focus of the source material for this qualitative research is drawn largely from personal interviews conducted with actual current and active jazz drummers. This information is further supplemented by material drawn from an extensive literature review and from various sources in which the idea of “melodic drumming” is either mentioned or alluded to in some form or context.

The drummers who participated in this study were mostly interviewed in-person in New York City. However, in the event that in-person interviews were not possible, many interviews were conducted over the phone with persons from a variety of locations including: New York City, Boston, Toronto, Los Angeles and Berlin. These interviews were all recorded with a hand-held recording device and later transcribed and edited into written form for the purpose of analysis and comparison.

The individuals selected for this study were chosen largely on their availability and interest to participate. However, they were also all initially considered, contacted and asked to participate in this research based on their own activities as either active practitioners of the art form of jazz drumming, active recording artists, and/or educators in the field of jazz drumming. Furthermore, the individuals initially contacted are all recognized masters in their field of expertise, as judged by their peers and the jazz community at large.

16 An attempt was made to interview a wide range of musicians so that the sum of the information collected would ideally reflect a wide scope of individual experiences and opinions within the realm of what is currently considered to be contemporary jazz drumming. Consideration was also given to individual stylistic choices, stylistic associations and each drummer’s diverse musical and professional experiences as an attempt to gather a cross-section of opinions drawn from a wide array of approaches rather than focusing on one specific stylistic approach to contemporary jazz drumming (or a specific “group” of jazz drummers based on age, stylistic choice, etc.).

The questions posed to each individual during each interview were asked with the intention of generating an open discussion about their personal use of melody in their drumming and their philosophy towards melody and its relationship to jazz drumming in general. While specific questions were asked, it was not my intention to conduct each interview in an absolute and direct question-and-answer format, but rather to use each question as a departure point to initiate an open conversation and discussion about how each individual views and treats melodic principles in their music. I felt that if I were to limit my interviews to a concise questionnaire format this would perhaps limit the opportunities for the subjects to fully express themselves. Without full expression of thoughts, the opportunity to expose certain areas and relevant topics would potentially be lost. Furthermore, it was not my intention to influence my interview subjects nor their answers or opinions by asking narrow questions. Throughout each interview I welcomed the opportunity for further elaboration on the subject.

17 Over the course of these interviews and discussions many of the subjects interviewed would frequently veer off topic and dwell on certain unrelated tangents (many of which were still very interesting, however not necessarily immediately relevant). However I felt that this is a necessary part of a healthy discussion/interview process and it is to be expected when subjects are asked to offer their own personal opinions and experiences. Furthermore, subjects would often raise points and ideas related to the topic that I had not initially considered. I felt that this offered a great opportunity for myself to consider these other areas as well. I believe that by allowing an informal and open approach to my interview process the subjects were able to express themselves in an honest and open manner.

The questions presented to each individual, which served as a departure point for each interview and conversation, included: -

As a drummer, why do you feel it is important to consider melody?

-

How do you consider the use and expression of melody in the context of being a timekeeper and accompanist in a musical situation?

-

How do you consider the use and expression of melody in the context as an improviser when you are playing a drum solo?

-

What other drummers do you consider to be melodic and why?

-

What other drummers and/or musicians do you feel have influenced your own personal melodic approach to the drums?

-

What methods and techniques do you use to express melody/melodic ideas on the drum set?

-

How does one practice or develop these ideas and the ability to play melodically?

-

Can you give some examples of forms of drumming that you feel are non-melodic?

18 Over the course of the interviews some of the subjects elaborated on certain aspects of these questions more than others while in some instances some questions were only briefly addressed (or not at all). However, given the number of subjects interviewed and the amount of data collected, a number of sufficient answers were recorded to allow for a reasonable comparison and a collection of conclusions to be made.

The overall methodology of this paper was to distill the results from the collected interviews and upon analysis, to extract common themes from each of them and then, in turn, compare and contrast the results. Common themes and areas of discussion have emerged following the analysis and I have attempted to organize these subjects into different subsections allowing for the opportunity to draw conclusions based on the testimony given by the various participants.

In addition to the information drawn from the transcribed interviews with the participating drummers, material was also drawn from a variety of other resources. For example, excerpts from interviews found in existing published resources with many other jazz drummers where the topic of melody was mentioned were also used and considered (however brief at times). This allowed for the inclusion of ideas and commentary from drummers that are no longer living and/or that were not able to participate in a personal interview with myself over the course of my research for various reasons (i.e. due to lack of availability, lack of initial consideration on my part or even an interest or willingness to participate in my project). These particular interviews were drawn from a variety of sources including publications such as other dissertations, jazz related books, journal articles, magazines and on-line internet-based resources (such as Youtube.com and other websites).

19 Furthermore, many educational resources were included, such as the use of several drum method books and drum instructional DVDs. In many instances commentary on the use of melody and melodic principles were explored, to a certain extent, in each of these resources. I feel they warrant inclusion in this discussion since many of the interviewees often referred to certain pedagogical techniques over the course of their interviews. Since conceptual and technical aspects of melodic drumming have been touched on via various resources, I feel that it is relevant to the overall scope of my research that they should be included as well. Specifically, it is important to not only discuss the conceptual and technical approaches to dealing with melody on the drums, but also examine how drummers engage those concepts within a teaching and developmental context.

I will examine how melody has influenced many different jazz drummers and their approach to playing the drums in a musical context. This will be accomplished by drawing on the personal opinions and experiences of several recognized masters of jazz drumming while at the same time using current literature and other available resources to support the claims and ideas of the persons interviewed.

1.6 LITERATURE REVIEW

A review of existing literature that discusses, in-depth, specific aspects relating to the topic of melodic jazz drumming and its practice reveals a surprisingly limited number of resources. While still significant, there are only a handful of dissertations that deal directly with jazz drumming and even fewer that deal with some aspect of melodic jazz drumming. The topic of melodic jazz drumming is mentioned and alluded to in various limited forms over the course of several jazz-themed publications that overall deal with a) a broader investigation into the practice

20 of jazz music in general, b) aspects relating to jazz drumming in its wider scope or c) through the analysis and discussion of specific jazz drummers sometimes combined with biographical information.

Additionally, references to different aspects of melodic drumming can be in found in several journal articles, and significantly among many pedagogical resources (whether they be magazine articles, instructional method books or DVDs). While the number of resources on the subject is few, they do collectively offer a wide assortment of ideas and concepts to consider. Fortunately, in terms of directing a literature review on this subject, this has allowed for a reasonably diverse pool of information to be considered and included despite a relative lack of dedicated literature on the topic. Of the resources that were surveyed, many offered a variety of perspectives and varying degrees of information with regards to the concept of melodic jazz drumming.

Discussions about the overall general nature and the definition of melody were initially considered. Entries from the Oxford Companion to Music and Webster’s New World Dictionary of Music provide specific general definitions and explanations of melody, which accommodate the diverse forms that melody takes in different forms of music from around the world. In African Rhythm and African Sensibility: Aesthetics and Social Action in African Musical Idioms, John Miller Chernoff discusses how melody and the nuance of pitch in the context of drumming manifests itself in West African drumming styles, specifically in the context of West African “Talking Drums.” In Traditional African and Oriental Music by Otto Karolyi, the author devotes a chapter to describing how melody is manifested in African music and how it compares to Western notions of the same concept. As a whole, these resources provide tangible and flexible definitions of melody that allow for a wide consideration of the definition of the concept of melody.

21 In Michael Jordan’s “Melodic Drumming in Contemporary Popular Music: An Investigation into Melodic Drum-Kit Performance Practices and Repertoire” (2009), Jordan examines melodic drum set practices in popular and contemporary music in a limited capacity. Jordan’s assertion is that the development of melodic techniques on the drum set has allowed for drummers to develop a more inclusive role within contemporary ensembles. He asserts that this has broadened the drummer’s role in modern music beyond that of being just a timekeeper. Jordan asks three main questions over the course of his research: 1) How can a melody be voiced on the drum kit? 2) What techniques are needed to realize melodic drumming? 3) To what extent can compositions involving melodic drumming be inclusive of other instrumentalists? His research is based on interviews with several Australian jazz drummers and is largely from an autoethnographic view in which he discusses his own personal path and experience in dealing with different melodic drumming practices while playing his own music. Jordan describes the overall process and the consideration of approaching the drums from a melodic perspective and describes several techniques with which this can be done on the drums. Furthermore, the results of his research are summarized in a series of original compositions for a solo drum set. In these pieces he attempts to illustrate his findings and put them into a musical context by using the drums as a melodic instrument rather than strictly a rhythmic one.

In “A Melodic Approach to Drum Set Improvisation” (2006) Ken Charles Stralka presents a study that aims to establish a methodology that can instill in young drum students a competent sense of form, while playing time and the ability to improvise, in time, over various established musical structures. Stralka asserts that most formal training that drummers receive, commonly focuses on rhythm, hand technique and “beats” without regards to larger musical considerations. He believes that this leads to uninspired, non-musical and one-dimensional drumming in the context of an ensemble or improvised music situation. His goal is to expand a drum student’s

22 sense of musicianship by using a teaching method in which established drum patterns and rhythms are played and practiced in the context of measured phrases and longer, extended forms. Students who participated in this study were required to practice exercises that required them to play a pre-determined pattern (for example, several of the Percussive Arts Society’s Standard 40 Rudiments or variations on standard drum set timekeeping patterns) for a certain number of bars followed by improvising for the same duration of measures. By means of establishing a controlled study of his test subjects (with the aid of local drum instructors) he concluded that his method and approach led to a young drummer gaining the ability to improvise over a simple structure without getting lost. He considered the end result to be more musical than previous attempts.

While Stalka certainly proved that this is possible, one might argue that using the term “melodic” in this context may actually be misleading. While being able to improvise within an established musical framework (i.e. in time and over a given number of measures) is significant and contributes greatly to an overall musical approach to the drums, he does not offer a connection between the ability to improvise in this manner and how that is ultimately considered to be “melodic.”

In “Homage to Max: A New Work for Solo Drum Set Based on the Style of Max Roach” (1997) Rande Paul Sanderbeck examines selected transcriptions of drummer Max Roach and comments on Roach’s organized, motivic and vocabulary-based approach to jazz improvisation on the drum set and overall style. Background information on Roach’s career is presented while five of Roach’s recorded drum solos are transcribed, analyzed and summarized with a focus on his stylistic characteristics. Roach’s “melodic” approach to the drum set is alluded to in the context of the analysis that his drum solo works and in reference to what is often called Roach’s “lyrical”

23 style of drumming. Furthermore, a five-movement original work entitled “Homage to Max” was composed by the author, presented in written score form and discussed with regards to Roach’s influence.

Similarly, David Schmalenberger’s “Stylistic Evolution of Jazz Drummer Ed Blackwell: The Cultural Intersection of New Orleans and West Africa” (2000) presents an in-depth view of the multi-faceted style of jazz drummer Ed Blackwell. Schmalenberger points to the significant influence of Max Roach’s melodic approach to the drums and the emergence of the bebop style of jazz drumming as being at the core of Blackwell’s style. He also references the influence of Blackwell’s New Orleans roots, alto saxophonist Ornette Coleman, his association with the “Free Jazz” movement and the influence of West and North African drumming styles. He identifies these as all being central to the identity of Ed Blackwell’s unique, and often melodic, drumming style.

The evolution and contributions of the drumming style of swing drummer Sidney Catlett is thoroughly examined by James Michael Hutton in “Sidney “Big Sid” Catlett: The Development of Modern Jazz Drumming Style” (1991). In his research Hutton provides an in-depth look at the career of Sid Catlett and makes an argument as to why Catlett should be considered as an important innovator, a catalyst between the swing and bebop drumming styles, and ultimately responsible for setting the stage for the progressive and modernistic approach to jazz drumming that prevailed during the 1940s. He also discusses how Catlett captured many aspects of melodic drumming in his own personal, forward-thinking style. Hutton asserts that Catlett’s approach represented an important influence on bebop drummers such as Max Roach, Kenny Clarke and Shelly Manne (among others), their overall melodic approach to the drums. With regards to Catlett’s melodic approach to the drum set, Hutton asserts that:

24 Catlett’s significance as a transitional figure in the development of “melodic drumming” is documented in his performances through the following techniques: 1. the utilization of the melody as a point of departure for variations of pitch and rhythm through an integrated use of the drum set; 2. the creation of small forms within a drum solo; 3. the utilization of variation techniques such as ornamentation, rhythmic displacement, diminuation, augmentation, and inversion; 4. the use of tonal coloration, and 5. the creation of longer sectional forms connected by motivic and formulaic structures.24 Drummer Elvin Jones is discussed in-depth by Barry Elmes in “Elvin Jones: Defining his Essential Contributions to Jazz” (2005). However, this work largely focuses on Jones’s unique and highly developed approach to timekeeping which relied extensively on the use of triplet subdivisions and poly-rhythmic phrasing all while expanding and challenging the roles and possibilities of various parts of the drum set within a modern jazz context. While Jones’s drumming and overall approach is transcribed and analyzed in great detail, often in the context of several recorded performances with the John Coltrane Quartet during the 1960s, his approach to drum soloing is not examined. A discussion of Jones’s melodic approach to the drum set is not specifically addressed, although Jones’s interactive rhythmic/harmonic/melodic relationship with the other musicians on several recorded performances is addressed in the context as being an accompanist by means of extensive transcription and analysis.

Theodore Dennis Brown’s “A History and Analysis of Jazz Drumming to 1942” (1976) examines in great detail the evolution of early jazz drumming styles, tracing their development from their early roots in post-Civil War military rudimental drumming and West African

24

Hutton (1991: 158–159)

25 drumming traditions, through New Orleans, Ragtime, Chicago and the Swing era to developments in early 1940s bebop drumming. This is matched by an in-depth discussion of the emergence of African-American culture in the United States and its increasing influence on greater popular American culture following the American Civil War through to Pre-World War Two America. A large focus is placed on the innovations of the many significant drummers that ultimately created and defined early jazz drumming styles and the overall evolution of the techniques related to jazz drumming. Occasional references to the use of a “melodic” approach are sometimes mentioned over the course of this examination in the context of specific drummers and their personal styles, techniques and contributions.

Furthermore, Anthony Brown’s “The Development of Modern Jazz Drum Set Performance, 1940-50” (1997) continues to discuss the evolution of jazz drumming through the 1940s bebop era of jazz music. This work focuses on the distinct contributions of Kenny Clarke and Max Roach (among other significant bop drummers) while also discussing the overall development and impact of bebop music and the influence of musicians Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. The emergence and influence of African-American culture in New York City (with particular reference to the “Harlem Renaissance”) is also discussed in-depth and provides a social context to the developments in modern jazz music as well.

Biographical references to many jazz drummers are also presented in Burt Korall’s two volumes: Drummin’ Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz: The Swing Years (1990) and Drummin’ Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz: The Bebop Years (2002). Korall’s writings are biographical and largely anecdotal (while still complementary!) and offer very little in terms of a technical analysis nor any specific references to any “melodic” elements by any of the drummers presented.

26 Several resources go beyond that of the drums, drumming and drummers and examine the process of jazz improvisation from a wider perspective. Both Sayin’ Something: Jazz Improvisation and Interaction (1996) by Ingrid Monson and Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation (1994) by Paul F. Berliner investigate the process of jazz improvisation and, significantly, how the actual jazz improvisers themselves consider and describe their art form and evaluate their performance practice. This is conducted through extensive interviews and discussions with jazz artists including the analysis of transcriptions from a number of significant recorded jazz performances from artists of various instruments, and in particular several older artists who played a pivotal role in jazz music during the 1950s and 60s. Similarly, Music and The Creative Spirit: Innovators in Jazz, Improvisation and the Avant Garde (2006) by Lloyd Peterson offers conversations and discussions with many contemporary jazz artists and encourages them to share their experiences dealing with the process of being a jazz improviser and creative artist.

These three resources include, to some extent, commentary offered by various jazz drummers with regards to the process of expressing oneself artistically. The concept of melodic drumming is mentioned in varying degrees through the voices of several drummers in these resources and is alluded to conceptually by the authors in some other cases. Overall, the examination of the process of jazz improvisation itself, through the voices of those who actually do it, is significant and offers tremendous insight into the act of being an improvising jazz musician and the artistic and creative processes behind the music.

Many references to melodic jazz drumming and the incorporation of melody within the technical aspects of drum set playing are included in multiple drum set pedagogy materials (i.e. instructional books and DVDs). These sources also include music journal and magazine articles

27 as well as instructional materials found on the internet in various web-based sources. These materials are compared and described in more detail in chapter six. Of significant note are the various and many articles found in the publications Percussive Notes and Modern Drummer, The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson (1998) by John Ramsay and the DVD Melodic Drumming (2012) by Ari Hoenig.

Terry O’Mahoney’s Motivic Drumset Soloing: A Guide to Creative Phrasing and Improvisation (2004) is a method book that presents several concise approaches to organizing one’s vocabulary on the drum set. Focus is given to developing rhythmic ideas that the author refers to as “motifs”. Development of these motifs is examined in many specific ways including the concepts of repetition, sequence, fragmentation, extension, augmentation, diminution, retrograde, inversion, embellishment, simplification and rhythmic displacement. Furthermore, the second half of the book deals with other broader musical concepts, all with the goal of dealing with the drum set in a musical way. Written examples, provided with analysis, accompany each musical concept. Of particular interest is the section where O’Mahoney cites examples of these concepts in specific recorded performances of several jazz drummers. This text offers an effective method for implementing many valid compositional and orchestration techniques and concepts to the drum set in a solo context.

Hoenig’s DVD Melodic Drumming (2012) represents the most comprehensive technical explanation of how to use and replicate melodic information on the drum set. Presented in an informal yet organized manner, Hoenig demonstrates, step-by-step, different technical approaches to creating melodies on the drum set by means of manipulating the tension of the drums themselves and through musical, rhythmic phrasing. Hoenig’s in-depth approach will be

28 described and discussed more in chapter five. This DVD should be considered the most definitive and comprehensive resource on melodic drumming at this present time.

The diverse collection of existing resources that refers to the concept of “melodic jazz drumming” and jazz drumming in general, while relatively small in number, still represents a wide range of concepts and ideas that are applicable to this study. These resources serve well to complement and supplement the overall multitude of extensive personal interviews conducted over the course of this research.

29 CHAPTER 1 - WHY IS MELODY IMPORTANT?

1.1 THE FOUNDATION

Before one can explore the conceptual or technical possibilities of engaging in a “melodic” approach to the drum set, it is important to discuss the fundamental question: “Why is melody important to a jazz drummer?” This question is important to consider before further exploring the possible uses and applications of melody in the context of jazz drumming. The answers provided through the many interviews conducted offer an important insight into the fundamental musical philosophies that these drummers have adopted, and ultimately inform their artistic and musical choices on the drum set (certainly with regard to melody but beyond that as well). Overall, these fundamental answers, with regard to the basic question: “Why is melody important?” set the stage for any possible melodic approach to the drums as well as any further artistic and musical expression on the drum set.

The drummers who shared their opinions and ideas with regard to their own personal concepts of “melodic drumming” over the course of these interviews all strongly agreed that at the very least, melody is fundamentally an important concept and part of being an overall musical drummer, regardless of its application. While the manner in which these drummers actually used or considered melodic concepts in their own playing varied, it is significant to note that all the drummers interviewed for this project considered a high level of musicianship to be an integral part of their overall functionality and artistry as a drummer. For example, Bob Moses emphasizes this idea of putting the music first in his

30 book Drum Wisdom when he emphatically states: “If you know only drums, you don’t necessarily know music but if you know music, then you know drums.”25

This idea of “getting beyond the drums” was also emphasized by Joey Baron who offered that a total musical approach to playing was more preferable than playing the drums for its own sake and central to his own philosophy of playing music: For me melodic playing is focusing on that area of quality in the music. When you’re playing you’re not thinking: “right, left, right, left…” you’re not thinking technically, you’re not thinking of speed or endurance or anything like that, you’re just thinking of music. Melody is a part of music. If you’re “stuck in a drum,” that’s all you’re going to be playing. You’re not really going to be really playing music; you’re going to be playing the drums. But if you’re getting out of the drums and thinking music (and music includes melody, harmony and rhythm) then it’s all in there.26 According to the drummers surveyed, having a strong fundamental melodic awareness and an overall balanced musical understanding is consistently regarded as being an important part of a musical approach to playing the drum set. Understanding and thinking about melody through one’s drumming is viewed as a crucial part to being a responsible musician in an ensemble, regardless of its possible applications. It is also part of an overall “music first” philosophy (such as that stated by Moses and Baron) that most experienced and professional jazz drummers embrace and exhibit while they play music.

Inexperienced drummers or people with a limited understanding of the possibilities of the drums often view the drum set as solely a rhythmic instrument and can fail to realize how melody (and harmony, among other musical considerations) can also influence their music-making decisions in a positive and creative way. The drummers interviewed all agreed that playing the drums musically, sympathetic to those that they are playing with, is always a priority for them and the

25 26

Moses (1984: 5) Baron (2011)

31 fundamental basis for their approach to playing the drums and music in general. The idea of being a “musician that plays the drums” as opposed to a “drummer who only plays the drums” with a disregard for any overall larger musical consideration is a central theme and an attitude shared by most of the drummers who were interviewed.

Drummer Adam Nussbaum was quite specific in his view of why melody is an important element in his own approach to jazz drumming: My feeling is that since I’m not really dealing with scales and harmonies, I really need to think of a melody and have a musical subject to grab on to. It makes what I’m doing sound like musical sense. I find that by having a melodic line in mind, I always have some kind of subject and topic that I can relate to and that makes whatever I’m playing hopefully sound musical. I’m trying to think about how I can create a musical line and not just play rhythms and patterns. For me that’s kind of like a basis that I use a lot when I’m going to play and it always gives me something that relates to the composition and hopefully I’m making some sort of melodic statement that ends up having a musical basis.27 For Nussbaum, the melody of a composition represents an idea that he can use that helps him relate to the other musicians in an efficient way. The melody represents a link between himself as a drummer and the overall musical context.

Furthermore, in Adam Nussbaum’s article “Playing Musically” (Percussive Notes, Dec. 1997), Nussbaum elaborates on how melody plays a crucial role in his own personal approach and how overall musical drumming is first and foremost his priority: The drummer should strive to be a good musician as a rule, not as an exception. So many drummers I’ve heard are just drumming away, working on licks – not on playing musically. Music is a language. We are obligated to serve it, protect it and honour it. The music itself, and the people you play it with, dictates the conception of how it is to be interpreted.28

27 28

Nussbaum (2011) Nussbaum (1997: 20)

32 He further emphasizes that a fundamental overall sense of good musicianship is, in fact, the basis for being compatible with other musicians in a group situation: Why do we get the gig? Because we make the other musicians in the group sound and feel good. If we take a moment to think about it, most all of the drummers we admire do that first. When the band sounds good, you sound good. The music is our main priority, our foremost priority.29 This idea reinforces the philosophy that one must surrender certain ego-driven, personal agendas for the sake of the group and the music as a whole. The priority of playing drums in a group is to make the other musicians comfortable in their roles. To that he adds: My experience has been to put the reality of the situation first and my own personal agenda second. We have to serve the music. Most music is usually made up of melody, harmony, rhythm and form. To be able to perform appropriately, we must try to internalize what these components are in order to play and respond accordingly…the way we play should be based on what is going on around us. We need to have enough of a conception and technical ability so we can take care of what’s happening around us in the moment, without having to stop and think about it. This has to be second nature, just like walking and talking. We don’t think about that process anymore; we’ve learned it, now we just do it. It’s the same with music. We must be in the moment, the now, to listen, feel and respond.30 This overall philosophy of being “a musician first, drummer second” and “serving the music” was expressed by many of the participants, including Nussbaum. This idea, as well as other commentary on the importance of an overall musical approach to drumming, was a common theme that permeated the dialogues with the many jazz drummers who were interviewed. Most significantly, it is statements like these that illustrate how many drummers consider an overall musical approach to be at the heart of their philosophy as a drummer. This is a philosophy that goes beyond one of simply drum technique and other drum-centric ideas (such as those Moses and Nussbaum both emphasized previously). For these drummers, playing musically is the priority rather than engaging in an ego-driven demonstration of technique on the drum set.

29 30

Ibid Ibid

33 Dennis Mackrel further expressed this idea of striving for total musicianship as a drummer: In order to be a complete musician, no matter what instrument you play, you have to recognize that music incorporates three basic elements: rhythm (which is what we as drummers mainly deal with), melody and harmony. If you are short in any one of those three elements then you aren’t really a complete musician.31 Furthermore, Mackrel emphasized that as a drummer, this wider, complete perspective of music (that goes beyond that of exclusively a rhythmic one) will allow one to connect with other musicians and music at large on a higher level: I think it’s important…because if you are going to play with anybody other than yourself or anyone other than other drummers, you need to understand where you are in terms of the music. You need to be able to relate to the music and to understand harmony and melody…but to really be able to relate to other instruments, that’s important. If you are in any way going to try to communicate your musical ideas to other instruments, you need to know.32 Mackrel also feels that because other musicians often misunderstand the drums, a fundamental knowledge of the language of music will help drummers “communicate” with other musicians in a more positive, sympathetic way: One problem that a lot of musicians have with us is that they don’t know how to “talk” to us. They basically say: “Don’t worry, you’ll hear it!” We need to be able to do the same thing to them and be able to explain what we want in terms they understand because that’s the language that they speak. We need to be able to speak that too.33 Overall, Mackrel feels that as a drummer, embracing a greater understanding of music beyond the primary elements of rhythm will provide one with the opportunity to connect musically with other musicians in a performance situation. For Mackrel, understanding music as a whole can only lead to a better musical connection with those around him. Proper musical communication via the study of melody and harmony is the key.

31

Mackrel (2008) Ibid 33 Ibid 32

34 When asked why he thinks considering melody is fundamentally important, Jason Marsalis replied that it’s because he feels it is an integral part of a positive musical experience for him and that one can only benefit from its study and application. His reply was quite direct when asked why: So it (music) can be enjoyable! It’s good to be a complete musician other than just simply playing drums because the more confident musically that you are, the more possibilities you have, the more possibilities you have for your own music and for playing with other people…I think that when you understand melody and everything else, when you understand harmony and chord changes, it just opens up a lot of possibilities for the music and I think it can even open other listeners as well to the possibilities of what the drums can do too.34 John Riley chose his answer to this question by asking what happens if a drummer does not acknowledge the melody or other wider musical considerations while playing the drums: Well I guess we can kind of start to answer this question by describing the problems of denying melody and its primary organizing factor in everyone else’s play. So if a drummer isn’t aware of that then what does he relate to? He can relate to the tempo and maybe his style but it won’t get any deeper than that unless you have this bigger context and this increased awareness and responsibility that you are supporting and enhancing.35 Riley’s perspective is consistent with the other statements in that he feels that an absence of a wider musical consideration when playing the drums can only lead to a limited opportunity of expression.

Similarly, Dan Weiss (a former student of Riley’s) feels that the specific use of melody (at least in its broader consideration) allows him, like Adam Nussbaum, Dennis Mackrel and John Riley, to connect with the musicians he his playing with on a deeper level: I think that playing melodically gives you, the drummer, more of a spectrum to work with and approaching the instrument melodically can help you connect with your band mates on a higher level.36

34

Marsalis (2011) Riley (2011) 36 Weiss (2011) 35

35 A consistent theme emerges from these statements. These drummers feel that understanding and using melody as part of a larger musical consideration will lead to a) increased opportunities for musical expression as a drummer and b) the ability to connect with the other musicians he or she is playing with on a deeper level.

Ali Jackson Jr. (drummer with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra) describes, in his opinion, how a wider musical understanding and melodic concept is an important part of developing a larger musical palette to draw from: It’s all a matter of taste, right? It’s like you could eat at McDonald’s every day and it would be like okay. It might taste good for a certain amount of time if you’re not exposed to anything else. Musical taste is based on your experiences, so if you experience a wide range of things then you can start to delineate from a logical and deductive perspective and decide for yourself what are the most important qualities of all the things you have sampled. You can only do that if you’ve investigated and you’re interested in a variety of things. You have to ask yourself: “What is the best possible scenario or situation?” you know? That is what it boils down to. If it’s taught or if people are educated to know then we know what the “the best of the best” is and we can strive towards that.37 Furthermore, Jackson feels that studying and experience will contribute to developing a player’s overall vocabulary and overall options when playing the drums, including possibilities that emerge when taking melody into consideration: Now the depth of someone’s melodic playing is bound by their knowledge and study of music in general. So all the ways you can play, you will play. If I understand the vocabulary of early 1900s drumming, that’s part of my vocabulary. If I understand the vocabulary of 1920s style drumming, that’s part of it. If I understand the big band tradition and that lineage of drumming, I use that as well. If I understand New Orleans drumming, I can use that. If I understand Guyanese, Senegalese, Congolese, Cuban or Brazilian drumming then I can use all those aspects towards my vocabulary. You know, you can just keep going because I have that vocabulary and I understand those feelings and sensibilities. So you have all the layers that are attached to all of these different ways of playing. So then your depth and knowledge of that information will translate into whatever the situation is. And it is going to be a wealth of information. Not everyone is going to be able to hear that but those who do know, they will know. They will hear it and feel it.38

37 38

Jackson Jr. (2011) Ibid

36 Jackson feels that melody and musicality are part of having a wider spectrum of musical vocabulary that he can use and draw from in a musical situation. Increasing his knowledge of different stylistic and overall musical approaches on the drums will allow him, as the others, to express himself in a variety of ways. If a drummer is exposed to the musical possibilities of playing the drums then he or she will be in a position to investigate it further and implement it into their own style and personal approach to the drums.

When it comes to embracing an overall musical approach to the drum set with a focus on melody, Peter Erskine perhaps summed it up best with his impressions of the importance of melody and the role it plays in jazz drumming: Melody informs just about every drumming choice possible. This is the difference between some players, I think, especially if we consider the less melodically inclined players or those who are apparently playing with the music in more of a one-dimensional plane. Often times their vocabulary is driven so much by technique, patterns and stickings and such, that any semblance of melody might just be a byproduct or chance event. So there’s that extreme and then the other extreme would be the drummer actually playing a melody by changing the pitch of, let’s say, a tom-tom by pressing their elbow against the drum head and increasing the tension much in the same manner of like a small tympani or something. The great in-between is the area, I think, of most interest.39 For Erskine, a drummer who makes a conscious effort to use melody and larger musical concepts as the basis for their choices as a drummer, this is far more interesting than a drummer who bases their approach from a primarily technical standpoint. However, as Erskine also points out, specific melodic expression on the drums by means of changing the pitches of the drums themselves represents another extreme. The possibilities that come from fundamentally recognizing the importance of melody and using melody occur between these two extremes. For Erskine, by recognizing its potential, melody offers a wealth of possibilities and a gateway to being a musical drummer.

39

Erskine (2011)

37 And now, having established why drummers put such an importance on melody, we can examine how many use melody, in jazz drumming, in more specific contexts.

38 CHAPTER 2 – THE MELODIC DRUMMER AS AN ENSEMBLE PLAYER

Not only did many of the drummers interviewed over the course of this research express and place an important priority on some kind of fundamental melodic concept and overall musical approach to playing the drums, but many also described in detail how they actually use melody in their own performance practice. In the context of this study the discussion of how jazz drummers apply melody when they actually play the drums is divided into two sections: 1) How a jazz drummer uses melody as an accompanist while playing within an ensemble and 2) How a jazz drummer uses melody when they are improvising in a drum solo context. This chapter will deal specifically with how the interviewed jazz drummers consider melody and its application while playing with other musicians. As the testimony from the individuals will show, using a melodic concept in the context of playing in an ensemble with other musicians, is consistently viewed as a practical application.

2.1 MELODY AS A REFERENCE POINT

Consistent with Adam Nussbaum’s assertion (from the previous chapter) that understanding the melody of a composition allows him to “connect” with the musicians he’s playing with on a deeper level, for him and others this is also true in the specific context of being an accompanist, and it has practical advantages. For example, John Riley applies his understanding and knowledge of the melody of a given composition as a means to maintain the tempo of the piece he is playing in a consistent manner, from start to finish:

39 It’s a reference point for the tempo they are playing and what I mean by that is: when I play a song, at the beginning, what I’m going for is to have the sound and the emotion of the melody imprint on the tempo so that we begin the song and use that as a reference point throughout the performance. If we don’t play the melody or if I forget it, or if I don’t relate to it at all then five minutes later we return to the melody only to discover that it’s much faster or much slower than it was before. So, I’m continually referring to the melody, kind of subconsciously, to make sure that it hasn’t deviated too far from the original tempo.40 For Riley, using the original melodic material as a reference point while he’s playing assists him in maintaining a steady tempo throughout the piece. By establishing a melodic “template” he can constantly remind himself, while he is playing (by either thinking of or singing the melody to himself), of the original tempo, which will ideally keep him from speeding up or slowing down. Because he does this so often he refers to this as being done “kind of subconsciously.” This would imply that he is using the melody as an internal reference point with regards to tempo on such a regular basis that he doesn’t necessarily have to devote specific concentration to do so.

When asked how one can achieve this skill of developing such a melodic reference, Riley replied that the key is to spend time not only learning melodies, but perhaps even to go as far as singing them in a repetitive fashion along with an audio recording. As Riley elaborated: Many old timers would say learn the lyrics to the songs. That will make it easier to remember the melody and it will also give you some deeper insight, perhaps, into what the song is all about. One thing that has also been helpful is to listen to a recording and sing the melody of the song continuously from the beginning of the recording to the end of the recording. That has helped me appreciate the variations that people play and why they play them at particular exact moments in a performance. It gives me a context for the content. And the more you do it, the less of a chore it becomes. The more it just becomes second nature. If I don’t know the melody or if I lose the melody, then I don’t know what to play. I feel like I’m just BS-ing.41

40 41

Riley (2011) Ibid

40 In Riley’s opinion, a successful performance of a composition relies on having an intimate knowledge of the melody and awareness at all times. Without that melodic focal point, he feels incomplete and believes that the music he plays has not realized its complete musical potential. This melodic reference point can be achieved by specific study of melodies, even by attempting to sing them while playing.

This way of thinking is also consistent with Adam Nussbaum’s overall conceptual approach to using melodic material as a reference point, all with the goal of maintaining the greater musical cohesion: When I have the melody as a guide, when I’m accompanying people, I always have a reference point that I can have and use to keep the tune together. Everything that I’m going to be playing is definitely done for a reason. I’m always trying to help with the shape of the composition through the ideas that I’m playing. I’m of course reacting to what the soloist is doing, but we’re still working and responding within the structure of the tune. There’s the harmonic rhythm and the melodic rhythm and I’m trying to uphold and serve those parameters.42 For both Riley and Nussbaum, using the melody as a reference point allows them to fulfill what they consider to be their musical role when accompanying other musicians and provides them with a larger musical context to consider rather than just the rhythm or the drums.

Similarly, further to Peter Erskine’s earlier comment that “Melody informs just about every decision we make on the drums,”43 for Billy Drummond, Ali Jackson Jr. and Carl Allen, understanding a melody’s structural composition inevitably leads to a better understanding of the overall form of the piece of music itself and facilitates a more meaningful musical approach.

42 43

Nussbaum (2011) Erskine (2011)

41 According to Drummond, the basic skill of being able to play and organize one’s ideas on the drums is fundamentally the beginning of any melodic approach or sensibility to jazz drumming. In his opinion, being able to play within the overall structure of a song form is a fundamental skill required of every jazz drummer. By understanding how a given melody is constructed one can deduce the larger form of the piece and navigate through a composition more effectively. As Drummond described: Fundamentally, as jazz drummers, we deal with a lot of standard repertoire. Jazz repertoire is based on, I guess we could call “Tin Pan Alley” songs, you know, songs that are jazz songs but just popular songs of the day that a lot of jazz musicians used. These are all standard song forms such as 32 bar song form, 24 bar song form, simple 16 bar form, 12 bar blues or whatever. So understanding the construction of the melody and how the form of the piece is derived from that will just help you navigate through a piece of music more melodically and musically.44 Similarly, Ali Jackson Jr. stressed the importance of being able to play within these standard song forms commonly found in jazz music and how that contributes to a larger sense of melodicism as a drummer: You have to understand the construction of the form, the overall musical concept and how they both relate to the construction of the melody. In this stage of your development or understanding of how to play the drums in a jazz context, we definitely have to understand the basic forms: blues form and 32 bar, AABA form and many others. For rhythm sections those forms are fundamental but then also you have to understand harmonically and melodically what’s going on within those forms. Then when somebody is improvising or playing a melody then it all makes sense.45 Overall, these views are all consistent with John Riley and Adam Nussbaum’s philosophy of gaining a more intimate knowledge of the composition in question. Specifically learning melodies will lead to a deeper understanding of the composition and reflect itself in a more musically cohesive performance with the rest of the ensemble.

44 45

Ibid Jackson Jr. (2011)

42 Carl Allen has experienced working with drum students that haven’t studied melodies nor put attention into the specific structure of song forms. For Allen, as the others previously expressed, this is all crucial information and as Erskine previously stated, it informs further musical decisions to be made: One of the challenges I find with a lot of drummers is that they don’t know melodies; they don’t know tunes. Quite often when you listen to the way a lot of drummers, younger drummers in particular, comp in the left hand you can tell they don’t know the melody. It just becomes doodling in the left hand. The idea is, if you can be aware and know what’s going on with the melody you have a better chance of being able to play with the band because if you know the melody, then you know the form. All of these things are very important in terms of helping to shape the music.46 As the drummers above have all stated, melody plays a crucial role in understanding the compositional construction and structural nature of a piece of music, which in turn informs their musical decisions on the drums. As Allen described, intimate knowledge of the melody is necessary in order to develop effective comping patterns with the left hand on the snare drum.

2.2 ORCHESTRATION AND ARTICULATION AS MELODY

While melody certainly plays an important part in informing a drummer with regard to a musical structure and the overall construction of a composition, many drummers consider their actual approach (i.e. what they play within those structures), in terms of their accompaniment, to be melodic in character as well.

For many, the drummer is the focal point of an ensemble and becomes in some sense, the band’s de facto conductor within a group of musicians. Specific to this, Kenny Washington spoke to the central role that a drummer contributes to an ensemble, the arrangement and how the degree of

46

Allen (2011)

43 their musical knowledge will ultimately determine the success of the music in question. As Washington described: Well the thing is, if the drummer doesn’t know everything about the piece of music, then the band doesn’t have a chance. The band is finished before they even begin. It’s just as important for the drummer to know the melodies and what’s happening as anybody else. I say this all the time: a musical drummer is like a traffic cop on a busy street in Manhattan on Friday rush hour at five o’clock at 42nd and Broadway. That’s what a drummer does, you know. A drummer can make a not-so-good arrangement into something much more than what it really is by using his musical imagination and how he thinks overall about melody and harmony.47 For Washington, how a drummer understands the nuances of the music in question ultimately determines how effective it will be. While the drummer isn’t playing the melody per se in a given situation, they still need to understand its nuances in order to play it effectively. Specifically, for Kenny Washington this refers to how a drummer accents certain aspects of a melodic passage and emphasizes parts of a melody or arrangement using the drum set. As he points out, drummer Art Blakey was an accomplished master of this: For example, a match made in heaven is Art Blakey playing any of Horace Silver’s music. If you listen to Silver’s piece “Ecaroh” (which is Horace spelled backwards) you can hear him playing the same accents as the horn players. He’s playing the same rhythms and he knows how to play what I call the “Do’s and the Dots”, in other words, the long notes and the short notes. This is the whole idea of articulation.48 He elaborated on this idea of how the concept of articulation and orchestration reveal themselves in the music. Rather than being strictly a timekeeper, Washington stresses how a good jazz drummer will also match certain rhythms of a melodic passage with the appropriate part of the drum set, accenting certain parts of that melodic statement. As Washington describes in detail: So you know, if the note played by the horns is like a quarter note followed by an 8th rest, then an 8th note tied to a half-note, now that quarter note is going to be short or it could be a fat quarter note. So that first quarter note, they wouldn’t play that on the ride cymbal, because the cymbal is going to ring. So it all depends upon the articulation of what the horns are playing. It could be a staccato note or it could be a fat quarter note. He’d play 47 48

Washington (2011) Ibid

44 that quarter note on the snare drum because it’s going to be short. Because the snare drum is short it doesn’t sustain but the ride cymbal does. It’s going to be a longer sound and that’s going to ring. It’s all about shorts and longs.49 As far as Washington is concerned, how a drummer orchestrates musical passages within an ensemble and how they match the articulation of those passages on the drums is considered to be melodic and a very important musical contribution to a band. This approach and the general idea of orchestration and articulation being considered melodic is an opinion shared by several other drummers as well.

Carl Allen stressed the importance of orchestration and how a drummer can enhance the music being played by the rest of an ensemble in a similar way. He describes orchestration as: Orchestrating is about kind of dressing up what’s happening with the melody and what’s going on around you musically. But basically you can’t orchestrate something if you don’t know what the melody is.50 Similar to Washington, Allen emphasizes not only the importance of orchestration but further describes the process in terms of how he orchestrates and articulates rhythmic ideas that are being played by the other musicians and translates them to the drum set: Some of the things we talk about all the time are the “shorts and longs.” When you start looking at articulation, for instance if you take a tune like “Monk’s Dream” (Thelonious Monk), you know that every note has a different length. Some notes are short; some notes are long. Now we’re talking about trying to match those articulations on the drum set and trying to figure out how we get a long note and how we get a short note from any particular part of the kit. And as we start to look at these things, we’re now talking about orchestration. We’re now talking about phrasing and articulation on the drums and this is how we transform the drums into a melodic instrument.51

49

Ibid Allen (2011) 51 Ibid 50

45 According to Allen and Washington, the concept of emphasizing and orchestrating certain aspects of an accompanied melody on the drum set with the proper corresponding articulations (i.e. making the distinction between short and long articulations and playing them on what they feel to be appropriate instruments) is perceived as an important musical concept and, for them, reflects an overall melodic sensibility.

Similarly, this is also consistent with Jason Marsalis’ description of articulation as related to melody, however he described his use of articulation in the specific context of playing with a rhythm section: Well, the first thing (when you’re playing with a band) is to lock up with the piano, as a rhythm section, and whatever rhythms the piano is playing. There are ways you match the piano. If he’s playing short rhythms, playing short chords, then you can use the snare drum to match that. If he’s playing long rhythms, long chords, then you can use the bass drum with the crash cymbal to match that. I’d say that all the attention to articulation in this way counts as being melodic.52 Marsalis, much like Washington and Allen, considers the role of articulation and orchestration to play an important part in their roles as accompanists within an ensemble. For Marsalis, this is important specifically when playing in a rhythm section, or when trying to properly play in sync with a pianist in an accompanying role.

While many drummers offered what they consider to be their own melodic approaches to musical accompaniment, others suggested different interpretations of melody in the context of their own approach to timekeeping. For example, Ian Froman spoke about his consideration of melody with regards to his use of the ride cymbal:

52

Jackson Jr. (2011)

46 I consider melody when I am playing because I am supporting the melody when I am playing. In a contemporary way of jazz drumming I am going to introduce the melody to my ride cymbal time playing. My right hand on the cymbal is actually going to compliment the important notes of the melody.53 Similar to the ideas of orchestration and articulation presented earlier by Kenny Washington and Carl Allen, Froman described how he reflects melodic material from the composition he is playing on the drum set, through his right hand’s rhythms on the ride cymbal. He also described how fundamentally, he considers the melody when he is playing because he recognizes his musical duty to support it. However, Froman chooses to reflect this melodic information and support by introducing it through his ride cymbal patterns. Rather than maintaining a steady, repetitive pattern on the ride cymbal, Froman (as many other drummers do) chooses to vary his patterns on the ride cymbal. What is interesting and relative to this discussion is how Froman describes these ride cymbal variations as being a means to compliment, and in essence orchestrate/articulate, what he feels are important parts of a melodic entity.

In a broader way, compared to the other drummers interviewed, Adam Nussbaum also considers the technique of orchestration to be an important part of his overall conceptual approach to accompanying on the drums. When describing how the role of orchestration factors into his own playing, he described it as follows: When I’m playing with other people, I’m basically orchestrating what’s going on around me: using different sounds of the drum set, different textures and different feels according to what the composition is telling me.54 Similarly, Billy Drummond was quick to point out that when discussing the concept of playing melodically, this approach to jazz drumming can simply refer to how one organizes their ideas on the drum set in a musical way: 53 54

Froman (2011) Nussbaum (2011)

47 And so when we say melodic, sometimes we kind of think of sing-song types of drum solos but that’s not always the case. Sometimes it is just a matter of organization and how you orchestrate around the drums when you’re playing, when you’re soloing or when you are accompanying. All the great jazz drummers have a way of orchestrating in a musical way that definitely comes from being attuned to melody and then hearing things in their head that comes off as being “melodic.”55 Overall, the themes of orchestration and articulation, while perhaps not immediately obvious to be considered melodic to the casual ear, were not only valued as being important aspects to a drummer’s musical approach but were also considered by the drummers interviewed to contribute to an overall melodic sensibility. I would argue that these applications are genuinely considered to be melodic because they represent ideas expressed on the drum set that are explicitly done so because they contribute to the overall melodic continuity of the composition being played as a whole. Furthermore, these are all concepts that exist based on having been derived from an initial consideration of a fundamental melodic awareness in the first place.

2.3 COUNTERPOINT AS MELODY

While many jazz drummers described how they interpret melodic material on the drum set in terms of orchestrating and articulating their ideas on the drums, many others described the act of accompanying other soloists as being melodic in nature as well. The term “counterpoint” was consistently referred to and described as being melodic in nature and a form of melodic drumming in the context of accompaniment.

55

Drummond (2011)

48 The term “counterpoint” is defined by the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians as being: A term first used in the 14th century, to describe the combination of simultaneously sounding musical lines according to a system of rules.56 Furthermore, The Oxford Companion to Music describes “counterpoint” as being: “…the coherent combination of distinct melodic lines in music, and the quality that best fulfills the aesthetic principle of unity in diversity.”57

In many styles of Western music the idea of counterpoint can often represent a highly strict set of rules that govern how independent musical lines interact with each other. However, in the context of jazz drumming, the idea of counterpoint is regarded in a much broader way with less restrictions or governing rules. In this discussion, counterpoint is really meant to describe the interactive process of accompaniment between a soloist and a drummer (or accompanist).

In this context of accompanying other musicians during a jazz improvisation, Dan Weiss described how adopting a sense of rhythmic counterpoint or even a sense of unity with a soloist’s improvisations was, in his opinion, a melodic approach to the drums. Overall Weiss offered that: Another way to approach melody on the drums is to create counter-melodies or counterpoint with the soloist. You could approach yourself as an extension of the soloist. That’s one approach to melodic accompaniment, to make yourself try to be at one with whoever is soloing.58

56

New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians 2nd Edition (2001: 551) Whittal (2002: 315) 58 Weiss (2011) 57

49 Further to that, Ali Jackson Jr. also commented that for him, playing rhythmic counterpoint with a soloist was also a product of thinking and playing melodically. While elaborating on the different possibilities that he can use while accompanying someone, all these options are somehow derived from an initial consideration of a melodic approach: Countermelodies are an effective and interactive way of playing. They go back and forth between whoever’s improvising and soloing. There are also breaks, stop time, superimposition, rhythmic and metric modulation and different assortments of groove accompaniments. Like I could name a bunch of different ways of how to accompany someone including dynamics, polyrhythms, cross rhythms…I mean, it’s really endless. It’s all pretty infinite really but if you start with thinking melodically then anything is possible.59 While playing contrapuntally is only one of many techniques that Jackson feels he can use as an accompanist, the key is that for Jackson, they rely on an initial consideration of melody in some form or another in order to execute them.

Further to the idea of counterpoint and overall musical interaction, drummer Peter Erskine stressed its importance in terms of his own personal interpretation of playing melodically within the context of an ensemble. For Erskine, the idea of playing literal melodies on the drums isn’t so much a priority as it is for him to provide musical commentary and contrast to the musical situation around him, specifically in the context as an accompanist. Counterpoint is an important melodic tool that Erskine uses in an ensemble situation. His conceptual approach is described as follows: I approach my drumming, especially accompanying the arrangement, the melody and another improviser or soloist in terms of providing counterpoint. And actually that might mean sometimes that I just provide a very steady rhythmic foundation. There’s no intent like (sings) “La la la…oh I must be melodic now!” For me there’s no dichotomy of playing melody vs. non-melody. For me it’s all about providing counterpoint along with a rhythmic foundation in such a way that there’s always good tension and release. That’s what moves the music along. And the whole time I’m providing rhythmic information to

59

Jackson Jr. (2011)

50 the band. You can’t let the “art” aspect of it make you be derelict in your ensemble duties.60 For Erskine the melodic aspect of his drumming does not come from intentionally trying to exhibit sing-able melodies on the drum set. Rather, in his opinion, the melodic quality comes from the rhythmic and overall musical dialogues that he initiates with the soloist in his accompanying and the overall foundation and support he is offering a soloist and ensemble. Specifically, Erskine describes this as being counterpoint and this is his priority as an accompanist.

According to Erskine, his interpretation of counterpoint is two melodies that work with each other and against each other to create an overall sense of musical tension and release. In his opinion, melodic jazz drumming is represented by this idea of musical counterpoint: I think that my approach to melody is not so much that I’m seeking to play the lead melody, but for me it’s a study of counterpoint in my accompanying. What’s counterpoint? Counterpoint is just simultaneous melodies, right? It can result in harmony but what is not counterpoint are composers who have a melody and just write or play whole note block chords throughout a piece. There’s no counterpoint there. But true counterpoint, I mean especially if you follow it to the rules, is melodies weaving in and out and around each other.61 Erskine described how this conceptual approach came from his time playing with the group Weather Report during the 1970s and from receiving direct instructions from his mentors Wayne Shorter and Joe Zawinul during their performances. For example, when Erskine would attempt to copy or mimic one of their melodic lines over the course of an improvised solo, he would often be strictly instructed not to do so: You know, this was a result of my training I got while playing in Weather Report. Wayne would stop, turn around and say: “Don’t do that!” (i.e. copying his rhythms). So from Joe

60 61

Erskine (2011) Ibid

51 Zawinul and Wayne Shorter, and I figured they were good teachers, they sort of shaped my thing which made me much more aware of counterpoint.62 Erskine elaborated that it’s the sense of contrast that creates interest in the overall music. He also described this in abstract terms, using an analogy of painting and using similar/contrasting colours: If the rhythm section creates a dark blue background and the soloist plays a brilliant red diagonal across that background that’s not our cue to go: “Oh, oh, oh, okay now red, red, red!” You know what I mean? It’s the contrast that makes it so striking and beautiful.63 Similar to Erskine, Bob Gullotti feels that as a drummer, he should never be relegated to just playing a static drum beat but rather offer a contrapuntal line that provides a sense of interaction to the overall fabric of the music. Gullotti described his own contribution within a musical performance: Mainly I feel as if the drum part of the song should also have a musical content, not just backing up rhythm only as a beat. I’m not into playing just a beat. I think it’s really important that the drummer creates a line to become another layer of the music and also to provide for interaction with the other players. The musical lines criss-cross each other and they meet and sometimes they don’t meet. Sometimes they may run oblique to each other.64 This idea of the drums being played with an interactive, contrapuntal approach is one shared by both Peter Erskine and Bob Gullotti. Gullotti also used the accompaniment of Tony Williams as an example of a drummer that would often play in the way that he and Erskine described: Tony Williams, I think, was great in this way in that he refurbished polyrhythmic ideas off of a groove. Tony wouldn’t necessarily go with him (Miles Davis), he might even oppose him and therefore when they resolved everything they thought it sounded even better.65

62

Erskine (2011) Ibid 64 Gullotti (2011) 65 Ibid 63

52 Similarly, Joe LaBarbera pointed to drummer Elvin Jones and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane as being examples of jazz musicians whose playing together exhibits a contrapuntal and musically interwoven dialogue: If you listen to Coltrane and Elvin on a tune like “Impressions” that goes on for ten, fifteen minutes, if you just listen to the portion where Trane and Elvin are playing and Garrison and McCoy have dropped out - it’s a perfect counterpoint. They’re playing for each other and yet there’s so much melodic information going on at the same time…I think that that kind of melodic counterpoint is what you have to strive for.66 These interpretations on the approaches of Tony Williams and Elvin demonstrate that not only do current jazz drummers view counterpoint and interaction to be important in terms of their own approach, but they also point to historical examples. Furthermore, many drummers consider the idea of counterpoint, in the context of musical accompaniment and interaction, to be a melodic one as well.

2.4 SUMMARY

For many jazz drummers the use, or at least the consideration of melody, plays an important part in their role as an accompanist in a jazz ensemble. Many offer how melody can be used in a tangible, technical application to their drumming in a given musical situation. Yet for others, its technical application is perhaps a bit more vague and more of a philosophy that is applied to a musical situation rather than a definitive technical one. And for others their solutions and applications lie somewhere in the middle, ultimately a combination of both technique and philosophy.

66

LaBarbera (2011)

53 However, what is clear from the opinions offered over the course of this chapter is that the consideration of melody plays a fundamental role in how a jazz drummer successfully fulfills their role as a musical accompanist. Jazz drummers use melody in this context in several different ways: 1) To “connect” themselves to the musicians they are accompanying, with melody acting as sort of a musical common denominator or “bridge” between individuals playing different instruments. 2) As a means to inform themselves of the larger form and structural construction of the composition. 3) By emphasizing parts of ensemble phrases, through intentional short and long articulations matched by appropriate parts of the drum set, orchestrated accordingly. 4) From organizing one’s drum ideas into intentional phrases over specific numbers of bars, according to the form and structure dictated by the composition. 5) Using the idea of counterpoint, that is to say introducing a rhythmic/musical dialogue that runs concurrent with another musician’s phrases. These ideas create tension and release in the music and create interest and, as Erskine describes, “move the music along.”

In terms of being an accompanist in a jazz ensemble and in the context of playing time, jazz drummers not only use melody in several ways that greatly benefit the overall musical situation and serve the musicians around them, but also the theme of “putting the music first” and “getting beyond the drums” is consistent throughout. For example, as Carl Allen proposed, the melody (in whatever context he might consider its presence) represents first and foremost his overall priority:

54 As I’m playing, it’s all about serving the melody. Either your role is to play the melody or to support the melody. And if you’re not doing either of those you’re getting in the way. And as drummers, we typically get in the way!67 This type of statement further highlights the importance and priority that many jazz drummers place on melody, in particular when fulfilling their role as accompanist while playing in an ensemble. However, while all the drummers agreed that it is fundamentally important to consider melody at least on some level, it is interesting to note a few differences in the approaches that several drummers use while putting this into practice. For instance, while many drummers such Kenny Washington, Carl Allen and Jason Marsalis encouraged the use of orchestration and articulating phrases to match existing melodic lines being played by the rest of an ensemble, Erskine, Gullotti (and to a certain extent LaBarbera) emphasized the opposite. While framed in a different context, to them the great interest in being an accompanist is in creating counterpoint and contrast, reacting to the music around them in a musical way, instead of emphasizing or replicating what is already being played.68

While a direct interpretation of melodic drumming might initially suggest a literal attempt to play definitive melodies on the drums, as the drummers in this chapter have attested, the actual consideration and use of melody while acting in the role as an accompanist in an ensemble situation actually exposes a broad, wide range of applications and approaches.

67

Dawson (2007: 64) That is not to say that either of these approaches are mutually exclusive. The issue of context is, of course, very important to consider. In fact, all the drummers interviewed use both techniques to certain degrees in their performance practice. It is just interesting to note what concepts those drummers chose to focus on when asked. 68

55 CHAPTER 3 – THE DRUMMER AS MELODIC SOLOIST As discussed, using melody as a basis for one’s conceptual approach to jazz drumming can be applied to the drum set in numerous ways. This chapter will examine how different drummers consider the use of melody and the idea of playing melodically in the specific context of being a drum soloist, using the drum set and its components as a vehicle for musical improvisation.

When drummers improvise on the drum set, their vocabulary is largely based on playing combinations of rhythms executed using sticking patterns (i.e. combinations of right and left hand strokes) in conjunction with the feet on the hi-hat and bass drum. These patterns are orchestrated to various degrees around the drum set using a number of different drums and cymbals (and possibly other percussion instruments). These rhythmic ideas, orchestrated around the drum set to the player’s preference, are further ideally organized into larger combinations of phrases or musical statements. What is significant in terms of our discussion is how different drummers consider this organization in relation to their own concept of playing melodically.

Chapter Two covered how drummers consider their approach to melody on the drums in terms of being an accompanist. The implementation of melodic ideas in a drum solo context will now be considered and addressed.

3.1 MELODIC DRUMMING = PLAYING PITCHES ON THE DRUMS?

Throughout the interview process many subjects raised the possibility of attempting to play pitch-for-pitch melodies on the drums and their opinions related to this topic. This represents the idea of attempting to express a melody or melodic idea on the drums by means of somehow

56 manipulating the pitches on the drums themselves. The assertion was made that this might be considered the first and most obvious interpretation of how to play melodically on the drum set.

Since the drum set is generally considered to be an instrument of indeterminate pitch (or at the very least often an instrument with a limited selection of pitches to draw from) one would be required to come up with a suitable technical strategy in order to create a collection of pitches on the drum set with which melodic content could be created. From a technical standpoint a drummer can indeed literally change the pitches of the drums themselves, to a limited degree, by increasing the pressure of the head by pressing on it.69 This allows for a somewhat expanded collection of pitches on the drum set that can then be used to create melodic content or imply melodic structures in a very specific way. While this approach is technically feasible and has been explored to various degrees by several notable drummers, it is not the only way that a soloist can demonstrate melodic ideas on the drum set.

As previously stated by Joe LaBarbera in his own interview that early in his own career, during a teaching workshop, when asked about his own approach to melodic drumming, he was at a loss for words to explain it, having never been asked that question before. Nor had he really ever considered this concept in his own playing. As LaBarbera responded and immediately assumed: “You mean playing melodies on the drums?”70

69 70

See discussions of Ari Hoenig and Jeff Hamilton’s melodic approaches in Chapter Five. LaBarbera (2011)

57 Statements such as this demonstrate that there can easily be a bit of mystery or confusion involved when it comes to defining melodic drumming in a solo context. Does it mean playing literal melodies on the drums or does it go beyond that? Is this a literal idea or perhaps is it a more conceptual one? Or perhaps a bit of both? What can this concept ultimately entail?

Certainly the idea of replicating melodies note-for-note on the drums has been done, albeit to a certain degree, and many drummers would agree that this is a completely valid approach and interpretation of melodic drumming. For many, however, the concept of soloing in a melodic fashion goes beyond simply attempting to play literal melodies on the drum set. Many drummers offered some specific and broader considerations and alternative applications as well.

The application of melody in a drum solo context is considered, almost unanimously, extremely valuable to the drummers surveyed. However, the means in which these different drummers demonstrated its application varied considerably. As such, John Riley acknowledged the potential possibilities of playing literal melodic ideas on the drums but was also quick to go beyond that: I think you can attempt to emulate the specific pitches of a melody on the drum set. But for me that’s not so important. What’s important is that the shape and emotion of the line is somehow conveyed. The pitches could be totally backwards, but you can still know that I’m thinking about a specific tune. No one has ever said they couldn’t hear the melody because the pitches weren’t accurate. If the melodic shape, the intention and the implication are correct then you’re okay. So it’s just a matter of your approximating the line, not so much playing exactly the line. I think it’s possible to convey a melody without really relating to the exact pitches, it’s just more or less the direction. But even then, it doesn’t have to be the same direction; it can be the overall rhythmic shape and emotion of it.71

71

Riley (2011)

58 Riley’s assertion is that while emulating pitches on the drum set is a completely valid option, he feels that the melodic quality of the rhythms he can play on the drums is not necessarily lost when he chooses not to focus on using pitches themselves. He claims that the rhythmic nuance of the contour (described by Riley as the “melodic shape”) combined with the intention of playing something melodic allows a statement on the drums to come across and really “speak” with a melodic purpose. For example, if a given melodic structure he is trying to express changes direction in either an upwards or downwards direction, he is able to reflect that by either dynamically accenting certain parts of the phrase or even emphasizing those changes in direction by moving to a higher or lower part of the drum set, regardless of its pitch.

This proved to be a common theme among drummers when asked to describe how they felt melody factors into jazz drumming and specifically its role with regard to improvising on the drums. Often the idea of intentional, organized rhythmic phrasing was described as being the key component to playing melodically on the drum set rather than going for specific pitches.

Along those lines, during his drum set clinic and performance at PASIC (Indianapolis 2013), Ralph Peterson Jr. agreed with Riley’s opinion that going for pitches on the drum set is not, in his opinion, necessarily the key to playing melodically: When you go for direct pitch, something gets sacrificed. And to me that’s phrasing. And for me phrasing is more important than pitch. Because if I’m playing the proper phrasing, I can make you hear the pitches I want. Like this: [proceeds to play the jazz composition “Oleo” (composed by Sonny Rollins) on trumpet without attention to specific notes or accuracy of pitches, then proceeds to play the same melody on the snare drum]. My point is that if I play with the proper phrasing, I don’t have to play none of the notes.72

72

Peterson Jr. (2013)

59 Peterson’s justification may come across as a bit convoluted and even contradictory (!) however the main point he stresses is that his overall intention and clarity of his rhythmic phrasing, in his opinion, is far more important than the actual pitches themselves.

From Riley and Peterson’s perspectives a melodic idea can be expressed on the drum set without the use of specific pitches, but rather from specific attention to the rhythmic phrasing of a musical idea.

Furthermore, this relates to Peter Erskine’s earlier comments of how the replication of direct pitch on the drum set is not necessarily the key to playing melodically. As Erskine pointed out: “They may play an actual melody on the drums and still be playing some really dumb stuff!”73

Furthermore, it might be possible to assume that if a musician is playing an instrument that has a collection of definite pitches, or organized scales, whatever they play will automatically be considered to have a “melodic” quality. Often the assumption is made that in order for an instrument to sound, or to be considered “melodic”, their instrument must have a proper, organized selection of pitches. This is often why people are quick to misunderstand and label the drums as a non-melodic entity74. Matt Wilson was very quick to dispel this notion and fundamentally disagrees with this very idea: Just because you have “notes” (i.e. pitches) it doesn’t mean you’re playing melodically. I mean, there’s saxophonists that don’t play melodically and there’s piano players that don’t play melodically…Don Cherry and Clifford Brown played melodically because they played ideas and, I think, ideas that you can sing or play back or that could even stand as melodies on their own.75

73

Erskine (2011) While the drum set is often referred to as an “instrument of indefinite pitch” this should not, however, classify it as an instrument without melodic potential. 75 Wilson (2011) 74

60 For Wilson, it is not the instrument, or playing an instrument that uses pitches, that determines the melodic quality of a piece of music. Rather, it is the musician’s own personal concept and overall musical intention, imagination and creative vision that will create a melodic statement on their instrument. As Wilson continues: I think it’s more about that intention than anything else. I don’t even know if it is pitch. I mean, great melodies are played on the blues with one note, so it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s all about pitches, right? It’s about the intention behind how someone plays something that gives you that feeling.76 In Wilson’s opinion, the idea of playing with a specific musical intention plays a significant role in creating an improvised melody. If playing melodically as a musical statement is a priority for a musician, according to Wilson, this will somehow reveal itself in their playing. Wilson continued with his idea of one’s overall musical intention being at the heart of playing melodically rather than relying on the use of pitches or notes: You know, a great melody could be a cadence on a snare drum if it’s clear, even if there’s no pitch in there. It’s all what you do with it. It’s how you hear them and how creative you can be with the material. To me melody is the intention and it’s also the shape. It’s all those things: the articulation, dynamics, the use of space and the direction of the line. That is what draws me into hearing someone play. That is why when somebody puts on a Sonny Rollins record you go “Wow!” or if you hear Ornette Coleman, Red Garland, Miles Davis or Charlie Parker…there’s something else there than just a bunch of notes.77 Joe LaBarbera’s ideas in this regard were consistent with Matt Wilson’s in terms of how he disagreed with the overall notion that having a collection of pitches and scales at your disposal on your instrument, automatically categorizes one’s improvising as being melodic. When asked to describe examples of his own impressions of current, non-melodic drumming, LaBarbera was actually more inclined to offer his opinion of a general, overall lack of melodic attention in the wider scope, regardless of a person’s instrument:

76 77

Ibid Wilson (2011)

61 Honestly, I could probably find more examples of non-melodic jazz saxophone playing these days; you know I hear it all the time. One of my big gripes in jazz today, among young performers that I’m hearing on recordings, is that there’s a real lack of melodic invention going on.78 Joey Baron was also quick to suggest that the key to playing melodically lies not within the capability or limitations of the instrument but instead within the musicality of the musician: The instrument doesn’t determine the quality of the music. It’s the person and their perspective. Whether they are playing a tuba or classical guitar, drum set or piano, it doesn’t matter. I’ve heard incredibly unmusical piano concerts. The musical quality is always because of the player, not because of the instrument.79 So then, if many jazz drummers agree that it’s not necessary to play specific pitches on a drum set in order for their musical statement to be considered melodic (nor are instrumentalists that play other pitched instruments to be automatically considered melodic based on their choice of instruments!), what elements of playing the drums and thinking about melody lend themselves to a melodic sensibility while soloing on the drum set?

78 79

LaBarbera (2011) Baron (2011)

62 3.2 EXPRESSING MELODY ON THE DRUMS

As described earlier, Ingrid Monson points to a specific, basic interpretation of the concept “melodic drumming” over the course of her examination of the process of small group jazz improvisation: “When drummers speak of playing melodically, at the most basic level they are referring to melodic rhythms.”80

According to Monson, her interpretation of “melodic drumming” implies that, when doing so, a drummer is actually using the rhythm of a melody combined with the contrasting tonal and sonic choices offered by the drum set (i.e. a collection of drums tuned high to low in a contrasting fashion) to imply or create a sense of melodic construction on the drums. This melody that Monson refers to could be either a partial or complete reference to the original, existing melody of the song being played or even a completely new, improvised melodic or thematic idea.

Monson’s description (based on the idea of rhythmic imitation of melody) is certainly a basic and valid approach toward playing melodically on the drums. By exploring this approach one would undoubtedly develop a large, very practical and very musical vocabulary with which to draw from in a drum solo context. However, as we learn from the commentary and opinions of many different jazz drummers, the melodic aspects of drum soloing can actually be quite diverse.

While Erskine identified the idea of “playing songs” on the drums as being a very limited approach to dealing with melody on drums, Matt Wilson offered perhaps some of the most varied solutions to making a rhythmic idea played on the drums sound melodic. For him, the

80

Monson (1996: 61)

63 musical concepts of “articulation, dynamics, the use of space and the direction of the line”81 in one’s playing are what ultimately make a musical idea sound melodic (and more importantly, musical!), regardless of the instrument being played. These ideas are what Wilson referred to as “Sonic Dimensions.”82 According to Wilson, by intentionally incorporating these ideas into one’s playing (whether improvising or not) even a rhythm played on a single surface (such as a snare drum) can be played and heard in a melodic way.

At the very least, thinking of a melody on the drum set should be considered as a departure point for any improvisation. Elvin Jones describes this process and how the learning and understanding of the melody and the form of the composition in question represents the beginning of developing a drum solo. In the documentary “Elvin: Jones Different Drummer” (1986), the interviewer asks Jones: “Can you just show me a little bit how you would take the theme of the piece “Three Card Molly” and develop that into a drum solo?” Jones responds with a simple demonstration of how the melodic framework of the composition “Three Card Molly” provides such a foundation: First of all, we are dealing with a very uncomplicated form. This is sort of a combination of blues and standard AABA form. So if we understand the melody then we can understand how that melody or rhythmic phrase can be developed. So the melody being, in terms of rhythm [plays basic melodic phrase to “Three Card Molly” on the snare drum] Now to add some substance to it, I’ll at this time, I will play it again and I’ll add, say, the bass drum [repeats the same phrase on the snare drum with half-note pulse on the bass drum] To give it a little more emphasis I’m going to add the hi-hat to that [repeats same rhythmic phrase on the snare drum with bass drum emphasizing half-notes and the hi-hat playing beats 2 & 4 with some slight syncopated phrases] I only played the first phrase of the tune. This time I’ll add the tom toms and I’ll add the end and from there I’ll go into another whole chorus of that piece and we’ll see how that all develops.83

81

Wilson (2011) Ibid 83 Gray (1986) 82

64 As Jones demonstrates, using the piece “Three Card Molly” as an example, the form and the melody of a composition can be used effectively as a departure point for further creative improvisation on the drum set.

3.3 THE USE OF FORM

Building on Jones’s assertion that “…if we understand the melody then we can understand how that melody or rhythmic phrase can be developed,”84 we can further explore the important influence that a melody and its form yields in terms of developing a drum solo. For many drummers, the actual overall organization of rhythmic ideas can reflect a melodic sensibility, if used properly, regardless of the rhythms themselves are derived from another melody or even played with a specific melodic intention. As Billy Drummond commented, the melodic sensibility of one’s drum soloing comes in large part from this overall organization of one’s musical ideas and how they are expressed and organized in the context of intentional, measured musical phrases:85 When a drummer is playing on a song form or the form of a particular composition, certainly in a standard type of song form, I think that paying attention to the form certainly helps a drummer sound melodic…when he is presented a composition to play and solo on, he’s soloing on the same idea and form as the other “melodic instruments” or instruments that have definite pitch as well.86 Specifically, for Drummond, this idea of organizing one’s drum ideas into specific phrase lengths and strictly adhering to the form of the composition becomes a fundamental part of playing the drums in a musically coherent way. He feels that this lends itself to being melodic.

84

Ibid As demonstrated earlier, this is consistent with approaches to dealing with melody as an accompanist and as a timekeeper as well. 86 Drummond (2011) 85

65 Furthermore, according to Drummond, this comes from a specific study and the practice of organizing one’s ideas on the drum set into specific phrase lengths: Playing in four bar phrases and eight bar phrases is certainly an important part of being able to play on a song form and sounding melodic, especially if there’s a specific structure to the composition that one is required to play over. If the composer or the leader of the band wants you to play a drum solo and wants you to play on the form, being able to play phrases in eight, four, six bar or whatever bar phrases, I think that requires a little bit of homework…it’s all about being able to put together phrases that are comprised of a certain number of defined bars.87 For Drummond, the overall expression and organization of one’s solo ideas on the drum set over a defined framework is important. This is accomplished by learning how to express one’s ideas on the drum set into specific bar lengths, logically corresponding with the bar structure of the composition being played. As far as Drummond is concerned, this attention to structural detail in terms of a drum solo greatly contributes to creating a melodic sensibility as a drum soloist.

Similar to Drummond’s comments and John Riley’s earlier assertion in Chapter Two with regard to using melody to develop an internal reference point, the same holds true while improvising a solo statement on the drums as well. Bob Moses emphasizes this approach in his book Drum Wisdom: The answer lies in the mastery of internal hearing – learning to hold a very simple framework in your mind and concentrate on that while your body and your hands are moving organically.88 This idea of using melody to develop a musical framework reveals itself not only in the context as being an accompanist but as a soloist as well. This idea of using melody to develop one’s “internal hearing” will be further be discussed and alluded to over the course of this paper.

87 88

Ibid Moses (1984: 44)

66 3.4 LINEAR DRUMMING

Lewis Nash used the term “linear drumming” in his assessment of a melodic drumming concept to describe his own approach to soloing. In his opinion the drum set has fundamental melodic limitations as an instrument and, for him, the actual term “Melodic Drumming” can be perhaps a bit misleading: I often term what is described as melodic drumming as being “linear drumming,” linear in the sense of playing a melodic line because of our inability to play as many notes, as many pitches. I mean we do have the capability of expressing a lot of pitches by bending the tension of the drumhead and doing all kinds of things like using different sizes and pitches of drums. But we don’t have the same ability to play melody the same way that horn or piano players would do. So, I choose the term linear to define this way of playing melodic lines on the drum set.89 Because Nash acknowledges what he feels are the drum set’s inherent limitations, he instead prefers to use the term “Linear Drumming” as opposed to “Melodic Drumming” to describe his approach to the drums in this sense. As he further explained: I take issue with the term “Melodic Drumming” conceptually because we do have a limited number of melody even possible when you’re playing the drums. You know we don’t have eighty-eight keys, we don’t have the capability of playing scales the way that other instruments can. So our melodic possibilities, strictly speaking, are limited from the beginning.90 As Nash explains, pure melody cannot be expressed on the drum set due to what he sees as its inherent limitations as an instrument. However, that is not to say he doesn’t feel that he can’t express his ideas in a musical way that at least implies melody. Elaborating on this idea of playing in a “linear” fashion as opposed to a purely “melodic” one, Nash describes how he achieves this: I try to play in clear musical phrases and even though they may not necessarily always be even eight bar or four bar phrases, they could be odd-bar or metrically uneven phrases or whatever, but they are intentional phrases.91 89

Nash (2011) Ibid 91 Ibid 90

67

The key to Nash’s approach is that not only are his ideas organized into specific phrase lengths, but his ideas are played with a specific organized, musical “intention.”

Similarly, Bob Gullotti also described melodic drumming in terms of being “linear” in nature. It was initially in these terms during his interview that he described his impressions of several other drummers (specifically: Elvin Jones, Joe Chambers and Billy Higgins) and what he felt made them sound melodic when they improvised: To me they are really playing lines. When I say lines I mean melodic lines and clear ideas, something that you could almost sing. I listen for the shape of their playing and how it relates to the tune and phrasing. The ideas have a clear beginning, middle and an end to them.92 This comment is consistent with that of Nash’s in that they both refer to the organization and phrasing of drum ideas as being “linear” in nature. This is also similar to John Riley, Ralph Peterson Jr. and Matt Wilson’s ideas in that they all refer to the idea of playing clear ideas on the drums and the inherent sing-ability of an idea, which in turn creates a melodic sensibility. Gullotti also implied the importance of relating one’s ideas to the overall framework of the composition, an idea that was also emphasized by Billy Drummond and by Lewis Nash. For all these drummers, an important consideration of playing from a melodic perspective as a drum soloist comes from the overall clarity and organization of one’s ideas on the drum set.

92

Gullotti (2011)

68 3.5 IMPROVISING OVER STRUCTURES AND THE USE OF REPETITION

Ari Hoenig, recognized as one the current masters of the melodic jazz drum solo, emphasized his use of melodic structure while improvising.93 He described several approaches to using the melody itself and the overall form of the piece as frameworks with which he can create musical drum solos. As was the case with other interview subjects, he claims to always have the melody of the piece in his mind, while he is playing, allowing him to use it as a reference point for any improvising or accompanying: I always hear the melody of the song and I’m always really sort of singing it to myself while I’m playing even when I’m soloing, comping or playing time. To me it’s the melody and also the harmony of the song as well that’s the focus.94 Using the melody as a reference point allows Hoenig to organize his improvised ideas on the drum set specifically according to the phrasing structure of the piece. This provides a departure point and foundation for further musical expression on the drums.

This is a theme, consistently referred to by numerous other drummers as well.95 As a further example, Michael Carvin also commented that he’s always thinking of the melody when playing, and that doing so allows his hands to “flow” or play freely: Once I get into it, the only thing that I try to do is maintain the melody but separate my mind from my body. So I’m maintaining the melody but I’m letting my hands flow. And that is something that you can develop if you really learn your rudiments. Because your rudiments will free you up…when you build your solo: always maintain the melody and have fun with it. But always study the twenty-six rudiments.96

93

Hoenig’s specific approach to playing melodically by changing the pitches of the drums will be more thoroughly examined in Chapter Five. 94 Hoenig (2012) 95 Refer back to Chapter Two for further discussions of the use of melody as a reference point 96 Carvin (2014)

69 Carvin implies that by consciously, yet silently, maintaining and internalizing a melody (a theme previously introduced by John Riley), a drummer with proper technical facility (in this case, Carvin refers to the 26 Standard American Snare Drum Rudiments) can effectively play a musical drum solo. As Carvin points out: “…your rudiments will free you up.”97 The assertion is that if one has developed a high level of technical proficiency then this allows one to focus on other musical areas of concern. While the rudiments represent the basic building blocks of a drummer’s vocabulary, the attention to organizing them in the larger context of a musical composition then becomes the focus.

The overall idea of maintaining the form of a composition while soloing, as previously stated, is a common practice amongst jazz drummers. Carvin’s idea also represents an overall important meeting juncture between a conceptual approach (i.e. thinking of a melody or structure) and a technical one (i.e. the use of snare drum rudiments or other drum-specific rhythmic patterns) as well.

Continuing with Ari Hoenig’s approach, when asked if he favors melody over harmony while internalizing a composition and how he balances the two, Hoenig, in particular, replied that he actually uses both. Depending on the situation, he will use either one or the other to differing degrees. As he further described after demonstrating a drum solo over a 32 bar, AABA form:

97

Carvin (2014)

70 It’s pretty much close to half and half. Usually I hear the melody first and foremost. But in this case, we played a rhythm changes98 song so I was actually hearing the changes a little stronger than a melody because there are so many melodies played over rhythm changes. I could use the melody as my guide but in general I like to hear the harmony pretty strongly as well.99 Hoenig also made an important comment that since many melodies are often written over the same form, or harmonic changes, knowledge of the actual melodies takes on an even greater meaning. For Hoenig, even if the form, the number of bars, or even the actual harmony is identical, the melody is what makes that particular piece of music distinct. Furthermore, Hoenig surmises that different melodies will influence a different musical outcome, even if it used the same form or harmonic structure: The changes [harmony] might be the same but the melody itself is different and so then the way that I would solo would be different because the melody is different.100 Hoenig further elaborated that specific attention to not only the form of a composition, but also its actual melodic construction, can yield an interesting and practical guide for effective drum set improvisation. For example, he will sometimes pay attention to the phrasing of the original melodic material and reflect parts of that structure in his own improvising: Sometimes when I solo I can play the same phrasing of the melody. The way you might analyze a song…I’ll figure out not only what the song form is but I’ll try and dig even deeper into analyzing the melody of the song and how it really works over the form; where it speeds up and where it slows down.101 While this approach relies on a certain degree of rhythmic mimicry of the original melody, Hoenig is more concerned with accenting what he considers to be only the important parts of the original melodic phrase while framing them with his own improvised lines. It is not an attempt to replicate the entire rhythm of the original melodic structure, but rather only its most distinctive

98

The term “Rhythm Changes” refers to the harmonic changes to George Gershwin’s influential composition “I Got Rhythm” (1930) on which further jazz compositions (known as “contrafacts”) were often based, over the course of jazz history. 99 Hoenig (2012) 100 Ibid 101 Ibid

71 parts. For example, these parts of a given melodic phrase might be considered to be accents at the end of a cadence or a repeated motif.

As Hoenig and others have stated, it is the intentional overall phrasing and organization of one’s ideas into larger phrases, matched according to the composition he is improvising over, that can give his playing a sense of melody. He also gives consideration to the construction of the original melody and will sometimes develop his own phrases according to those parameters, in varying degrees.

Furthermore, Hoenig described how he draws heavily on other techniques of melodic soloing as well, by means of intentionally organizing his ideas in a specific way. For example, he claims that the idea of repetition can be used effectively. He offers that repeating ideas and then playing contrasting material can really appeal to the average listener. He further described this approach and how repetition can represent an important part of playing melodically: Melodic playing to me, at least in general, kind of implies some kind of repetition in there. That’s not the absolute definition of being melodic but the repetition is what draws people in. Their ears perk up a little bit when they recognize something that’s already been played or something they’ve already heard before at some point in time. That’s what draws them in. If they are just hearing different sounds constantly, then it’s just not going to click in somebody’s brain. There’s nothing to latch onto…Through repetition I want to give them a “hook,” something they can remember and essentially sing-a-long.102 While Hoenig acknowledges the importance of repetition in creating a memorable performance, in practice he also describes how he would demonstrate this in the context of a standard AABA form and that the key to making this effective lies in remembering his initial thematic material:

102

Hoenig (2012)

72 The way I would think about it, there would be a specific theme I would play for the two A sections. That theme is then repeated and the B section would be something contrasting. Then the final A section would come back to the original theme. The hardest thing, for me, is remembering what I played for the first two A sections and being able to repeat it again for the last A section.103 While this represents a simple, yet effective, approach to soloing over an AABA form in a thematic way, Hoenig acknowledges that this isn’t necessarily the only way he can improvise over such a form. However, he stresses that it is an effective approach because it offers a sense of contrast that is easy for the average listener to relate to. As he elaborated: This isn’t the way you have to solo over an AABA tune all the time but it’s a way to contrast what’s already been played on the bandstand. This is a way you can make it more effective. If you use this technique you’ll really be able to draw people in and it will really contrast any kind of drumistic approach.104 Ari Hoenig sometimes uses repetition as a compositional tool while improvising a drum solo. One of his rationales for doing so is that it is an effective way to captivate a listener’s attention and offers an alternative to a drum-centric technical approach to soloing. By repeating simple themes in the context of the established form, a drummer can create a cohesive drum solo statement that has obvious, recognizable melodic content and structure to it.

3.6 DYNAMICS AND STICKING PATTERNS

According to Peter Erskine there are also several, perhaps less obvious elements and techniques that contribute to creating a melodic sensibility on the drums. In his opinion, he claims that the role that dynamics play is quite significant:

103 104

Ibid Hoenig (2012)

73 In general, when you are trying to perform or play a melody on the drums…we don’t have all the notes of a keyboard or that a horn player has or a vocalist. We can do a few things with texture but it’s dynamics that really come into play here in terms of suggesting or inferring any melodic shape…Generally the higher the note of the melody, the more accent you give it.105 According to Erskine, the dynamic nuance given to a rhythmic phrase is what really infers, as he describes, a melodic shape to a rhythmic idea while playing the drums. Providing accents, adding crescendos and/or decrescendos or just simply playing certain parts of a phrase either louder or softer will impress a melodic character, or “shape,” to a rhythmic phrase. In the case of imitating an existing melody, Erskine demonstrates this by accenting parts of the phrase where the melodic pitches rise. The central idea presented here is that a dynamic sense of contrast can play an important role and that melodic phrases are never played with an absence of dynamics.

In terms of a technical approach, Erskine also claims that the sticking patterns a drummer chooses to use while playing a melody on the drums are also an integral part of melodic drumming: Different stickings also make the melodic line roll a little more nicely. Not everything should be just alternating Right, Left, Right, Left.106 While this may represent a very subtle (or perhaps subjective, and to some even possibly insignificant!) aspect of melodic drumming it is obviously important enough for Erskine to consider this in his own assessment. It is possible that Erskine is suggesting that by using a combination of double and single strokes to execute the rhythm of a melody rather than exclusively single strokes, that perhaps a certain legato sensibility can be achieved, rather than exclusively a staccato one. In Erskine’s own words: “Doubles here and there really help give your drumming some melodic shape.”107

105

Erskine (2014) Ibid 107 Ibid 106

74

However, while Erskine recommends the use of mixed sticking patterns to allow a melodic rhythm to “flow” more efficiently than relying strictly on single stickings, he also is quick to point out that any sticking patterns and rudimental patterns are never his priority in terms of his musical attention while soloing: I’m often asked: “What do you think about when you solo?” Do I think of sticking combinations? No. Because I’ve been practicing this stuff, the stickings kind of come naturally. Because it’s my ear that’s determining what it is that I want to play and what I want to hear. The practicing is the process to get you to the point where you can play what you hear. What do you think of? You think of music. I sing melodies when I play a solo. I don’t think of stickings. I don’t think of rudiments. I’m just thinking of melodies (and of course time and rhythm). It’s like three-dimensional chess. You’re thinking of a couple different things at the same time (but we do that anyways!).108 For Erskine, these technical components while significant, are still secondary to his melodic attention and overall musical thought process while he is soloing. He emphasizes the role that musical “multi-tasking” takes place while playing.

108

Ibid

75 3.7 ROY HAYNES – “IN WALKED BUD”

To put several of the concepts and ideas previously stated in this chapter into a musical context, an example of an improvised jazz drum solo with clear melodic content and organization would be Roy Haynes’ performance of the Thelonious Monk composition “In Walked Bud” from the album Misterioso (1958). This drum solo, based on the 32-bar, AABA structure of Monk’s composition, is two choruses in length and demonstrates how a melodic drum solo can be effectively constructed.

In the first chorus of his drum solo Haynes literally plays the rhythms to the melody “In Walked Bud,” utilizing all the components of the drum set to orchestrate109 and reflect the melodic nature of the composition in addition to its rhythmic construction.

In the first eight measures (Fig. 3.1, measures 1 through 8) Haynes is quite explicit with a clear expression of the original melody. He emphasizes the upward motion of the melody by matching those notes on his upper tom tom, extending from the snare drum (which acts as his central, main voice). Although he is not attempting to match the exact the pitches of the melody, the melodic “contour” of the phrase (such as Riley and others have previously described) is clear.

109

Interestingly enough, Haynes chooses to omit the use of the hi-hat entirely, or the cymbals for

that matter, over the course of his performance, choosing to focus on the drums and bass drum.

76 Figure 3.1

In the second eight measure phrase (Fig. 3.2, measures 9 through 16) Haynes continues with his statement of the original A section melody to “In Walked Bud” however, he embellishes it with regular bass drum notes played on beat three for the first five measures of the phrase (Fig. 3.3, measures 9 through 13). This, combined with some further slight rhythmic embellishment of the basic rhythm of the melody as the phrase develops, provides a sense of forward motion and subtle development to his solo. Figure 3.2

Figure 3.3

77 The syncopated melodic figures of the original bridge section (Fig. 3.4, measures 17 through 24) are further reflected by orchestrations between the snare drum, bass drum, tom tom and floor tom. This section, continued with the final recapitulation of the A section melody that follows, continues to reflect a relatively accurate interpretation of the original melody to “In Walked Bud.” Figure 3.4

This simple one chorus statement of the melody on the drums effectively establishes the theme and overall tone for Haynes’ drum solo in a clear manner, preparing the listener for further development.

The second chorus of his drum improvisation departs from the original rhythms of the melody immediately, however it still exhibits melodic continuity in its own right even though it deviates from the original melody. Several elements that contribute to this include: -

Strict adherence to eight bar phrases that reflect the form of the composition “In Walked Bud”

-

The repetition of rhythmic ideas (Fig. 3.5, measures 37-39)

78 -

Clear phrasing, development and overall resolution of syncopated, eighth-note rhythmic ideas

-

Use of the tom tom, floor tom and bass drum to provide a sense of contrast from the snare drum, providing melodic direction to his rhythmic phrases

Figure 3.5

Roy Haynes’ crisp articulation110 and the clarity of his rhythmic execution also greatly contribute to the overall melodic integrity of his improvising. By exhibiting clarity and intentional phrasing to the listener, one can get the sense that he is truly trying to “speak” on the drums in a coherent way and offer some kind of logical rhythmic development over the course of his solo.

Overall, this drum solo by Roy Haynes on Thelonious Monk’s composition “In Walked Bud” clearly demonstrates his ability to successfully interpret a melody on the drum set and improvise in a melodic fashion over the existing harmonic form of a piece of music.

110

Haynes was so famous for his crisp articulation and high drum tuning that he was often affectionately known as “Snap, Crackle.”

79 3.8 MAKING MUSICAL CONNECTIONS

Expounding upon how drummers improvise melodically in several general and specific ways, it is also important to consider the benefits of playing an improvised drum solo with a melodic approach. This topic is an extension of the philosophies offered in Chapter One and will discuss how many drummers feel that a melodic concept, specifically in the practice of soloing, can act as a link to the overall music, musicians and audience in the wider perspective.

For many, when asked: “Why play a drum solo with any sort of melodic concept?” the theme of making a musical connection was consistently mentioned. Adam Nussbaum placed a very high value on the idea of playing a drum solo with a higher musical purpose in mind (rather than focusing only on the rhythmic possibilities of the drums) and the importance of playing in a way that “connects” to the greater music context in question: It’s nice having a connection to a melodic shape and idea so then whatever you’re playing is connected to the song. I mean, when you hear people play Thelonious Monk’s music, it’s not just a good idea to play off the changes of the tune. It always sounds best if you’re referring to the melodic ideas that are presented within the melody. It means that what you’re playing will be more connected.111 For Nussbaum, it is a priority to improvise in a way that somehow makes a deliberate reference to the original melodic and harmonic structure. Melody is a musical tool that allows him to do this and therefore relate to a larger musical consideration. His specific reference to the music of Thelonious Monk is significant and reflects the approach of Roy Haynes on “In Walked Bud,” as previously discussed.

111

Nussbaum (2011)

80 John Riley also touted the importance of playing in a way that helps better connect with the other musicians in a band and engage the audience members. He described how by either implying melodic rhythms or referencing the original melody that: The other players will have a sense of what you’re doing and how you’re developing things if they can hear some melody. Another thing is that maybe the audience would somehow be engaged and have an appreciation for the story you’re telling and perhaps even be a bit surprised because you’re not doing that thing that every other drummer does, which is go ballistic!112 As Riley explains, using a melodic approach to one’s drum solo can help other musicians, and in general, listeners better relate to what a drummer is doing during their drum solo. Since the techniques of drumming are unique in relation to the musical language and techniques of other instruments, Riley asserts that using recognizable musical material that is common to everyone can create a certain musical connection.

The idea of making a connection with non-drummers was also a point raised by many. As Monson elaborated, the musical potential of a drummer is often misunderstood by casual ears: The drummer is generally the member of the band most underrated by the audience and least discussed in the jazz historical and analytical literature. Since drummers don’t play harmonies and melodies in the same way as the other instrumentalists, audience members, and even some musicians, have a tendency to deprecate the musical knowledge of the person sitting behind the drum set. Many mistakenly assume that the drummer just plays rhythm and therefore doesn’t participate in the melodic and harmonic flow of the music. From an interactive perspective, however, the drum set represents a microcosm of all the interactive processes…including harmonic and melodic sensitivity.113 Furthermore, Ralph Peterson Jr. echoed this statement by explaining how his musical ideas are influenced and driven not only by rhythmic ideas but by melodic and harmonic ideas as well: It comes back to people’s ideas or perspectives of the role of the drummer, you know, and only being able to relate to the drums rhythmically. You know a lot of things I play, I play from a chordal, melodic statement…and the reason I play a lot of things I play have more to do with what’s being played harmonically and melodically than rhythm.114 112

Riley (2011) Monson (1996: 51) 114 Monson (1996: 60) 113

81 Jason Marsalis also commented on how the average listener often underestimates the musical potential of a drummer, and specifically, that of a drum solo. Further to Riley’s comment about how people expect a drummer to go “ballistic” during their drum solo, Marsalis commented that he’s received numerous surprising reactions from audience members following his own performances that intentionally use what he feels are melodic approaches to his soloing. He explains the benefit of playing in such a way: I think it can even open up listeners to the possibility of what the drums are capable of…and what’s interesting is that a lot of people are surprised when they hear my drum solos. Because when most people hear a drum solo, it’s usually something that’s very fast with no space. Even though I use fast notes as well, I decided to start using slow notes, quarter notes and what I call “memorable phrases.” It’s all melody to me…I’ve found that people react when I play this way, playing very melodically, by using intentional phrases and lots of space. That often shocks people and they say: “We’ve never heard anything like that. That’s amazing. We didn’t know that the drums could sound like that.”115 Not only does using melody in one’s drum soloing offer a tangible musical connection to the other musicians in a band, it can also illuminate in a positive way, the vast musical potential of the drums to the average listener. Furthermore, the idea of playing a drum solo as musically productive as possible, rather than an ego-centric display of fast drum technique, unrelated to the overall musical context,116 was a theme that permeated many of the interviews.

Dennis Mackrel further described how personally fulfilling he finds it to play this way, when he purposely connects his drumming to the composition in question, adhering to the melodic structure of the piece he is playing:

115 116

Marsalis (2011) Adam Nussbaum commonly referred to this as a “Dog and Pony Show”!

82 One of the nicest compliments that people have given me is that they say that when I am playing, or especially if I am playing a solo, that they can hear where I am in the tune. I’ve worked very hard at being able to make that happen. And the reason why is because I am thinking in terms of harmonic changes and I am thinking about the melody. I am thinking about how all these elements relate to a musical form.117 Mackrel similarly used the analogy of having a musical conversation, establishing a dialogue with the other musicians: You know, when you are playing as a musician, just like when you are having a conversation with someone, you have to be able to speak in a way which is relevant to the subject. One problem that a lot of drummers have is that rhythmically their ideas may be great but a lot of people just kind of zone out. You need to be able to say something that is relevant to the conversation. By playing, for example, a melody, although I’m not saying you should tune your drums to the point where you are making the actual pitches but even just rhythmically play a melody, then people can relate to that. They know what it is. That’s something I like and I get that. That is something where you are contributing to the musical conversation. In order to have a conversation with someone, they have to understand what you are saying.118 Mackrel also emphasized the conversational aspect of improvising from the perspective of playing the drums and doing so in a way that other non-drummers (whether musicians or audience members) can relate to it. As Riley and Nussbaum also claimed, by using musical material that is common to all in an ensemble, a successful musical interaction and dialogue can take place. For Mackrel this is a fundamental part of his own style and approach to the drums: A lot of times when I play solos, I’m playing through changes (harmony) even if in what I’m playing you can’t hear specific melodic notes. If I play in that way, mimicking the harmonic structure, that’s something that at least they (the band and audience) know where I’m at and that’s something which you can kind of hear, or at least what I’m implying. It’s all implied. And that is something where when you are working with other musicians, it helps them know where they are. It helps to create more of a cohesive structure and a cohesive idea as far as what the tune is about. That gives you a sense of relevance. That keeps you from being one of those drummers that just kind of goes on and off on a tangent and then everyone has to wait until you’re finished and then they go back to playing music.119

117

Mackrel (2008) Ibid 119 Ibid 118

83 Mackrel’s overall concern is to make music on the drum set, whether soloing or acting as an accompanist (this is of course an overall theme, stressed by others as well). While he admits that his melodic and harmonic statements are definitely “implied” he otherwise values them as being a fundamental part of his drumming and considers it to be an efficient means to “converse” musically with other musicians.

Similarly, Joe LaBarbera mentioned that other non-musicians have commented on how his attention to these same musical elements contributes to an overall melodic implication and musical coherence while he his soloing: You know, I’ve had lots of musicians over the years say to me that they can actually hear the chord changes going on when I’m playing a solo. Obviously, it’s not literally possible, but it’s because I’m dealing with the harmony of the song beyond just the melody. I’m dealing specifically with the harmonic construction of the song and I’ve learned from other musicians how they improvise on different forms, how they build their solos to a nice peak and how they get the most out of a piece of music.120 LaBarbera feels that his ability to connect with the musicians around him is actually sometimes a result of his harmonic attention, rather than any specific melodic continuity on his part while he is soloing. However, as discussed before, many drummers do feel that proper and intentional soloing that is consistent with a song’s harmonic structure does in fact contribute greatly to an overall melodic sensibility. Either way, as LaBarbera offered, the net results of this are not lost and are well received by the musicians he plays with.

It is quite significant that any melodic or overall musical approach is, in general, not only valued by jazz drummers when they perform but that these concepts are used as a means to offer a positive way to efficiently perform with other musicians. Furthermore, it is also significant that many drummers consider the specific use of playing with any melodic concept as a means to

120

LaBarbera (2011)

84 connect with audience members who do not necessarily understand the techniques of the instrument. Ari Hoenig summed up that he feels his musical contributions as a drummer, should extend well beyond the drums and the musicians he is playing with: “This music should incorporate everybody. It shouldn’t just be for drummers and musicians. It should be for all people that love music.”121

3.9 SUMMARY

Melody can be considered in the context of a jazz drum solo in a variety of different ways, from specific techniques as applied to improvising drum solos to broader conceptual approaches and philosophies as applied during the act of drum soloing.

While many drummers acknowledge the possibility of replicating existing melodic material on the drum set in a direct way, or at least playing the drums in a song-like manner, many agree that the idea of soloing in a melodic fashion on the drum set represents possibilities and considerations that can go well beyond that as well.

Overall, many drummers contributed various considerations with regards to developing a drum solo with a melodic component. The following themes emerged from these discussions: -

In terms of expressing, imitating or implying existing melodies, playing the rhythms of a melody are considered to be adequate without actually needing to focus on the expression of specific pitches. These will imply a clear melodic statement if they are phrased appropriately and imply the overall direction of the changes in pitch.

121

Hoenig (2012)

85 -

The change in pitch of a melodic phrase can be implied by using higher and lower parts of the drum set, but does not necessarily reflect the absolute changes of pitch.

-

Several drummers felt that if the melodic and overall musical intent of a drummer’s ideas are clear, then this will translate at some level, to the listener and reflect itself in the music as a whole in a musically positive way.

-

While some drummers acknowledged the importance of considering melody, they instead choose to use the term “linear drumming” with the focus being on playing clear, defined and developed phrases and ideas with an obvious “beginning, middle and end” to them.

-

Adherence to the composition’s overall form and structure while soloing, is considered to be an important component of melodic drumming.

-

Reflecting not only the form of the composition but being able to improvise in specific phrase lengths (i.e. numbers of bars) and execute musical ideas that last a defined numbers of measures is considered to be a part of melodic soloing.

-

The use of repetition demonstrates an intentional, logical, overall organizational approach to one’s improvising. Repeating ideas, offering subtle variations, and establishing reoccurring themes all offer a sense of unity, logical development to one’s soloing and an overall sense of melodicism.

-

Dynamics are considered to be an important part of “shaping” a rhythmic phrase

-

The use of different sticking patterns (rather than exclusively using alternating hand patterns) is said to help a rhythmic phrase “open up” and sound more “lyrical.”

These elements, while not necessarily rooted in the idea of playing actual pitch-for-pitch melodies on the drums still represent concepts, that when implemented, are felt to contribute to a melodic approach while improvising on the drum set.

86 As demonstrated in the analysis of the transcribed drum solo of Roy Haynes on the Thelonious Monk composition “In Walked Bud,” a melodic sensibility can be achieved through imitating a melody on the drum set by playing the rhythms of the melody and orchestrating them appropriately around the drum set in a relatively simple way, reflecting the overall shape and contour of the original melodic statement. Furthermore, Haynes’ subsequent improvisation on the same piece demonstrates many of the elements previously described by the other interviewees (such as clear phrasing over the form of the piece, adhering to eight-bar phrases, motific development, the use of accents and dynamics and finally, the orchestration of ideas on the drum set).

The drummers surveyed also agreed that consciously incorporating melodic elements into one’s improvisations as a drum soloist can allow for a certain common ground to be achieved between other musicians, and significantly, the members of an audience. The idea of playing in a way that connects what a drummer is doing to the greater musical landscape and relating to other musicians and an audience was felt to be quite important and a relevant cause.

Overall, the idea and practice of soloing with these melodic considerations was viewed as an important part of embracing a positive, musical approach to the drum set, in particular, when playing a drum solo. This is an important contrast to playing the drums without any greater musical consideration, playing without any regard to the musical potential of the drum set or even dismissing the opportunities that melody can provide to a jazz drummer in the first place.

87 CHAPTER 4 – MAX ROACH

“Max Roach was known as THE melodic pioneer of bebop drumming!”122 - Danny Gottlieb

4.1 THE INFLUENCE OF MAX ROACH

Organizing rhythmic ideas on the drums into melodic statements is emphasized heavily when considering the drumming of Max Roach.123 The name of jazz drummer Max Roach constantly came up during the conversations with the many drummers who volunteered their insights and opinions over the course of this research. It was quite clear from these discussions that not only was Roach’s overall approach to jazz drumming considered an enormous overall stylistic influence on many, but specifically that his perceived melodic approach to drumming has had a profound impact as well.124 His contributions cannot be ignored nor dismissed. Any discussion about melodic jazz drumming that fails to recognize Roach’s contributions to the drum set should be considered incomplete.

For example, Billy Drummond described the influence of Roach’s drumming as being a source of inspiration for him from an early age, and how this immediately spoke to his own emerging style:

122

Gottlieb (2010: 121) Refer to Burt Korall’s Drummin’ Men: The Bebop Years (2002) for an in-depth biographical overview of Roach’s career. 124 For a comprehensive technical study of Roach’s solo style, refer to Rande Paul Sanderbeck’s “Homage to Max: A New Work for Solo Drum Set Based on the Style of Max Roach” (1997). 123

88 I would guess you’d say I’m a devotee of some well-known and obvious melodic drummers, namely Max Roach. He is one of the guys who was one of my earliest and still most prevalent influences since I was a little kid. He’s always been somebody that loomed very large in my musical life and hearing him play drum solos and use the pitches of the tom toms, bass drum, snare drum and cymbals melodically and rhythmically speaking just kind of always touched me. It’s something that I immediately heard and went about trying to figure out how to play like that, to a certain degree.125 For Drummond, Max Roach’s style represents a significant formative influence. Furthermore, in his opinion, Roach also represents a logical evolution of the style of swing drumming that preceded him. Drummond described this in terms of his own impressions of Roach’s relationship to the style of swing drumming: He is, you know, a continuation of swing drummers Papa Jo Jones and Big Sid Catlett, two other guys that came before him, but he crystallized it and in my opinion, tried to duplicate what was happening in the music that he was involved in at the time, the socalled bebop music that Charlie Parker, Bud Powell and Dizzy Gillespie were cultivating. So when I hear somebody like Max play, I really hear Bird (i.e. Charlie Parker) playing the drums, you know playing the saxophone on the drums, so to speak.126 Being influenced by the swing drummers who came before him (with notable examples being Papa Jo Jones and Big Sid Catlett) while at the same time reflecting his peers and innovators such as Parker, Powell and Gillespie (all non-drummers and innovators of bebop), Drummond feels that Roach’s emerging style reflected an overall departure from how the drums were already being played and even considered in jazz music. In Drummond’s opinion drum solos in swing music had a different function and there was a fundamental shift in how Max Roach presented the drums in a solo context: I think the presentation changed somewhat from being more of a show as opposed to being more of a musical statement. When you talk about swing drummers like Gene Krupa, Papa Jo Jones, Buddy Rich or some of those drummers from that era, and the context in which the performances were presented back then, there was certainly more of a showbiz element to it. But in listening back to some of those recordings…there was always an underlying musical content to what the drummers were playing. Certainly with Gene and Buddy, even though Buddy’s techniques could somewhat overshadow this

125 126

Drummond (2011) Ibid

89 musicality sometimes and it turned into somewhat of an exhibition, everything was still musically outlined.127 In Drummond’s opinion, swing era drum solos often included a certain aspect of “showbiz” in which the entertainment aspect was highly valued. However, in Drummond’s opinion, musicality was still at the heart of the drummer’s intentions, even if a high level of technique was being demonstrated. While Roach’s style was undoubtedly influenced by this style, his own approach would further explore and expand the musical possibilities and presentation of the drum set. He expanded on the musical potential of the instrument rather than focusing on its entertainment potential.

Steve Smith also noted this relationship between swing drumming and Roach’s progressive style. Smith proposed that perhaps Roach’s early vocabulary was actually an extension of what earlier swing drummers were already playing on the drum set: When I hear (Roach’s “For Big Sid”), if you go back and you think about some of the things Gene Krupa was playing, it was some of the same rhythms but the way he would play it was all on the snare drum. Or like that Cozy Cole solo, “Topsy Part II,” has some of those figures in it as well but they were played with a swing drummer approach. So I wonder how much of a leap it was to take those same figures except to take them from the snare drum and put it on a whole drum set. It’s a lot of the same rhythms, in some ways, just orchestrated on the kit.128 Smith suggests that perhaps Roach’s vocabulary (specifically on his solo drum set composition “For Big Sid,” for example) was very similar in nature to that of his predecessors. Drawing on patterns from his own influences, Smith offers that these patterns would be further orchestrated and developed by Roach on the drum set in an expanded way.

127 128

Ibid Smith (2008)

90 Many other drummers also commented on Roach’s contributions to the drum set and how his perceived melodic approach also represented a significant part of this. As Ali Jackson Jr. explained: You could even say that Max Roach changed the way guys play the drums. I mean drums weren’t played like that before him, conceptually. With form, nuance, independence, sophistication of arrangements and ideas, usage of every instrument and part of the drum kit, incorporated and independent. No one had ever dissected the instrument like that. There were a lot of great drummers before him but as far as concept, it was never used quite like that, as a melodic instrument in the forefront of an ensemble, then in his percussion ensemble M’Boom and in chamber music with violins and drum set. He even had the concept of performing solo concerts and writing compositions for the drum set.129 As Jackson notes, Roach’s expanded contribution to the drum set represented a new approach and a significant innovation. Carl Allen also further commented, like Jackson, on how he felt that Max Roach’s progressive approach to the drum set was reflected by the numerous musical contexts that Roach was able to present. As Allen offered: I’ll put it to you like this: if you look at “The Drum Also Waltzes” or “For Big Sid” or any of his solo drum pieces, it totally sums up Max and his profound approach to melody. Max is one of the few drummers who could do a solo concert for two hours and keep your attention. When I first came to town Max used to do not only solo concerts but duets with a rapper or a duo setting with a tap dancer. Not many guys could do that. I think it was largely due in part to his melodic approach to the music. Everything was about melody for Max and I don’t know how one could come through the tradition of jazz drumming and not be affected or touched by Max.130 Both Jackson and Allen recognize Roach’s use of the drum set in different configurations and his significance as a drum set innovator. They also both feel that Roach’s innovations were possible largely because of his melodic and highly musical approach to the instrument.

129 130

Jackson Jr. (2011) Allen (2011)

91 With regard specifically to Roach’s melodic influence, several offered their feelings on this. For example, Billy Martin described his own impressions of Roach’s melodic approach to the drums: I think he’s a good example of being melodic on so many levels, Max Roach. If you listen to his unaccompanied solos, you can hear how strong his statements are that he makes. Whether you call them gestures, phrases or melodic ones, they’re all really strong statements and I think that comes from his personality and from all the music he has played and written as a composer. I think that’s the reason why he’s so melodic. It’s because he’s a composer and he’s just been around so many great musicians.131 In Martin’s opinion, Roach’s melodic approach to the drums figures prominently and he feels that this was largely influenced by his ability as a composer, and that this knowledge and ability to organize music in such a way is reflected in his unaccompanied drum solos. Similarly, Jeff Ballard also recognized Roach’s approach to drum soloing as being melodic and compositional in design. As Ballard describes: The first thing that comes to my mind about Max Roach is his very melodic soloing. When he soloed over the structure of a song, it was always extremely clear and he told great musical stories; solos and stories that are stately, dignified, and powerful structures; structures within structure. Brilliance with an elegance that comes from charity, knowledge, and so much respect for the music and for where it, and he, came from.132 Ballard’s assessment of Roach is generous in his praise but, like Martin and others, he also recognizes a melodic significant aspect in Roach’s drumming.

John Riley also further offered his own personal impressions of Max Roach with an emphasis on his many accomplishments as an intelligent, innovative musician and being a progressive, forward-thinking individual: Max was a deep thinker, a man of integrity, class and grace. He was a composer, a bandleader, a social activist, a record company founder, and a father. Max was the first “melodic” drummer, the first to play solo drum pieces, the first to play ostinatos, and the first to integrate the bass drum in a linear fashion. He consistently proved that the drummer’s job was not simply to provide the pulse or to generate “fireworks.” And he

131 132

Martin (2011) Riley (2007: 88)

92 always insisted that when played by a musician, the drums were equal to any other instrument in their range of expression and melodic inventiveness.133 This assessment of Roach’s extensive accomplishments illustrates not only his contributions to the drum set, but to jazz music in a wider context as well. The intent to deal with the drum set instrument as musically as possible is constantly emphasized and is, in Riley’s opinion, an extension of his character.

4.2 MAX ROACH’S MELODIC SOLO STYLE

In the DVD Standing on the Shoulders of Giants (2008) drummers Steve Smith and John Riley discuss Max Roach’s contributions and specifically how he pioneered what is often referred to as a melodic style of drumming. The conversation between these two drummers reveals not only an insight into Roach’s immense artistic and stylistic contributions but also demonstrates the enormous influence that Roach’s drumming had both on Smith and Riley as jazz drummers themselves.

Initially Riley claims that Max Roach represents a jazz drummer who was in the ideal position to develop the musical potential of the drum set, someone that departed from the styles and conventions of the swing drummers that preceded him: I think of Max as maybe the first drummer who wasn’t influenced by Vaudeville. The drummers that were before him were all influenced by music that was kind of show orientated and when bebop came in, the musicians were, in a way, playing for themselves and challenging themselves. Max was the perfect man for that job so his playing was orientated towards elevating the music regardless if the audience could follow it or not.134

133 134

Riley (2007: 98) Smith (2008)

93 Roach was part of the bebop movement jazz music during the 1940s that embraced challenging melodic, harmonic and rhythmic possibilities in the context of small group jazz improvisation. Collaborating with the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk, Roach found the perfect context to elevate the status and the role of the drums from being a background instrument to that of a significant contributor to the overall musical fabric and process. Specifically, Roach used this medium to present the drum set as a solo instrument in a different manner from his predecessors. In his opinion, the drums should be expressed in a musical way, just as any other instrument found in a band, and he was famous for playing musical drum solos, not necessarily played primarily with a “showbiz” or showcase mentality (such as Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa, Sid Catlett, etc. are often associated).

Furthermore, Max Roach began to explore playing the drums as an independent solo instrument, and playing unaccompanied pieces for the solo drum set. Pieces such as “Drum Conversation,” “The Drum Also Waltzes” and “For Big Sid” (among many others) became vehicles that Roach would use repeatedly over his career for solo improvisation, sometimes even playing complete solo concerts by himself.

John Riley described the significance of these solo works and how this reflected Roach’s overall method of organizing his rhythmic ideas on the drums in a solo context: The solo pieces that Max played, I guess he was the first drummer to have the courage and maybe the mental organization or “thematic” organization to be able to pull off pieces that sounded like complete musical statements.135

135

Ibid

94 Steve Smith agreed with Riley’s assertion: “That’s really what stands out to me…the ‘Melodic Perspective.’”136 He further described how he had the opportunity to spend some time with Max Roach and how Roach acknowledged this and chose to describe what is commonly referred to as “melodic drumming.” Smith recalled: I had a chance to spend a day with Max and I asked him about his melodic drumming and he actually called it “lyrical” drumming. He said that’s how he thought of it.137 John Riley found that to be an interesting reply and somewhat consistent with his own personal interaction with Roach when asked about this concept: It’s interesting that he described his soloing style as lyrical to you but when I asked him about it he called it a “conversational” style and this idea of creating questions and answers within your own solo.138 Between both Smith’s and Riley’s interactions with Max Roach, when asked to describe his melodic approach to the drums, Roach chose instead to call this a “lyrical” or “conversational” style of drumming. In fact, Max Roach himself further described what he referred to as a “conversational” style of jazz drum soloing when interviewed: It’s like a conversation even within a solo that you set up yourself. You play a phrase, you respond to the phrase, you make a statement, you respond to the statement and you try to create an overall little story.139 From Roach’s own personal description, the emphasis of his solo style is clearly on the organization of his solo ideas and on being very mindful to develop memorable themes on the drum set, in essence to tell a “story.” Emphasis is put on creating logical phrase development, specific rhythmic themes, orchestrating these themes on the drums, and then responding to and contrasting the material.

136

Ibid Ibid 138 Ibid 139 Ibid 137

95 Riley recognizes the significance of this approach and feels that it invites the average listener in to enjoy and appreciate the logic and musicality of Roach’s drum soloing: It’s really nice that he would play a phrase and go away, come back and go away…We’re not a melodic instrument but we’re trying to give “civilians,” not drummers, a way to understand the development in what we do. And by returning to a phrase that the “civilians” might recognize, it gives them a chance to hear when you deviate from it.140 This idea of playing the drums in a way that can appeal or “speak” to the average listener (regardless if they are a musician or not) is consistent with Ari Hoenig’s, John Riley’s and Adam Nussbaum’s earlier assertions that certain forms of repetition allow a “hook” or something the average person can latch onto when listening to a drum solo.

Furthermore, Steve Smith also agreed with this notion and we are reminded of how taking the time to intentionally organize one’s drum ideas into form and phrases can really pay dividends in terms of relating to the average listener: It’s a reference and they (the audience) get that there in their head. It’s a fantastic idea in general, especially for a drummer when coming up with solo ideas, to come up with some themes and variations and to come back to the theme. It does give the listener a lot to relate to.141 Whether or not it was Max Roach’s intention to play the drums in such a way as to communicate to non-musicians is a matter of conjecture. However, undoubtedly his manner of organization and delivery is clear and obvious in the opinion of many drummers who are influenced by him.

Ironically, while Max Roach is often considered and referred to as a prime example of melodic drumming, Roach instead chose to conceptualize and describe his approach to drum soloing as being a “lyrical” or “conversational” approach, not necessarily being a

140 141

Smith (2008) Ibid

96 definitive “melodic” one. While still played with a high attention to musicality, Roach claims that he was personally more concerned with the “overall architecture and design” of playing a drum solo rather than striving to play specific melodies on the drums.142

In conversations with various interviewers over the course of his career, Roach was asked repeatedly to comment on how he himself viewed his melodic approach to soloing. Consistent with Riley and Smith’s experiences in talking to him, Roach downplayed the melodic label often attached to his style: I am not a melodicist. If I want to play melody I would choose a melodic instrument such as xylophone, vibraphone or marimba. They are for melody. I am an architect, a designer, a composer. When I play, I lay out the design in my mind. I use phrases that speak with punctuation – periods, commas, exclamations – as well as space and timbre. I think of all the devices I can use including melodic pitches.143 Instead of a melodic focus, Roach instead chose to elaborate on his specific attention to how he would construct a drum solo: When I build a solo, it’s a design within the structure of something, like creating a poem or a painting. Space and dynamics are important, and things like sequences. How you relate to certain timbres on the set itself is important. That’s how you build a solo.144

142

Mattingly (1993: 63) Zhang (1996: 8) 144 Spagnardi (1992: 43) 143

97 4.3 SOLO DRUM SET COMPOSITIONS

Max Roach’s innovations and contribution to the drum set in terms of exploring its possibilities as a solo instrument are significant and should be considered in any serious study and discussion of jazz drumming. Beyond influencing several generations of drummers that would follow, John Riley offered that the whole idea of playing an independent solo piece for the drum set was brand new, something that Roach pioneered: “Drum solo pieces were unheard of when Max first began presenting them sixty years ago.”145 While drum solos were nothing new during the 1940s, Roach became the first drummer to really deal with the drum set instrument in a specific, isolated solo context.146

As Riley further investigated Roach’s solo style in a Modern Drummer magazine feature following Roach’s death in 2007, he described how Roach’s overall body of solo works: “…can be divided into two categories: impressionist tone poems, and song forms/conversational structures.”147

“Impressionist tone poems,” as described by Riley, rely heavily on Roach’s textural explorations and the different orchestration possibilities of the drum set, not necessarily played over a set tempo or structure. Pieces built around specific form structures, in a regular tempo, reflect what Riley labels as Roach’s “conversational” style of drumming. Riley lists many specific compositions in these two particular categories, as he considered them, in further detail:

145

Riley (2007: 99) Jazz drummers such as Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, for example, were both popular swing drummers, well known for their flamboyant and virtuosic drum solos during the 1930s and 40s. 147 Riley (2007: 100) 146

98 Among Max’s impressionist tone poems are “The Smoke That Thunders,” based on Victoria Falls; “The Pies of Quincy,” based on the old Zildjian factory; “African Butterfly,” based on the imprisonment of Nelson Mandela; “Where’s the Wind,” a selfexplanatory brush solo; “The 3rd Eye,” based on a hurricane; and “Mr. Hi-Hat,” which came about after Max saw Papa Jo Jones close a large drumming event.148 Numerous other recorded compositions are among those that Riley feels reflect Roach’s “conversational” style of soloing. Riley describes these pieces: …which are based on specific songs or on the drummer’s concept of conversational structure, includes “For Big Sid,” based on Lester Young’s tune “Mop Mop”; “Jaz-Me,” based on the 7/4 blues “Nommo” from Drums Unlimited; “Billy The Kid,” based on a Billy Harper tune “Call Of The Wild And Peaceful Heart” and played in 9/4; “The Drum Also Waltzes,” based on conversational structure and originally recorded in ¾, though sometimes Max played it in 5/4; and “Conversation” and “Drums Unlimited,” both of which are based on conversational structure.149 From these two lists we can see how Roach valued the drum set as a legitimate vehicle for solo improvisation over the course of his career. Roach was a prolific composer of not only his own compositions for his own bands, but of material for the solo drum set as well. John Riley generally considered the sum of the collection of these pieces to fall into either one of two categories, being either impressionistic “tone poems” in nature or more structured pieces rooted in Roach’s “conversational” style.

4.4 INFLUENCES

While Roach was certainly influenced by the swing drummers who preceded him (namely Jo Jones, Sid Catlett and Chick Webb), Roach himself describes two other specific influences that inspired him to pursue the drum set as a solo instrument. In an interview with Modern Drummer magazine (August 1993), Max Roach expressed how his initial exposure to solo North Indian drumming, while still a student himself at the Manhattan School of Music, had a profound

148 149

Ibid Ibid

99 influence on his own approach to the drums, at least from a conceptual and philosophical perspective: When I was going to the Manhattan School of Music the students could get tickets at reduced rates. So I was able to see Ravi Shankar when he came to town about 1944. This marvelous tabla player he brought with him, Chatur Lal, did fifteen minutes by himself on those tablas, and it was the most fascinating and musical thing I’d ever heard. That gave me the inspiration to deal with the drums by themselves.150 While there is no evidence that Roach attempted to study North Indian drumming and apply these specific rhythms directly to the drum set in a literal way, at the very least Roach was inspired to deal with the drum set instrument in a stand-alone, solo context. While this was a common practice in North Indian music, the idea of a drum solo being played as an independent composition in jazz music was a brand new idea (that is to say, outside or independent of another larger piece of music).

Furthermore, Roach was impressed with the great jazz solo pianists of the day and this motivated him to investigate whether or not this solo approach was at all feasible with the drum set: I would go watch Art Tatum play piano by himself on 52nd Street and wonder if it were possible to do that with the drum set. And when Segovia or Pablo Casals would play by themselves in a huge concert hall and just mesmerize an audience, I knew there had to be some way to do that with the percussion instrument.151 The fact that Roach drew inspiration from a variety of musical sources, beyond those of other drummers, demonstrates how one can gather ideas and conceptual approaches to an instrument, regardless of its source. It also speaks to the depth of Roach’s musical sophistication and curiosity. Furthermore, this demonstrates that Roach was actively searching to expand not only his own musical potential but to further the musical potential of the drum set instrument as well.

150 151

Mattingly (1993: 63) Ibid

100 Roach would describe how his initial attempt, an unaccompanied solo piece, was received with mixed reactions: My first solo piece was called “Drum Conversation,” and people would ask me, “Where are the chords? Where’s the melody?” And I would say, “It’s about design. It isn’t about melody and harmony. It’s about periods and questions marks. Think of it as constructing a building with sound. It’s architecture.”152 As described previously, Roach claims that when performing solo drum compositions such as “Drum Conversation,” his intention was not to play explicit melodies on the drum set. Instead, his priority was to create explicit forms and structures, playing with a sort of question and answer format within those forms.

4.5 “CONVERSATION”

Many aspects of Max Roach’s solo drum set composition “Conversation” from the album Deeds, Not Words (1958) can be used to illustrate some aspects of his self-described “conversational” or “lyrical” approach to improvising on the drum set, which in turn many people recognize as being melodic. Furthermore, his piece captures many other concepts of melodic drum soloing that have been described over the course of the previous chapter by other drummers and captures elements of Roach’s solo style that have influenced so many. An analysis of Roach’s solo composition “Conversation” will reveal many specific elements of melodic drumming in a drum solo context.

152

Ibid

101 The main theme of “Conversation” is stated in measures 2-9 following a brief snare drum roll that acts as the initial introduction to the piece.153 This theme is represented by a four-bar phrase repeated twice, with a variation played the second time at the end of the phrase. Overall, this theme is mainly stated on the snare drum with offbeat, syncopated accents on the bass drum. Figure 4.1

This main eight-bar phrase is then repeated a second time during measures 10-17, this time on the high tom tom instead of the snare drum. The bass drum continues to accent the off-beats, in particular during the last two bars of each eight bar section. Figure 4.2

153

Interestingly enough, this opening buzz roll starts as a confident forte dynamic level and decrescendos, getting quieter, to offer not only an introduction, but also suggest a sense of suspense intended to catch the listener’s attention. Because there is no obvious sense of time or pulse, a certain “suspended” feeling is achieved as we wait for the initial tempo to be stated.

102 A contrasting section of new material (or a “bridge”) is introduced in measure 18 using a sixteenth-note figure that is repeated three times, completing the phrase with another swung eighth-note line that features syncopated accents on the +’s of beats 2 and 4, emphasized on the bass drum.

Figure 4.3

Measures 26-33 return to the original, swing eighth-note feel of the first sixteen measures of the piece. While the actual rhythmic material of the phrase is different, it strongly relates to the original theme at least in spirit and its general continuity. Figure 4.4

103 Significantly, this eight-bar phrase represents a wholly developed independent theme on its own, as it is a rhythmic phrase repeated three times with some slight variation. The very last two bars of this section reveal a pattern that Roach frequently returns to at the same place in his phrasing. In its simplest form, this phrase is represented by two eighth-notes on the snare drum, followed by one eighth-note on the bass drum played on the off-beat. FIGURE 4.5

This phrase is also frequently played by adding the downbeat on the snare drum over the course of the entire solo. FIGURE 4.6

This pattern represents an alternation of swung eighth-notes between the snare drum and bass drum and is a rhythmic device frequently used by Roach. With the bass drum emphasizing the last up-beat, rather than the downbeat, a feeling of forward motion and development is achieved.

Overall, the form suggested until the end of measure 32 implies a 32-bar, AABC form given the repetition of the first eight-bars and subsequent contrasting material that follows. This form can also be further broken down into four, clear eight-bar phrases.

The subsequent improvised material from measures 34-98 is also organized according to eightmeasure phrases and, while not necessarily reflecting a strict AABA form, still lasts for exactly the duration of 32 bars. This is significant because it demonstrates that not only is Roach

104 thinking in terms of eighth-bar phrases, he is consciously expressing them in the context of a larger, consistent form as well.

Roach continues an extensive use of motivic development over the course of this section. For example, in measures 50–53, 62-65 and 82-89 certain rhythmic motifs are clearly repeated and developed. Figure 4.7

Figure 4.8

Figure 4.9

In measure 99 the introduction of a significantly faster tempo creates a new tempo and a radically different mood. Roach introduces this new tempo by means of playing a fast ride cymbal pattern in conjunction with a 3-over-4 polyrhythmic figure between the snare drum and bass drum.

105 Figure 4.10

Roach’s main rhythmic vocabulary between measures 107 and 194 are eighth-notes, executed in a straight eighth-note (as opposed to swung eighth-notes) interpretation to accommodate the faster tempo. Again, all the presented material is organized into clear eight-bar phrases. Several phrases are repeated extensively as well, with slight rhythmic variations or orchestrations around the different drums. For example, measures 123–130 and 179–190 demonstrate how Roach would take a one- or two-bar rhythmic phrase, repeat it and play it on a different surface. The result of this repetition and orchestration are long phrases that have a logical development and organization to them. Figure 4.11

106 Figure 4.12

At measure 195 Roach returns to the original tempo and initial mood of the piece, which was stated in the beginning section. Again, a clear theme emerges in measures 195–202 that emphasizes, this time with the cymbals, the up-beats of beats two and four. With so much emphasis on these beats, the sense of urgency and intensity of the piece quickly builds momentum. Figure 4.13

This phrase and similar thematic material is continually developed through variations until the very original theme from the beginning of the piece re-emerges at measure 219. However, this recapitulation of the original theme to “Conversation” is orchestrated differently than the original and is elaborated by using double stops and by moving rhythmic fragments of each phrase around the drums. Overall, by returning to this original theme the piece comes full circle and Roach finishes it with a sense of closure and completion.

107 Max Roach’s drum solo piece “Conversation” represents a genuine approach to creating a musical drum solo that employs clear ideas, the deliberate use of specific rhythmic themes and then variation of these themes by means of rhythmic variation and re-orchestration. Roach’s intentional use of repetition and establishing a sort of rhythmic dialogue within his own playing reinforces the use of his own term “conversational” when describing his drumming style.

Roach’s musical intent is always clear and the overall musicality of his soloing emerges on many different levels. As John Riley emphasized in his own analysis of Max Roach’s drum soloing: “Max doesn’t toss off his ideas. He repeats them with clarity and intent.”154

4.6 SUMMARY

In speaking to the many drummers who volunteered their insights, ideas and opinions over the course of this research, Max Roach was constantly referred to as a significant influence. It is clear from these discussions that not only was Roach’s approach to jazz drumming considered an enormous overall stylistic influence on most of the individuals surveyed, but specifically that his perceived melodic approach and overall musical approach to the drum set has had a huge impact.

Max Roach is recognized as a drummer who encapsulates many melodic concepts in his own drumming. However, ironically, Roach himself didn’t consider his solo statements to be specifically “melodic.” As John Riley described, Roach instead chose to describe his approach as “conversational” in style. Riley elaborated on this important notion from Roach himself: Although his time playing and comping helped shape the language of bebop drumming, the most profoundly innovative accomplishments in Max’s musical career are found in 154

Riley (2007: 99)

108 his artistic soloing concepts. Max is often called “the most melodic drummer ever,” but when questioned about his melodic inventiveness, Max stated that he was in fact more interested in musical structure. And he thought more about the architecture and form of his phrases then about melody. Max called this “conversational structure.”155 In Roach’s own words, he wasn’t so much interested in treating the drum set as a melodic instrument so much as he was concerned with its compositional possibilities. For Roach the impression of his playing sounding melodic comes from his attention to the compositional aspects of his drumming: I don’t go for specific pitches on the drum kit. Many times, the high and low sounds of the drum set – sounds of indeterminate pitch – fold themselves into a seemingly melodic pattern. But when I play solos I look for design, structure and architecture; perhaps that’s what produces the illusion that it’s melodic.156 Regardless of how Roach himself chose to interpret or label his own approach, his impact and influence as a jazz drummer from a melodic perspective is undeniable. His contributions as a highly musical and forward-thinking jazz drummer have made a tremendously significant addition to our overall discussion of the melodic possibilities of the drum set.

155 156

Riley (2007: 98) Whitehead (1985: 16)

109 CHAPTER 5 – MANIPULATING THE PITCHES OF THE DRUMS

One creative solution to using melody that several drummers have adopted is to actually attempt to replicate melodic information on the drums by manipulating the pitch of the drum set. Many drummers have developed specific techniques based on the concept of deriving several pitches out of a single drum by applying pressure to the drum head, thus increasing the tension and raising the pitch of the instrument. Since most drum sets don’t contain enough drums to accommodate an octave of pitches (or less for that matter), the ability to manipulate a drum and derive multiple pitches from an instrument collection of limited pitches can be used to explore the melodic potential of the drum set. In theory this allows a drummer the possibility of relatively specific melodic expression on a drum set.

A common jazz drum set will usually consist of a snare drum, one or two mounted toms, a floor tom and a bass drum combined with an array of cymbals (although many drummers over the course of jazz history have used either significantly more or less drums as a variation to that basic set-up depending on their preference and musical context). Played as is, and depending on how the drums themselves are tuned as a group, there are a limited number of pitches at a drummer’s immediate disposal. In theory, one could replicate melodic lines and play literal written melodies if one actually had eighty-eight drums or tom toms, tuned accordingly to a diatonic system (similar to a piano/keyboard instrument). However, the logistics of this approach are not necessarily the most practical nor realistic in a performance practice situation for obvious reasons (that’s not saying it could not be done, however!).

In seeking to explore the melodic possibilities from a drum or percussion instrument tuned to a single pitch, several jazz drummers have sought to explore and develop creative techniques that

110 allow them to extend the tonal range of a percussion instrument. This chapter will examine the merits of how several drummers have addressed this and achieved this at least in some capacity.

5.1 THE PERCUSSIVE ROOTS OF THE MANIPULATION OF PITCH

The idea of extending the tonal range of a percussion instrument by either increasing or decreasing the tension of the drum head is certainly not limited to the possibilities created by jazz drummers. It is an idea that exists in other percussion traditions as well. The idea of changing the pitch on a percussion instrument is certainly nothing new. Tunable timpani have been used for centuries (in music extending from classical European traditions of music since the late 19th Century) most recently with the use of a foot-pedal mechanism, which either increases or decreases the pitch of the drum by manipulating the surface tension of the drumhead. When several tuned timpani of different sizes are used together and tuned accordingly, this allows the opportunity to create triads and arpeggios with a small collection of drums and at the very least suggest limited melodic lines or fragments.

Similarly, many variations exist in West Africa of an instrument commonly referred to as a “talking drum.”157 In the drum set method book West African Rhythms for Drum Set, Royal Hartigan describes the “talking drum”(or the donno as it known among the Akan people of Ghana) as: A double-headed, string tension, hourglass-shaped drum held under the armpit and played with a curved wooden stick. Its head tension is flexible, allowing for a wide variety of pitches and tone inflections that give it the ability to “speak,” hence it is called a “talking drum.”158

157

For further discussion on this instrument refer to John Miller Chernoff’s African Rhythm, African Sensibility (1979). 158 Hartigan (1995: 104)

111 Furthermore, another percussion instrument found in Ghana called the atumpan, while different in construction from the donno, is also often referred to as a “talking drum” for similar reasons: Atumpan are a pair of large wooden drums with a deep, powerful voice. They are played with two V-shaped sticks. As in Adowa music, atumpan can produce various tonal and rhythmic patterns which are used to send signals, recite genealogies and histories, state proverbs and otherwise “speak” in the tones of the Akan language. For this reason they are known as “talking drums.”159 These two examples are significant because they show that the idea of manipulating the tension of a drum in order to create multiple pitches from a single-pitched instrument is not, in fact, a new idea and that it goes beyond jazz drumming, back to its West African roots. In the Akan traditions, specific attention is paid to how the pitches of the “talking drums” can be manipulated even to the extent that they can, at least to a certain degree, emulate patterns of the human voice.160

It is quite possible that these instruments, and the overall idea of “bending” the pitch of a drum, have influenced jazz drummers to do the same. Drummer Art Blakey traveled to West Africa during the late 1940s and heard a variety of West African drummers during his travels. This experience had a profound musical and spiritual influence on him upon his return. In fact, Blakey adopted the Muslim faith after this experience and would often assemble percussion ensembles, create percussion arrangements inspired by the African diaspora (combining drum set players with various percussionists), and record for the Blue Note record label during the 1950s.161

159

Hartigan (1995: 80) See John Miller Chernoff’s African Rhythm, African Sensibility (1979) for further discussion relating to “Talking” drums and the complex nature of manipulating the pitch of this particular instrument. 161 Blakey, Art. Orgy in Rhythm (Blue Note: 1957) and Blakey, Art. Drum Suite (Columbia: 1957). 160

112 As Rodrigo Villanueva is quick to point out in his analysis of drummer Jeff Hamilton’s solo drum interpretation of the Dizzy Gillespie composition “A Night in Tunisia”: Pitch bending has been a common technique for several decades. In fact, it was one of Art Blakey’s favorite solo techniques, and can be heard in several of his recordings, such as “Three Blind Mice.” (The History of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Blue Note CDP 7971902)”162 It is possible that Blakey heard drummers play with some variation of a talking drum during his travels to Africa and that this possibly further influenced his ideas as a drum soloist. Specifically, this may have inspired him to incorporate the technique of bending the pitch of his floor tom as a tool during his drum solos (such as Villanueva points out). However, as John Ramsay (Blakey’s former road manager and an informal students of his) is also quick to point out, he feels that Blakey’s use of this technique (regardless of its influence) was not likely related to any type of melodic concept and more likely an overall novelty tool, inspired by his favorite swing era drummers, used to generate an audience’s reaction: It really didn’t have anything to do with the melody with him. It was more of a gimmick or an effect, visually and aurally, so to speak. He was really influenced by Chick Webb and the other early big band drummers who would use a lot of showmanship in their playing.163 However, increased attention and exposure to African drumming traditions and musicians such as the Nigerian percussionist Olatunji during the 1950s and 60s in mainstream American media would have exposed not only Blakey, but other jazz drummers as well, to these types of African drums. To the extent that the music and these percussive instruments and techniques may have influenced different jazz drummers to deal with the drum set in a specifically melodic approach is a matter of conjecture.

162 163

Villanueva (2007: 17) Ramsay (2011)

113 During the 1970s, drummer Max Roach frequently employed a mechanical variation of the floor tom instrument itself, which incorporated a pedal mechanism similar to that of the timpani. This allowed him to modulate the pitch of his floor tom in the same manner as a set of timpani. This instrument was briefly produced as a novelty instrument during the 1970s by the Hollywood Mezzetti drum company, manufactured in Italy. As Wei-Hua Zhang points out in her analysis of Roach’s style: In the 1970s Roach played many duets with artists such as Cecil Taylor and Archie Shepp. He made two albums with Anthony Braxton, Birth and Rebirth (1978 Black Saint) and One in Two – Two in One (1979 Hat Hut Records). In these two albums Roach uses a floor tom with a tuning pedal to attain different pitches and qualities such as glissandi, bent notes and undulating tones like vibrato of the human voice. The sound Roach gets is similar to that of the West African donno, a string-tension armpit drum, which mirrors the indigenous tonal languages.164 It is interesting to note that Zhang makes a correlation between Roach’s use of this specialized floor tom and overall effect and use of the West African tension drum, the donno. However, as in the case of Ramsay’s assessment of Art Blakey, it is not immediately apparent from these recordings that the use of this instrument and pitch-bending technique is purely a melodic device or only used for a percussive effect. This does not mean that it is not an entirely effective percussive “effect” in the context of their improvisations, however, by that same token, it is not necessarily used for a melodic intention either.

While the melodic intent of Art Blakey and Max Roach’s use of pitch bending methods on the drum set is ultimately uncertain, there is a possible relationship between their use of this technique to that of the donno, the percussion instrument of West African origin, and should be at least noted and considered. This also demonstrates that jazz drummers have been, at the very least, exploring the idea of changing the pitch of a drum, in some capacity, for some time.

164

Zhang (1996: 17)

114 5.2 JEFF HAMILTON’S MELODIC APPROACH TO “A NIGHT IN TUNISIA”

Several drummers have taken the technique of manipulating the pitch of a drum by applying pressure and varying the tension a step further, beyond using it simply as a percussive “effect” in a drum solo context (such as Art Blakey and Max Roach). Specifically, many have refined this technique and use it with the goal of reflecting some degree of actual melodic continuity on the drum set.

In Rodrigo Villanueva’s analysis of drummer Jeff Hamilton’s solo drum set performance of the Dizzy Gillespie composition “A Night in Tunisia,”165 as recorded on the album Jeff Hamilton Trio Live (1996), Villanueva notes Hamilton’s extensive use of bending the pitches of the drums (performed on a comparatively small drum set-up) to create a melodic solo drum set interpretation of an established jazz composition.

Hamilton’s intention was to re-create the melody to “A Night in Tunisia” (composed by Dizzy Gillespie) on the drum set in a solo context by changing the tension of each drum accordingly (using either his hand, elbow or stick of one hand while playing with the other) in order to mimic and approximate the phrasing and overall melodic content of the composition.

As a whole, Villanueva notes that this drum solo is a complete musical statement and that Hamilton is able to achieve this on his very own without any sort of accompaniment from any other instruments: In this solo, this great soloist performs, all by himself, the introduction, head in, solo, head out, and coda, just as any other instrumentalist would do in a solo situation.166 165 166

Villanueva (2007) Villanueva (2007: 16)

115 Manipulation of the pitch aside, it is important to note Villanueva recognizes that, musically speaking, Hamilton addresses the drum set as a complete musical instrument with the overall goal of creating a larger musical statement on the drums. The drum solo is fundamentally performed with overall musical intent as its central goal and clear musical organization as its basis. By organizing his ideas in the same way, perhaps, that a solo pianist would, Hamilton is clearly thinking along larger and intentional musical lines. This is consistent with Billy Drummond’s earlier comments with regards to the importance of overall phrasing and organization of one’s overall rhythmic ideas on the drum set. It is also consistent with Max Roach’s idea of creating a sense of musical “architecture.” However, as the author points out, Hamilton also makes extensive use of manipulating the pitch of his drum set in order to create even further melodic continuity: The most innovative element of this performance is Hamilton’s use of melody on the drum set. By pressing into the drumhead of the high tom, floor tom and snare drum (with the snares off), in combination with the rest of the kit, Hamilton is able to approximate most of the pitches from the original melody, resulting in a somewhat accurate interpretation of the melody to “A Night in Tunisia.”167 While Hamilton’s approach does not represent an exact note-for-note representation of the melody of “A Night in Tunisia,” Villanueva notes that, as a whole, the melodic continuity of Hamilton’s efforts stand up because: As listeners we have the tendency to “fill in the blanks”; in other words, we tend to use our own experience with a given melody, such as this jazz standard, and hear the actual theme even when it is played by a typically non-melodic instrument.168 According to Villanueva, Hamilton successfully combines enough musical information on the drums to offer the listener a reasonably accurate and discernable interpretation of “A Night in Tunisia.” However, while he acknowledges that this is not necessarily an absolute interpretation

167 168

Ibid Ibid

116 of the melody, Hamilton presents just enough specific musical information to the listener so that one can “fill in the blanks,” allowing for the melody continuity to be recognizable.

This idea of “filling in the blanks” is echoed by Hamilton himself. During a drum set workshop Hamilton described to a group of students his melodic approach as being somewhat of an approximation, to a certain degree, but one that gives the listener enough information to suggest and imply a greater melodic statement. For example, Hamilton related advice given to him from jazz drummer Mel Lewis with regards to playing melodies on the drums: Like Mel Lewis told me: “All we’re doing is creating a ‘mirage.’ Don’t worry about how to do it, just think about the sound you want to get and create that ‘mirage’ for the listener.”169 Furthermore, with regard to how he accomplishes this, Hamilton offered that he consciously thinks of the drum set as being like a keyboard, with specific attention to its high and low registers. Combined with accurate rhythmic phrasing that matches the original melody, Hamilton feels that one can create a sense of melodicism and successfully convey that to a listener without being wholly specific to the specific pitches. As Hamilton described: Think of the drums as a keyboard or just try to sing your pitches and try to emulate the ascending and descending lines. You’ll actually make people believe, most of the time, that you’re nailing the pitches. Once in a while you even get a review that says you are!170 To further demonstrate these ideas in context, during the same workshop, Hamilton performed the melody to the Sonny Rollins composition “Oleo” on the drum set. He then proceeded to demonstrate his interpretation of this piece in two distinct ways: 1) playing the specific rhythm of the piece, divided around the drum set with no set or discernable method or melodic direction, phrasing or cohesiveness; and then 2) playing the same rhythm but orchestrated specifically

169 170

Hamilton (2014) Ibid

117 using high, medium and low parts of the drum set to emulate the melodic contrast and general pitch directions of the melody to “Oleo.”

In Hamilton’s opinion the difference between the two is that the first approach really only represents the rhythm to the piece being spread around the drums in somewhat of a random way while the latter in fact, better reflects the original melodic statement. This is due in part, to more attention given to how the different parts of the drum reflect the changes in pitch, or direction, of the melody. As Hamilton remarked following his demonstration: “…to me that’s the real line of the melody to ‘Oleo,’ by playing the middle notes to the low, to the high.”171

Hamilton feels that going for a “big picture” approach that incorporates a certain amount of specific melodic direction from the drums, but doesn’t necessarily rely on it exclusively, is effective. Similarly, while Hamilton’s interpretation of “A Night in Tunisia” is not an exact, note-for-note reproduction of the melody either, it is convincing enough as the rhythms of the melody are clear and the intentional changes in pitch help shape and define the overall melodic direction of the rhythmic phrases.

Villanueva also concludes that Hamilton’s overall melodic consideration and his melodic manipulation of the drums themselves presents an overall successful musical statement on the drum set: Hamilton’s solo is a great example of melodic drum soloing. It has several of the most important elements that we find in any good melodic improvisation, and manipulates the melodic and rhythmic cells much in the same way that Charlie Parker used in his formulas.172

171 172

Ibid Villanueva (2007: 18)

118 From Villanueva’s observations and Hamilton’s own insight, we are offered the opinion that Jeff Hamilton’s specific attention to melodic phrasing on the drums resembles the phrasing of a jazz instrumentalist, such as saxophonist Charlie Parker. This, combined with Hamilton’s ability to imply melodic movement on the drums, allows for a high level of musical expression and exposes the melodic potential of the drum set by, to a certain extent, manipulating the pitches of the drums.

5.3 ARI HOENIG – A METHOD TO PLAYING MELODIES ON THE DRUMS

Perhaps the most accomplished contemporary jazz drummer to explore the concept of melodic drumming and specific pitch manipulation of the drum set is Ari Hoenig. Hoenig’s extensive use of this method and in-depth technical approach has been well documented in his solo recordings Time Travels (1999), The Life of a Day (2003) and his instructional DVD Melodic Drumming (Jazz Heaven, 2012). With these resources the listener can hear and examine Hoenig’s vast knowledge and interpretation of expressing melody, in different ways, by significantly changing the pitch of the drums themselves.

For Hoenig, the concept of melody, in general, was something he felt to be instinctively important and natural, regardless of what instrument he was playing (he played the violin as a child, eventually giving that up in favour of the drums). The initial idea of exploring melody on the drum set was one that he embraced with enthusiasm: Melody was always something that was close to me and I used to sing a lot when I would play. I can even remember the day that I could actually get pitches out of the drums. I remember that it was pretty exciting.173

173

Hoenig (2012)

119 Furthermore, Hoenig acknowledges that many of the drummers that had influenced him during his formative years also incorporated some sort of a melodic aspect in their own playing which, in turn, would further influence his own personal approach: There’s definitely influences that I had, different drummers that I listened to that played very melodically: Frankie Dunlop, Jeff Hamilton did a lot of that kind of stuff. A couple of guys I heard when I was living in Texas who would just play a melody on the drums. It just made my ears open up somehow and just struck me as being very musical. So I started doing that. It was very natural for me.174 These influences, combined with what he attributes to being a natural attraction to melody, allowed him to pursue a melodic approach to the drum set and eventually develop techniques on the instrument necessary to do so.

Hoenig’s overall attempt to pursue a melodic approach to the drums can be summed up in his own statement when claimed that: “Someone once told me that if you can’t make music by yourself, you can’t make it with other people.”175 This comment may represent the overall foundation and motivation of Hoenig’s melodic approach to drums. In aiming to create a full musical statement with only a drum set, this idea represents the notion that musicality within the context of a group can be best achieved if the individuals in question understand how to display a musical approach, fundamentally, on their own, before playing with others.

5.4 FOUR DIFFERENT PARTS OF MELODIC DRUMMING

In the instructional DVD Melodic Drumming Ari Hoenig demonstrates and discusses his various approaches to expressing melody on the drum set. This resource represents a significant documentation with regard to how melody can be technically developed on the drum set.

174 175

Ibid Ibid

120 Hoenig breaks down his approach into four fundamental categories of melodic drumming: 1) Playing the melody on the drums using the basic contour of the melody but not the actual specific pitches of the melody 2) Playing the actual pitches of a melody 3) Improvising a piece in a compositional way 4) Soloing over a form and using structure This chapter will deal specifically with the first two approaches to melodic drumming that Hoenig employs.

5.5 HOW TO START PLAYING A MELODY

Fundamentally, Hoenig believes in the importance of being comfortable with the drum set as a whole and really understanding the variety of sonic choices and sound possibilities at a player’s disposal: I think it’s important to sit down and be comfortable with your instrument and understand and explore the basic sounds that you can get out of the drum set. An effective way to do that, I think, is just to take one part of the drum set, one drum or one cymbal, and just sit with it for a while and try to explore the different sonic possibilities that you can get on that instrument. This is building a vocabulary of sounds that you can use when you are playing different melodies. With that we can play short and long sounds, change the pitch and the timbre.176 Hoenig believes that this understanding of the instrument’s possibilities will eventually become the basis for basic vocabulary on the drums and tools for melodic expression on the drum set. Of particular significance is how he emphasizes the importance of not only exploring the different sonic choices available but he also mentions the idea of “short and long sounds,” and the overall idea of articulation as well. This is similar to what Kenny Washington and Carl Allen have also stated. 176

Ibid

121 With regard to learning to play melodically on the drums, Hoenig believes that an intimate knowledge of the original melody itself, on its own terms, is necessary before any application to the drum set can take place: The thing I think about is just to make sure that I know the melody itself and that I am able to sing the melody. Once you really know the melody and you understand how the melody works you’ll be able to compare what kind of sounds the drums offer you.177 For Hoenig, it is necessary to learn a piece of music away from the drums and he encourages this by singing it in order to truly understand its nuances.

From his own personal experience Hoenig goes on to describe using Charlie Parker’s composition “Confirmation” as a vehicle for exploring melody on the drum set. The notion of singing a melody and understanding its specific construction and nuances on its own terms before developing it on the drum set is described as a specific component that contributes to a melodic approach to the drums: The piece “Confirmation” is a good tune to learn. I was told to learn this by my teacher Ed Soph (University of North Texas). So I learned it on the snare drum first. The way I would get the phrasing was to really internalize it and listen to the original or definitive recordings and try to emulate his (Charlie Parker’s) phrasing as much as I could and really try to get it inside me. Once it’s inside me it means I can eventually play it. That’s the most important thing.178 Hoenig encourages learning a melody on the snare drum first with specific focus and attention on the original phrasing of the melody. Furthermore, emphasis is also put on making reference to a recording of the piece with the goal of emulating and matching the phrasing of the melody, as played, as much as possible. With this fundamental knowledge and ability, Hoenig feels that any further development of the melody on the rest of the drum set is possible.

177 178

Ibid Ibid

122 5.6 PLAYING A MELODY ON THE DRUM USING CONTOUR

Once one is able to internalize a melody and properly express its phrasing at a basic level, an approach that Hoenig has developed consists of approximating a melody on the drums by emphasizing the tonal direction of the melodic line. This approach stops short of trying to completely execute the exact pitches of the melody. While this method does involve manipulating the pitch of the drums to a certain degree (by pressing into the drum head and raising the pitch), the goal is not to produce a direct note-for-note reproduction of a melody on the drum set. This is consistent with Jeff Hamilton’s approach and his solo drum set interpretation of the composition “A Night in Tunisia” as described by Rodrigo Villanueva and then Hamilton himself with regards to his interpretation of “Oleo.”

Hoenig describes this approach as analyzing the organization of pitches in a given melody in terms of a series of “leaps” and “steps” and then orchestrating them accordingly on the drum set by taking into account the overall “contour” on the melodic line: One way that I like to think about a melody, if I’m not trying to get the actual pitches out of the drums, is in leaps and steps. A “leap” would be an interval that is large, like the interval of a fourth of fifth or anything larger than a third. A “step” is much closer. This allows me to get the right contour out of the drums. Again, I’m not trying to get the actual pitches, just the general contour of where the melody is going.179 He further describes his approach to playing a series of either half or whole steps on the drums by either changing the pitch of the drum or changing to another drum all together: To play whole steps or half steps I would press the stick into the drum head (to change the tension and pitch). To play a leap I would just change drums because there is at least an interval of a third between all the drums.180

179 180

Ibid Ibid

123 In this approach to melodic expression on the drum set the key is really in capturing the overall direction of the melodic line or, as Jeff Hamilton describes, the “spirit” of the melody. Hoenig claims that the key really lies in an intimate knowledge of the original melody, paying particular attention to its phrasing and then reflecting the change in intervals: If you can get that basic contour of the melody along with the rhythms and phrasing of the melody you are going to be able to make the melody sound very close to what it is.181 Hoenig is very quick to point out that an exact note-for-note execution of the melody isn’t necessary to create a successful and complete melodic statement on the drums. This can actually be achieved through specific attention to the overall phrasing and melodic construction. This is also consistent with Villanueva’s observation of Hamilton’s melodic approach to the drums. In this regards Ari Hoenig claims that: The pitches don’t always have to be exactly right but if the phrasing is correct then they (the audience, other musicians, etc.) are going to recognize the melody.182 This assertion is consistent with what Jeff Hamilton described, from conversations with Mel Lewis, as creating a musical “mirage” that set ups enough information, allowing a listener to “fill in the blanks.” What Hoenig and Hamilton commonly refer to as the “phrasing” of a melody represents not only attention paid to the specific rhythm of the melody but also its nuances in terms of the direction of the melodic line, reflecting the change of intervals (as Hoenig describes as being either “leaps” or “steps”) and finally accents or emphasis on major cadences within the phrase itself.

181 182

Ibid Ibid

124 5.7 PLAYING ACTUAL PITCHES

To take his melodic approach a step further, Hoenig elaborates on his previous method and demonstrates how he can also be more specific with the pitches he is expressing on the drums. To accomplish this, he claims, one must not only know the original melody to a very specific degree but also develop the ability to manipulate the pitches of the drums in a specific way so that the tones produced match those of the original melody: The way you would go about changing the pitch of the drum is by applying pressure to the drum head. Again, make sure that you know the melody and that you can sing what you are about to play.183 When Hoenig describes “changing the pitch of the drum” he is referring to the idea of applying direct pressure to the drum head with either his hand, elbow or stick with one hand (or arm) while striking the surface with the other. Alternatively, one can also achieve a similar effect by pressing into the head with the stick (or sticks) being played (i.e. muted strokes). The more pressure that is applied to the surface of the drum head will allow for the pitch itself to increase as well.

While one can indeed alter the tension of a drum head, changing its pitch, its overall range is still limited. Depending on the initial tuning of the drumhead, at the most one would only be able to play two, perhaps three, more discernable tones from one drum. The lower the drum head is initially tuned will allow for a wider range of notes to be developed (i.e. because of more flexibility in the drum head), whereas the higher it is tuned, the more limited its range will be. This method is, as Hoenig demonstrates, more effective when the snare drum is played with the snares off. The actual tones are also more obvious when played with mallets, although this can

183

Ibid

125 certainly be done with sticks as well. Furthermore, it’s only possible to raise the pitch from its original tuning, not lower it.

Hoenig admits that a lot of practice and “trial and error” goes into the process of learning how to play like this. He compares how a drummer would use sticking patterns and become acquainted with the different amounts of pressure necessary, as applied to the drums, as being similar to how a pianist would develop a system of fingerings on the keyboard to address different scales and patterns. Specifically, Hoenig even recommends practicing scales on the drums: To practice this, you might play scales like you would on the piano. On the piano you would have to figure out fingerings to use and on the drums it’s the same with sticking patterns you would use and the amount of pressure you apply to the drums.184 The ability to coax numerous tones from a drum is indeed possible, however the key to expressing recognizable melodic content lies in being able to match those pitches in an accurate way. Hoenig explains that this comes from developing a high level of ear training skills, which ideally allow one to recognize the pitches of a melody of a musical phrase and then either sing them back or match them on the drums as accurately as possible. As Hoenig further describes: It is very helpful to have “relative pitch” and some background in ear training. It’s going to make the process much easier. You can do it without but you still need to make sure that you can sing the melodies before you play them.185 While Hoenig admits that he doesn’t have perfect pitch, he highly recommends developing one’s ear training skills with regards to relative pitch in order to develop the ability to recognize different intervals: I don’t have perfect pitch but I do have very good relative pitch. Relative pitch is all about being able to distinguish intervals.186

184

Ibid Ibid 186 Ibid 185

126 In fact, Hoenig also points out that using relative pitch to “find” a note on one’s instrument in practice is something that other musicians deal with on other instruments: You can compare changing the pitch of the drums to other instruments such as the bass, the violin or the trombone, and others, where you are not “exactly” sure where to go on the fret board (such as the bass or violin) to get the instrument in tune. It’s the same here. You’re not exactly sure how much pressure you need to put on the drum so you really have to use your ears. My first instrument was the violin so it was very good ear training.187 Furthermore, Hoenig feels that being able to initially sing, accurately, whatever it is he is trying to play helps tremendously in his attempts to match specific pitches on the drum set. He feels that there is an inherent tonal connection between the human voice and the tuning range of the drum set. Connecting the two allows him to successfully internalize a melodic idea before further expressing it on the drum set: The range of the drum set is very similar to that of the human voice, which is one reason why I think it’s very natural for me. Because when I sing something, it’s something that I’ll be able to play with the same basic range on the drum set.188 This idea of singing ideas and then proceeding to play them on the drum set is a significant one, explored by other drummers as well (for example, Alan Dawson and Dan Weiss, among others, both elaborate on their own the use of singing phrases and using this in the context of their drumming).189

187

Ibid Ibid 189 This will be further discussed and elaborated in several other contexts in Chapter Six. 188

127 5.8 TUNING

While any drum in theory, could be manipulated in order to change its pitch, Hoenig tunes his drums in a very specific, organized way that allows him to express melodies on the drums with a high level of definition and clarity. Hoenig tunes his drum set specifically to an F major triad in its second inversion (or sometimes to a variation on that) to achieve and maintain a sense of melodic cohesiveness when he plays. Using a four-piece drum set (consisting of a snare drum, bass drum, floor tom and one mounted tom tom with a collection of cymbals), Hoenig tunes his drums to the following configuration: Mounted Tom Tom: F (root) Snare Drum:

A (major 3rd above the root)

Floor Tom:

C (perfect 5th below the root)

Bass Drum:

lower than the floor tom (note not specified)

The specific use of intervals larger than a tone or semi-tone between the drums is significant. With intervals consisting of a perfect 4th between the floor tom and mounted tom tom and a major 3rd between the mounted tom tom and snare drum, a decent range of just over an octave is created (once the additional, higher pitches that can be derived from each drum are considered). If the drums were tuned closer together, it would be difficult to distinguish the tonal character of each drum individually. Ideally, Hoenig tunes each drum so that he can extend the range of each drum by approximately a minor 3rd interval.

128 5.9 REACTIONS AND CRITICISMS

The technical approach to expressing melodies on the drum set, represented by Hoenig, is acknowledged and appreciated by many. Similarly, Jeff Hamilton’s approach to playing melodically on the drum set, by somewhat similar means to Hoenig, is also recognized for its effectiveness and overall musicality. However, as impressive as it may seem, many drummers expressed their own concerns with this approach. For example, Joe LaBarbera offered that fundamentally, he is interested in hearing melodies and melodic material played on instruments that he finds more pleasing to his ear: Well, you know, I’ve heard these tuned toms and drummers that have a couple of octaves and they can actually play melodies. I’m not particularly impressed by that. Because if I want to hear an actual melody stated, I want to hear it on a more pleasing sound!190 Matt Wilson offered that while he is impressed with the overall technical ingenuity that goes into playing such a way, he also feels that he isn’t attracted to the musical premeditation that is required to play this way: I admire them for all that [playing pitches]. But I’m not very good at that part of it because I’m still really an in-the-moment kind of improviser. And to me, if I have to have stuff like that then everything has to be sort of set in a certain way, or the drums have to be tuned to a certain pitch, and I’m just not that kind of player. I just don’t have that kind of patience to be that way. I’d feel like it would be getting in the way. So, I like to really use whatever is there, whatever I have to use in front of me, to give the impression of the shapes of those melodies more than use specific pitches at times. So that’s the only difference. But I totally admire it and what they do.191 In Wilson’s opinion, playing melodically like Hamilton and Hoenig requires a certain amount of pre-determination. Wilson is more attracted to improvising in a way that requires less specific foresight and instead chooses to use melody in a broader way that requires less technical pre-

190 191

LaBarbera (2011) Wilson (2011)

129 determined specifics. This approach, according to Wilson, also satisfies his goal of being an “inthe-moment kind of improviser.”192

To expand on this Wilson offered that one can still use a great deal of melody in one’s drumming, even if the specific pitches are not apparent. For example, Wilson often assigns his students simple melodies, standards drawn from the American Song Book, and requires them to play the piece on only the snare drum: I have students play melodies on just one surface. Because if you can play a melody convincingly on one surface, then you are going to be able to play on two surfaces or more very easily. If you can play the tune “Have You Met Miss Jones” on the snare drum then you can do it anywhere.193 For Wilson, as others, the consideration of a melody from a simple, yet consciously musical, foundation will still yield valid and successful musical results. It is ultimately the creativity and imagination of the musician in question that determines the quality of the music in question.

While the techniques needed to manipulate the pitches of a drum set to achieve more specific melodic possibilities are recognized and acknowledged, it is not necessarily seen as the only practical approach to dealing with melody on the drums. As Erskine emphatically stated earlier with regards to this concept: “They may play an actual melody on the drums and still be playing some really dumb stuff!”194

192

Wilson (2011) Ibid (2011) 194 Erskine (2011) 193

130 5.10 SUMMARY

For many contemporary jazz drummers, developing the technical ability to manipulate the pitches of a drum set represents a legitimate option with regards to melodic expression on the drums. Overall, this approach represents a significant step in the evolution of the technical possibilities of the drum set. By exploring techniques on the drum set that allow for further and expanded musical possibilities, the potential of the drum set continues to evolve and the specific use of melody on the drums continues to offer much potential.

Historically, there are many examples of other percussion instruments designed specifically to change the pitch of the instrument by adjusting the tension of the drumhead. Orchestral timpani and instruments from West Africa commonly known as “talking drums” are examples of this. Similarly, in rare occasions, modified floor toms have been used by several jazz drummers (such as Max Roach, Ed Blackwell and Ed Thigpen), and operate similarly in scope to a timpani. However, while these examples illustrate that drummers have been aware of this potential technique for some time, it is only recently that many drummers have explored in-depth the idea of replicating melodic material on the drum set, with certain degrees of specific exactitude.

Jazz drummers Jeff Hamilton and Ari Hoenig are two examples of musicians who have taken this conceptual idea and developed it into a highly technical and organized melodic expression on the drum set. Both drummers extensively change the pitches of the drums, increasing the pitch of a drum by applying pressure to the actual drumhead.

Hamilton is less specific about being accurate with specific tones and aims instead for reflections of the overall “contour” of a melodic line, that is to say, reflecting the upward and downward

131 motion of a melody. He describes this as being a musical “mirage” that gives the listener the impression of specific melodic material being expressed on the drum set.

Similarly, Hoenig deals with the drum set in this way, however he takes this approach a step further. By tuning his drums to specific pitches (often described as a 2nd inversion F major triad) and through extensive ear training and interval recognition skills, Hoenig often strives for pitchfor-pitch accuracy to express melodic ideas and phrases on a drum set in a very precise and clear way.

In terms of the possibility for future developments with regards to the melodic concepts he has developed, Ari Hoenig offered that there is still much left to explore: There is a lot of room to expand on this kind of idea for myself and for others, such as: set-up with more or less drums, different ways of tuning them, different ways of applying the bass drum, maybe having two bass drums with different pitches. You could also have a chromatically pitched drum set and play it like a xylophone.195 Many drummers, while acknowledging the potential and impressiveness of such a specific melodic approach, are also quick to declare that this is not the only way one can express melody as a drummer. For some, melodies are just found to be more pleasing to play and listen to on other instruments while for others, such as Matt Wilson, successful melodic drumming can also be achieved when playing on only one surface, with no actual tonal variation involved.

For Jeff Hamilton and Ari Hoenig, the potential for literal melodic expression on the drum set represents a continuous, open-ended creative process. Using the drum set to focus on purely melodic ideas with specific accuracy significantly expands the potential of the drum set and offers more possibilities yet to be explored.

195

Hoenig (2012)

132 CHAPTER 6 – MELODIC DRUM SET PEDAGOGY

Over the course of this research, the drummers interviewed for the purpose of this project expressed their experiences and opinions related to the importance of considering melodic concepts and the possible applications of melody within the practice of jazz drumming. Significantly, many of the participants also shared their pedagogical methods and instructional approaches that use melody. Overall, this speaks to how a drummer can actually incorporate a melodic concept into one’s technical studies and into the overall practice of drum set pedagogy.

While the discussion regarding the importance of a melodic concept and its applications to the drums is significant, the possible pedagogical applications of melody should be considered as well. The questions of “why” a drummer uses a melodic concept in their playing and “how” this is done from a technical or performance practice standpoint are not the only ones that should be asked. It is also important to consider how one can develop and apply a melodic concept on the drums from a pedagogical perspective and its educational benefit as well so that we can potentially integrate these concepts into our own playing.

This chapter will address how melody can be used in a pedagogical setting, and how it can be used to teach jazz drums effectively. The specific question that emerges becomes: “How can melody be used in the teaching of jazz drumming?”

Following a survey of existing resources and a comprehensive literature review, a number of published jazz drumming methods and excerpts from various instructional methods were found to incorporate (in varying degrees) the application of melody on the drum set in a technical, method-based approach to learning to play the drums. Furthermore, many of the jazz drummers

133 interviewed over the course of this research also offered, in some cases, several practical ideas as to how melody can be used in conjunction with a technical study of the drum set. Overall, these diverse methods and exercises, collected from various sources, all incorporate different aspects and applications of melody and combine them into practice routines and exercises that work toward a goal of furthering one’s overall musicianship as a jazz drummer.

6.1 ALAN DAWSON AND MUSICAL DRUM SET PEDAGOGY

During his interview and subsequent discussion, Berklee College of Music professor and drummer John Ramsay relayed his experience of studying with Alan Dawson. Dawson was known as an influential drum teacher in the Boston, Massachusetts area from the late 1950s until his passing in 1996. He instructed dozens of influential drummers including the likes of Clifford Jarvis, Tony Williams, Steve Smith, Joe LaBarbera, Joe Farnsworth and Terri Lyne Carrington, among many others. Dawson developed a highly technical teaching regime designed to teach the mechanics of jazz drumming. He incorporated an extensive use of the snare drum rudiments (collected in his “Rudiment Ritual” snare drum routine) as well as a variety of coordination and independence exercises based on applications of Ted Reed’s Syncopation for the Modern Drummer and George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control. A significant portion of Dawson’s teaching method is documented in John Ramsay’s drum method book The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson (1998). Over the course of his interview, Ramsay referenced not only Dawson’s methodology but his own text and personal interpretation of Dawson’s exercises as well (drawn from his extensive personal experience of studying with Alan Dawson).

134 In addition to a complete technical understanding of the drum set, Alan Dawson sought to include musical applications of his technical exercises at any opportunity. In Chapter Four of The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as Taught by Alan Dawson (entitled “Soloing”) Ramsay begins by stating that: Alan was always mindful of trying to balance his lessons and studies equally between technique and musical ideas. One of the ways in which he did that was by teaching you to solo over various standard song forms while you sang the melody to those songs aloud.196 From his experience of working with Alan Dawson, Ramsay concluded that Dawson’s overall teaching method combined a healthy balance between technical exercises and the acknowledgment of larger, important musical considerations (specifically melodic ones).

Specifically, the song forms and melodies that Dawson referred to and that he would assign his students were standard jazz compositions, generally composed in four and eight bar phrases and organized into AABA, ABAB, ABAC and 12-bar standard forms (among others). Examples of compositions that Dawson would use in his teaching include common jazz compositions such as: “Take the A Train,” “Satin Doll,” “Misty,” “Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Well, You Needn’t,” “On Green Dolphin Street,” “Four,” “My Romance,” “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Blue Bossa,” “Summertime,” “Tune Up,” “Blue Monk,” “Solar,” “Now’s the Time” and “I’ll Remember April.”197

One exercise that Dawson would have his students practice involved interpreting pages from George Lawrence Stone’s method book Stick Control (specifically starting with page 5, column one, lines 1-12). His students would orchestrate the patterns between the 196 197

Ramsay (1998: 48) Ramsay (1998: 49)

135 snare and bass drum accordingly (interpreting them rhythmically as swung, jazz eighthnotes) while actually singing an assigned melody at the same time. The exercise consisted of playing four bars of timekeeping (playing the jazz swing beat on the ride cymbal with the hi-hat, played with the foot, on beats two and four) then playing alternate lines from Stick Control orchestrated between their hands and feet. As Ramsay explains, Dawson would have his students practice this routine in four and eight bar phrases so that the interpretation of the lines from Stick Control would line up with the phrasing and barlength of the accompanying jazz standard tune. According to Ramsay: This exercise will accomplish several things: you will develop hand and foot coordination, increase or develop your ability to feel four- and eight-bar musical phrases, teach you about song form, and, most important, it will give you the ability to solo over the form of a tune without having to count. This in itself will make your solos more musical and melodic.198 The ultimate goal of this exercise is to execute hand-to-feet coordination patterns while simultaneously expressing a melodic structure (in this case, by singing it vocally). It is quite significant that Dawson would use these jazz melodies as part of his technical routines rather than just have his students count numbers of bars while executing the exercises. The goal was not to learn how to be a singer, or to interpret melodies directly on the drums, but rather to gain the ability to hear melodies in conjunction with one’s drumming while at the same time developing the ability to hear larger phrases and musical forms that are inherent within those melodies. As Ramsay further commented: The way Alan explained it, the idea wasn’t that you would play the melody per se on the drums…but more importantly you are aware of the melody. So in that sense I think Alan was advocating being aware of the melody, you could say hyper-aware of the melody, because you had to learn it note for note. And just by that fact alone that would come through in your playing, particularly if you were soloing. But also when someone else is soloing that’s by far the best way I have ever known of how to keep your place in the tune and know where you are.199

198 199

Ramsay (1998: 48) Ramsay (2011)

136 In a Percussive Notes interview with his former student Arvin Scott, Dawson himself emphasized the importance of developing a heightened melodic awareness and the role it plays in his own playing. When asked the simple question: “What are you thinking when you take a drum solo?” Dawson replied: Something different is going on in my mind for every drum solo. I’m using melody and form as the framework in ninety-nine percent of the cases, with the remaining one percent being the free solo. I especially like tunes with rhythmic melodies that make it easy for you to make statements on melody. For example, “Caravan” is a popular piece for drum solos, but from my standpoint it’s not an ideal tune because the melody is legato and spread out. It’s not active rhythmically and would be difficult to use as the basis for a solo. So with this tune, I would use the standard arrangement as a framework, which is a Latin style for the “A” sections and straight ahead for the bridge. This is in contrast to “Oleo,” where the melody is so rhythmic. It would be pretty difficult to sing and think this tune and not play the rhythm of the melody. So these things are to be considered in the approach to the drum solo.200 As Dawson describes, his overall approach to soloing on the drums relies heavily on his knowledge and use of the form and structure of the composition he is playing. Furthermore, he also explains his preference to solo on songs that have rhythmic melodies as opposed to ones that are rhythmically less active.

In this same interview, Scott describes Dawson’s melodic approach to drumming and he suggests to Dawson that, “You are consistently described as a melodic drummer, and your personal philosophy and practice of singing tunes as you solo reflects this style.”201

Dawson agreed with this statement and emphasized how he felt this to be an overall reflection of the fundamental importance of melody and rhythm in music, in a broader sense: In all the music of the world, the elements of rhythm and melody are present. Harmony is not necessarily present in all music. I don’t mean to imply that harmony isn’t great. It is, but it isn’t necessarily present in the music in all cultures like rhythm and melody.

200 201

Scott (1996: 26) Ibid

137 Harmony is another addition – a sophisticated addition to making music – but it isn’t the basis.202 Overall, from Dawson’s experience as a performer, the notion of considering the importance of melody is obviously an important one and perhaps, in conjunction with the concept of rhythm, even more significant than harmony. Furthermore, it is reasonable to consider from his own statements and from the testimony of his students that this overall melodic consideration was considered an important part of his teaching method and philosophy as well.

Similarly, in his article “Establishing a Sequential, Vocal-Based Pedagogy to Enhance a More Musical Drumming Vocabulary (i.e., singing and playing makes you a better drummer),” James Drier, who was also a student of Alan Dawson’s, describes his own personal experience studying Dawson’s melody-based technical exercises: The use of singing and drumming was presented to me most significantly by legendary jazz drummer/teacher Alan Dawson, who I had the privilege of studying with in the early 1980s. Alan was a big proponent of singing and playing. He would ask his students to learn a different jazz standard for each lesson. The students would then play various drum set applications from Stick Control while singing the tune out loud.203 Furthermore, Drier came to several conclusions similar to Ramsay’s and Scott’s after spending time devoted to practicing this melodic, coordination exercise using Stone’s Stick Control: I found this to be clumsy and difficult at the time, but through the years I became more aware of the value of this vocal/drumming exercise. I know now that singing out loud and playing has helped my own “musical “ sensibilities in several important ways. First, it made me keenly aware of melody as a primary musical focus when playing.204

202

Ibid Drier (2005: 18) 204 Ibid 203

138 By incorporating a melodic element within a technical, coordination exercise, as taught to him by Alan Dawson, Drier realized the overall importance of learning to appreciate melody in the context of drumming. This also led him to consider why younger drum students sometimes have issues relating the drums to a greater musical context: Drummers, especially young drummers, often focus inward, to short rhythmic phrases and on personal coordination issues. Singing the melody forces students to open their ears to a larger musical work.205 Drier also came to the conclusion that combining a technical/coordination drum exercise with a melodic component ultimately creates a larger awareness of song-form: Singing melodies forced me to focus on the structural form of each tune (AABA, AAB, ABA, 12-bar blues, etc.). Singing the melody necessitates awareness of song-form. Although Alan Dawson would allow some fudging on the melody, he was adamant about keeping the song form together on each tune. It was impossible to fool him on this, whether he was listening or playing along on the vibes. This realization that the specific knowledge of a melody leads to a larger awareness of the composition’s form is consistent with John Ramsay’s conclusions and is presumed to be an important aspect of Dawson’s teaching as well.

Joe LaBarbera, who was a student of Dawson’s at the Berklee College of Music during the 1960s, also recalled his experience of practicing these melodic Stick Control coordination exercises and recalled the overall benefit that he gained from such a practice: Alan would have us do specific things. I remember one exercise where we would be playing the patterns on page five of Stick Control. Starting at the top of that column, you’d use each two-measure phrase as a four-measure phrase. You’d have to play the exercise while you’re singing the melody. First you’d start out playing time for the first four, you’d have to sing the melody and then play the exercise at the same time as a fourbar phrase. So really you’re trading fours with yourself, basically. But the challenge is to separate your voice from your body and to be able to have that kind of independence where you’re playing whatever the specific eighth-note pattern is that’s on the page against your version of the melody you’re singing.206

205 206

Ibid LaBarbera (2011)

139 LaBarbera’s explanation emphasizes not only how this exercise develops one’s coordination on the drum set, but that specifically, it will develop a unique form of coordination. That is to say, the drummer will develop the ability to sing a melody while playing the drums and will, as LaBarbera describes, “separate your voice from your body.”207

From the experiences of Ramsay, Scott, Drier and LaBarbera, it is clear that Alan Dawson placed an importance on the musical application of his technical exercises (most notably using exercises derived from George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control). Dawson impressed upon his students the ability to incorporate such a relationship in a practical performance context as well.

To further his point, drawing on his own experience as a student of Dawson’s, Drier goes on to describe his own personal method of developing a drummer’s melodic sensibility. This method, in which he combines a technical study with a melodic basis, is summarized as follows:208 1) Acquire a recording of the tune. 2) Identify the musical structure (key, style, time signature, form). 3) Learn the melody of the “head” and sing it (play on a keyboard instrument if possible). 4) Play jazz time on ride cymbal and hi-hat on beats 2 and 4 (w/foot) and sing the melody (the melody is always sung from here on out). 5) Play the melody on the snare drum, while the ride cymbal and hi-hat maintain jazz time. 6) Play the melody around the drum set while the ride cymbal and hi-hat maintain jazz time. 7) Play the melody around the set with no cymbal ride pattern. 8) Play between the melodic phrases, around the set.

207

This is consistent with Michael Carvin’s earlier comment about trying to “…separate my mind from my body” with regards to simultaneously considering a melody and the technical aspects of drumming. 208 Drier (2005: 18, 20)

140 9) Play counter melodies around the set (use texts such as Art of Bop Drumming, Syncopation, etc.). 10) Solo and improvise around the drum set.

This multi-step exercise is designed to instill the ability to play the drums, while at all times being aware of a greater melodic context. Learning a tune, analyzing it and then progressively introducing various conceptual drum exercises will accomplish this. The intent of each step is to always consider the melody of the tune while playing the drums.

Above all, the method of Alan Dawson and experiences of John Ramsay, Arvin Scott, Joe LaBarbera and James Drier demonstrate that it is important to not only develop technical facility on the drum set but to also be able to relate those ideas and perform them in a larger musical context. This can be accomplished by vocalizing standard jazz melodies while playing the drums. Combining various technical exercises with a vocal component allows a drummer to develop a deeper awareness of melody and overall song-forms. The drummer is also able to play the drums in a variety of ways while simultaneously relating to a larger musical context.

6.2 SING A SONG

Evidently the emphasis on learning tunes and developing the ability to consciously relate to them while playing the drums is regarded as an overall important part of the drum pedagogy culture at the Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA). In addition to John Ramsay (via Alan Dawson) both drummers Ralph Peterson Jr. and Yoron Israel (both educators who teach at the school) stress the importance of learning melodies in order to enhance one’s overall sensibility as a musical drummer.

141 In his DVD Creative Jazz Improvisation for Drum Set, drummer Yoron Israel addresses this concept in the chapter “Using Melodies and Song Form as Inspiration for Improvisation.” Israel states that: Memorizing songs is crucial. Start by memorizing compositions in your favorite musical style. In the case of jazz, start with compositions based on the 12-bar blues form and 32bar AABA form. This will formulate a solid foundation.209 In terms of what jazz compositions a student should learn, Israel points to many iconic jazz composers as sources for material (this is similar to Dawson’s list of recommended repertoire): As a jazz drummer you should intimately know the works of such composers as Duke Ellington, Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Antonio Carlos Jobim and others like Charles Mingus, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and Joe Henderson among many others.210 Israel goes on to describe his process for learning tunes and emphasizes learning music from the source, utilizing an aural process to assimilate melodic information: The first step is to listen attentively to classic recordings. Then phrase the melodies as sung by the recorded artists. This will help you internalize the music. Utilize a piano or other instrument that enables you to play single notes and chords. And study the tune’s lead sheet. These tools will help confirm and crystallize what you are hearing on the recording. Later learn the other parts of the song such as lyrics, harmony, comping parts, bass lines and instrumental solos. Singing all of these parts will facilitate your ability to use this information in the context of drum set improvisation.211 Israel describes the process of properly learning a song as an in-depth study that combines the knowledge of the many aspects of a song’s construction. He also sums up the essence of learning a piece of music in that: “If you can sing it, you will be able to play it!”212

Israel adds that this overall approach gives him the opportunity to express himself on the drums in a more lyrical fashion and, again as others have stated, allows for a greater connection with the music as a whole: 209

Israel (2007) Ibid 211 Ibid 212 Ibid 210

142 I am continually working on getting the drum set to “sing.” This is a difficult task as the sticks separate us from the instrument. However, the more you can attain this lyrical quality in your drum set performance, the better you will be able to blend with a given ensemble.213 It is interesting to note that Israel, not unlike other drummers (such as Max Roach), chooses to use the terms “sing” and “lyrical” when describing the goal of his drumming style and further implies a song or vocal-like quality that he is trying to achieve in his drumming. The fact that he would choose to use melodic information to inform his drumming makes perfect sense in this regard.

Similarly, Ralph Peterson Jr. also describes his approach and overall melodic philosophy in the chapter “Playing Melody” from his instructional DVD Jazz Drumming Demystified: Clearly one of the biggest components or areas of importance in my playing is the principle of melodicism or playing melodically. At Berklee I teach a class called “Drum Set Repertoire and Applications.” Basically what that is, is you have a 12-15 week semester and you have to learn fifty tunes in that process. The reason why there are so many tunes to learn is because the more tunes you know, the more melodies you know, the more natural resources you will have for building a melodic solo. If you don’t know any melodies then your solos are reduced to patterns, exhibitions of chops and focus on technique. The problem is that’s only interesting for about five minutes!214 Like Israel, Peterson’s approach to playing melodically on the drums begins with an intimate knowledge of established melodies. His rationale for learning a body of tunes is that he feels that having a functional repertoire to draw from will facilitate an expressive and melodic solo style. Furthermore, Peterson also stresses the importance of maintaining a musical quality to one’s drumming at all times and that the specific study of melodies will facilitate this: Musicality holds the listener’s attention for a much greater period of time and appreciation. When you’re playing with a rhythm section or supporting a solo, you can be much more effective as an accompanist if you are aware of the “mile post” markers in the tune: the “A” section, the “B” section, the “C” section, how many bars are in the tune…then your level of knowledge increases exponentially if you have a harmonic

213 214

Ibid Peterson Jr. (2012)

143 awareness of how the changes are moving, how often they change, whether the sound quality changes from major to minor or from sus to dominant.215 Overall, Israel and Peterson both point to developing a high functional awareness of melodic and to a certain extent, harmonic principals as well in order to successfully fulfill their role as a musical drummer within an ensemble. This also provides a broader musical context for a drummer to play with rather than one based primarily on only rhythmic and drum-based patterns. This philosophy is shared by the teaching practices of Alan Dawson and overall, provides an insight into their approach to musical drumming. If the drum set is taught in a musical way by means of learning melodies to established jazz repertoire, then a heightened sense of musicianship while playing the drums can be achieved.

Furthermore, the idea of developing a functional repertoire by learning to sing a tune while playing the drums is recommended in both the methods of Allison Miller and Ted Warren. These are similar to Dawson’s initial exercises, and the method elaborated on by Drier.

In Miller’s article entitled “The Melody Puzzle,” Miller uses the Thelonious Monk composition “Bemsha Swing” as a tool to teach a musical approach to jazz drumming. Miller describes how new drummers generally ignore important musical considerations, and that getting deeper into a composition will ultimately offer many benefits: Aspiring jazz drummers often forget to learn the melody and form of songs. Learning the melody of a tune will inevitably improve your time, soloing and most importantly, listening skills.216

215 216

Ibid Miller (2000)

144 In Miller’s opinion, not only does developing a melodic awareness force one to familiarize oneself with the melody and form of the composition, it will also improve one’s timekeeping and soloing skills. Most significantly, as Miller points out, this will develop one’s listening and aural recognition skills.

Miller’s method is consistent with many of the others previously mentioned in that she offers a multi-step approach to learning a melody while playing the drums. She uses the Monk composition “Bemsha Swing” as a vehicle to demonstrate this method. Miller prefers the use of Monk’s compositions because: “Monk compositions are great…his melodies are very rhythmic and catchy.”217 Miller describes her method in a way similar to Drier’s because it is a progressive approach to playing the drum set. This method incorporates different ways of playing the drums, all while purposely singing the melody to a composition (in this case Thelonious Monk’s “Bemsha Swing”):218 Let’s start by playing jazz time with the metronome at 60 bpm, clicking on beats 2 and 4. Once you feel relaxed and comfortable, move on to the “Melody Puzzle” below. 1) Sing the melody while playing time. Sing out loud! Don’t be shy! 2) Play the melody with your left hand on the snare drum. 3) Play the melody with your right foot on the bass drum. Are you still singing? 4) Play the melody with your left foot on the hi-hat. 5) Play quarter notes on the bass drum and eighth-notes on the snare drum. Continue singing! 6) Make up your own combinations. The possibilities are endless. Use your imagination and have fun! 7) Try playing time for four measures. Then solo for four measures. Continue trading 4s and remember to sing, especially on the soloing!

217 218

Ibid Ibid

145 Similarly, Ted Warren describes his philosophy with regards to the importance of building a functional repertoire of jazz compositions and prescribes his own process for learning a song: If we want to play melodically in our accompaniment and soloing, we need to learn the standard jazz repertoire. The drummer in a band’s main responsibilities are knowing the melody and form of a tune, so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t know lots of tunes.219 In Warren’s opinion, the key to playing the drums in a musical way that reflects a melodic approach to accompanying and soloing relies on developing a repertoire of established jazz compositions. Much like Yoron Israel, Warren also suggests a list of recommended tunes to learn and study. He includes: “A Night in Tunisia,” “A Foggy Day,” “Solar,” “Ornithology,” “Scrapple from the Apple,” “Oleo,” “Body and Soul,” “Impressions,” “Giant Steps,” “You Don’t Know What Love Is,” “Night and Day,” “Milestones,” “So What” and “What is This Thing Called Love?” as examples of pieces that a developing jazz drummer should consider.

With regards to how to learn a given piece, Warren’s approach is also consistent with the multistep, vocal-inspired approach that many others have suggested in order to internalize a melody. Warren prescribes his method as the following:220

1) Find a recording of the tune. 2) Learn the melody and sing it along with the recording. 3) Sing it on your own. Check for accuracy in pitches and rhythms. 4) Now sing the melody along with the head (beginning and end) sections as well as the blowing (solo) sections. In other words, keep singing the melody over and over again through the entire performance. If you can keep your place, you probably have the tune memorized now.

219 220

Warren (2006: 322) Ibid

146 Many jazz drummers continually stress the concept of learning and singing standard jazz melodies, but these melodies can also be combined, in different ways, with technical exercises. To contrast the progressive, step-by-step melodic drum methods so far described, Adam Nussbaum offered a simple yet effective drum set exercise that still incorporates specific melodic knowledge with the technical study of the drum set, but through a different means. As described by Nussbaum, during his interview, this exercise consists of a drummer simply playing a steady stream of hand-to-hand, eighth-note triplets on the snare drum at a medium tempo, all while purposely and clearly accenting the notes of a melody over top.221

Danny Gottlieb describes how this simple exercise works and its possibilities: The main idea is to take the rhythms of the melody of the song and then accent that melody while playing triplets, hand to hand… It can be a bit odd at first, but it really helps develop control, phrasing, accents, and solo ideas. You can move the accents around the kit (even playing them on the bass drum).222 Furthermore, Nussbaum also believes that not only will this exercise help develop a sensibility towards musical phrasing on the drums, but it will also instill an authentic triplet-based phrasing in one’s playing: I like to play a flow of triplets on the snare drum and then accent a melody. You can do a blues, a standard, whatever you want really. It combines a musical and technical exercise into one, where you start to understand the rhythmic subdivision of what makes jazz special: the triplet. It also helps the drummer think in melodic musical phrases.223 First and foremost, all these methods that have been described emphasize the importance of learning a melody and then in various ways, being able to play the drum set while at all times still considering that melody. The goal that all these methods share is that the melody remains 221

Nussbaum suggests using any standard from the American Song Book or a piece from the jazz lexicon such as Thelonious Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser” or Charlie Parker’s “Bille’s Bounce.” 222 Gottlieb (2011) 223 Nussbaum (2014)

147 the central focus regardless of the technical considerations. Furthermore, the goal is also to encourage a drummer to practice in a way that goes beyond the mechanics of the drum set and consider a broader musical perspective as a jazz drummer.

6.3 LEARNING INSTRUMENTAL SOLOS

Several drummers, including New York drummer and tabla player Dan Weiss, furthered the notion of incorporating melodic vocal aspects into one’s drumming practice routine and development. While Weiss incorporates a vocal component similar to the other methods previously discussed, his approach differs in that his choice of vocal material is drawn from actual improvised jazz performances rather than the specific melodies they are based on. Weiss described his unique approach: Throughout the years, I’ve done a lot of memorizing and playing along with jazz instrumental or vocal solos. I’ve done a lot of that through the past 15 years where I’d learn a solo and first be able to sing it. They could be Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Bill Evans or Art Tatum or many others. I’ve worked on that very hard. And then just trying to play those melodic lines on the drums, it could be just a snare drum or the whole drum set, but really I’m trying to get the shape of the solo (more for the phrasing) and really trying to internalize the jazz language. That’s something that I recommend a lot to my students. It’s something I’ve been doing for a long time now and continue to do. The last one I was working on was an Art Tatum piano solo on “I’ve Got Rhythm.” It takes a long time, maybe a few hundred times to listen and to learn these solos.224 It is significant to note that Weiss has chosen a similar yet slightly different method to develop and apply his melodic sensibility on the drum set. He has decided to use non-drum specific musical ideas and information to influence and inform his own jazz drumming concept and vocabulary. However, instead of using standard jazz repertoire (which we will assume that he has also done) to inform and shape his ideas as a drummer, he has furthered the overall concept and philosophy shared by Dawson and others by taking the time to learn and memorize actual 224

Weiss (2011)

148 improvised and recorded solo performances by other jazz instrumentalists.

The benefit of this approach, as Weiss states, is that he can develop his rhythmic phrasing on the drums in a way that relates to the melodic and rhythmic phrasing of other vocalists and instrumentalists. He feels that the larger benefit of this is that his drumming is not restricted to drum-centric patterns or concepts, but rather it reflects a much broader musical phrasing in scope.

When asked to describe his process and if he would transcribe specific solos and write them down Weiss responded: I have done that in the past, but lately for the past 5-6-7 years it’s just been a matter of being able to sing it, really trying to get the phrasing of it and to get the intonation like dead on. And I found that that’s really helped me internalize the language you know and it’s given my playing a broader melodic sense. So it could be Thelonious Monk or Keith Jarrett…it could be a piano player or it could be a trumpet player or a vocalist like Sarah Vaughn, Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Oscar Peterson, Nat King Cole, anybody really. I really make a study of it.225

From Weiss’ experience and process of transcribing and learning melodic vocabulary from a variety of non-drummers (including various instrumentalists and jazz vocalists) we can deduce that not only composed melodic material, but also improvised melodic material, can be used as source material. The benefit, as Weiss described, is that: “It’s given my playing a broader melodic sense…that emphasizes phrasing.”226

225 226

Ibid Ibid

149 6.4 BIRD SONGS – THE INFLUENCE OF CHARLIE PARKER

Similarly, Bob Gullotti (who, like Alan Dawson, John Ramsay, Yoron Israel and Ralph Peterson Jr., is also a Boston-based drummer and educator) has long incorporated into his teaching method the use of solo transcriptions of alto saxophonist Charlie Parker found within the Charlie Parker Omnibook (1978), a book of 60 transcribed melodies and solos recorded by Parker. Gullotti has his students learn to sing the rhythms of Parker’s solos and play them on the snare drum, then around the drum set, using various assigned sticking patterns, dynamics and accents to mimic and approximate the phrasing of Parker’s playing (both his written melodies and improvised solo lines). Like Dan Weiss, Gullotti has chosen to seek musical information beyond the drums derived from an instrumental jazz soloist in order to develop a melodic sensibility on the drum set.

When asked to expand on how he came to use the Charlie Parker Omnibook as a teaching tool, Gullotti responded: About ten years ago I had a student studying with me who was a bass player and towards the end of the lesson as we were done with the material that I had given him and I said: “Let’s play a little bit” and so he took his bass out and a copy of the Charlie Parker Omnibook fell on the ground and I said: “What are you doing with that?” He replied “It’s great for bass because it gets me around the fret board really good because of Birds227 lines.” I said: “Okay play one.” So I was just accompanying him and playing time and watching him read this piece and he was getting most of the pitches good but his rhythmic accuracy was off so I started to play the rhythms of Birds solo with him and, man, like bells went off in my head! I said, wait a minute, this sounds like Max Roach and after investigating it more, of course Max was in Bird’s band and they obviously developed that bebop language together as a group. If you take Parker’s solo on the blues called “Chi Chi,” even if you just play just the rhythms without even playing along with the music, it sounds like a Max Roach drum solo. So then, I said: “Wait a minute, man this is deep.” That was the one that made me say: “Okay, I’m going to go through all of this book and I’m going to learn all these solos and just get that language together.228

227 228

Charlie Parker was commonly referred to as “Bird,” his nickname, short for “Yardbird.” Gullotti (2011)

150 As Gullotti discovered (albeit by accident!), learning the rhythms and phrasing nuances to Charlie Parker’s improvised saxophone solos offers a jazz drummer a wealth of practical information and vocabulary to use on the drum set.

It is also interesting to note that Gullotti’s practice for learning Charlie Parker’s saxophone solos had already been adopted by other musicians who play an instrument other than the alto saxophone (in this case by his student who played the acoustic double bass). This method is used as a means to develop technique and a fluency in the vocabulary of jazz improvisation regardless of one’s instrument. This is significant as it proves that musical information, initially created on one instrument, can somehow be transferred to another completely different instrument in an effective and beneficial musical manner, regardless of the instruments in question (and perhaps given the perceived technical limitations of the instrument).

Gullotti’s method for using Charlie Parker’s transcribed solos relies on having good sightreading abilities (specifically dealing with rhythm) but the intent of his method and its application goes well beyond that: To begin this study, students must have a strong knowledge of reading. But just being able to read Parker’s notes is only a small fraction of the learning to be gained from playing along with such a master.229 He stresses that the real benefit comes from matching the nuances of the “feel, phrasing and articulation of the music.” According to Gullotti: Many of the rhythmic and melodic phrases Parker used are beautiful examples of what all great soloists have used since those early days of bebop. For example, in transcribing a solo of the great jazz drummer Max Roach, one would easily see and hear a very similar rhythmic vocabulary to that used by Parker. This shows a clear correlation between these two great jazz innovators who were indeed creating a new musical language.230

229 230

Gullotti (2011) Ibid

151 Gullotti was keen to point out that in order to really benefit from this study, one has to go beyond only the rhythms of Parker’s solos. The key, he inferred, is really in trying to approximate the nuance of the phrasing that Parker achieved in his solo lines. “The phrasing and the articulation is really the thing,”231 Gullotti emphasized.

With regards to how one can actually achieve this on the drums, Gullotti offered that: Although there are countless articulations encountered during this study, Parker does use a number of classic articulations repeatedly. I will offer a few suggestions for people who may try using this book. Many times Parker’s 8th-note triplets seem similar in their articulation. I have found that if the drummer uses a RRL sticking, it seems to match well with the sound of the saxophone. When the saxophone would slur two 16ths into a longer note, for drummers this is much like a three-stroke ruff. The very common jazz figure of a 16th-note triplet followed by an 8th note seems best articulated with a single-stroke fourstroke ruff. These suggested stickings along with normal alternated RLRL stickings are, of course, just a beginning, but will at least get one started on this fascinating study.232 Significantly, this comment on the different possible sticking patterns, which in Gullotti’s opinion seem to lie well with Charlie Parker’s improvised lines, is consistent with Erskine’s earlier commentary on how variations of sticking patterns can influence the flow of a melodic rhythm.

The goal of this exercise, and others, is not to make the drums sound like another instrument. Instead it is to take larger musical ideas into consideration and draw inspiration and ideas from them. A drummer can then maximize the musical potential of the drum set.

Gullotti also offers many of his own opinions as to why the study of other instrumental solos (and in particular the music of Charlie Parker) can benefit students of jazz drumming:

231 232

Ibid Ibid

152 Many of Parker’s phrases and articulations can help the student overcome a number of problem areas in learning to solo. Specifically, the use of space is often a problem for most developing drum soloists. In playing along with Parker, the student learns to see and hear how to use space effectively and musically. This study also helps the student in dealing with “over-the-barline” phrasing. Many young players have a difficult time ending phrases that do not end on the downbeat.233 Gullotti also adds that this approach can lead to a more overall musical approach to the drum set in a solo context, with clear and complete phrasing: Another, and probably the most important aspect of this study, is the idea of line development. By playing along with Parker, students begin to hear themselves playing longer rhythmic ideas as complete musical sentences as opposed to playing a string of “licks” on the drums to form solos.234 Gullotti believes that by practicing the solo lines of a master improviser, such as Charlie Parker, one is able to develop a better musical sense of phrasing even if one doesn’t sing the exact pitches from the given transcription: I’m not that concerned about trying to copy the pitches because we just don’t have the exact pitches on the instrument (i.e. the drum set). I’m more interested in the articulation and the phrasing and I’ve gotten quite good at being able to emulate that. Similarly, from John Ramsay’s experience working with Alan Dawson, he also expressed the importance of benefiting from the overall, general phrasing of melodic rhythms rather than the exact replication of definite pitches on the drums: The idea wasn’t that you would play exactly the melody per se. That was because the drums are, as Alan explained it, what Max Roach called an instrument of “indeterminate” pitch as opposed to determinate pitch. They don’t have the exact pitches per se. What you’re after is the awareness of the melody and your conscious singing of the melody.235 Gullotti also agrees with this opinion in that the goal is not to simply replicate a horn solo on a drum set with note-for-note accuracy: I would never play a Bird line verbatim. I don’t do that but the vocabulary I got from doing it and being able to sing it back to myself as I do it has enabled me to open up my playing. I’m thinking phrases and it’s really, really helped my playing. I don’t try to 233

Ibid Ibid 235 Gullotti (2011) 234

153 emulate the pitches. I allow the natural orchestration of Bird’s stuff and I don’t have any rules on that.236 However, while he feels that it is unnecessary to emulate the specific pitches of a solo, he also adds that he has experimented with a more literal application of Parker’s melodic lines to the drums in terms of matching specific pitches with specific drums. He feels that he has achieved little success with this attempt. As Gullotti explained: I did go through that and I really studied these things. So I said: “Okay anything below the staff is going to be a bass drum. Anything from the first line E to G or A flat will be the small tom.” It sounded awful and it didn’t work! So I allow all of my students, especially the advanced students, to orchestrate it in their own way. That way, then none of us sound the same. And the individuality would start to blossom with that new language skill you know.237 While he did experiment with orchestrating parts of Parker’s melodic phrases on the drum set, assigning specific notes to specific drums, he does feel that it is important for drummers to come to their own conclusions. This, he says, allows for a fresh perspective and for individual approaches to emerge.

Ultimately, Gullotti states that the key to benefiting from learning Charlie Parker’s transcribed saxophone solos comes from developing the ability to actually sing the melodic lines: I feel as if it’s a great way to learn the language of jazz and I try to have my students sing as much of it as possible. What has happened for me is that I got a lot of it together vocally, not all the exact pitches, but the rhythms are good and so that has enabled me to be able to sing what I want to play in the jazz idiom. So now when I play, I sing everything I play.238 Again, the importance of singing a phrase and then expressing it on the drums presents itself. Gullotti describes how this process is an integral part of his own expression on the drums, not only as an improvising soloist but as an accompanist, even in the context of playing time:

236

Ibid Ibid 238 Ibid 237

154 I just personally play what I sing. I even sing my timekeeping patterns now. I’ve gotten obsessed with the vocalization and you know if you think about some other cultures, like Indian culture, the vocalization is the home; it is the music. I feel as if my right hand is a line in the music and it’s a layer of the music and if it has a statement to say then the music will be richer. I don’t think one, two, three, four. I’m singing my right hand, just about all the time.239 For Gullotti, the process of vocalizing phrases, via his study of Charlie Parker’s transcribed saxophone solos, has become a regular and integral part of his drumming practice, even in the context of timekeeping on the drums.

It is interesting to note that other musicians have also pointed to the music of Charlie Parker as a source for melodic inspiration. Joe LaBarbera suggested that other drummers, such as “Philly” Joe Jones, may have also used Parker’s melodic inventions as a source for ideas: I’ve heard tales that Philly Joe Jones developed his sound, feel and his melodic sense from Charlie Parker. He would try to play Charlie Parker melodies on the drums. I know for a fact that he started out not as a drum set player but as a rudimental drummer. That was his thing; the snare drum was it for him. So, by trying to sit down to the drum set and come up with some melodic ideas, he went to Bird. And by transcribing Bird’s melodies he was learning the language of the music.240 Similarly, New Orleans jazz drummer Ed Blackwell was also known for his intimate knowledge of Parker’s music in addition to having been highly influenced by Max Roach, Parker’s frequent collaborator during the 1940s. New Orleans pianist Ellis Maralis recalled a car journey in which Blackwell would entertain the other passengers during their travels: What Blackwell would do, he would play the snare drum – he had a snare drum on his lap – and he knew all these Charlie Parker songs, and he would play them on the drums; a sort of “Name That Tune” game as played by the drummer! Edward knew all the tunes so well and could articulate it on the drums so well that you’d have to be deaf not to hear it, I mean, he was that precise in what he did.241

239

Ibid LaBarbera (2011) 241 Schmalenberger (2000: 39) 240

155 Furthermore, in his dissertation Stylistic Evolution of Jazz Drummer Ed Blackwell: the Cultural Intersection of New Orleans and West Africa (2000), David Schmalenberger asserts that Blackwell considered the study of Charlie Parker’s music (and equally the drumming of Max Roach) as an integral part of his early jazz education and study: Blackwell then educated himself by listening to recordings of Max Roach and other prominent jazz drummers. He also studied the recordings of jazz saxophonist and Bebop innovator Charlie Parker, a process which would prove highly significant to his musical development. “That was my schooling, listening to Charlie Parker records,” Blackwell recalled in 1992: “You know, “Dewey Square” and all his records on Dial. I knew the owner of a drum shop, he used to order these records directly from New York for me. Even before they got to New Orleans on the radio, I would get them privately.242 Schmalenberger further suggests that Blackwell’s intimate knowledge of Charlie Parker’s compositions, combined with a proficient ability to execute rudimental patterns on the snare drum, allowed him to play these melodies so convincingly: To articulate Charlie Parker’s composition clearly, Blackwell presumably used various snare drum techniques – e.g. rim shots for accented notes, flams for marcato notes, rolls or ruffs for sustained notes, etc. Blackwell’s performance of Parker’s “heads” as described by Marsalis required an acute awareness of timbre, melodic shape, and form, as well as the precise technique to realize these conventions.243 Whether Ed Blackwell or “Philly” Joe Jones actually learned to sing Charlie Parker’s melodies or solos is up for speculation. The fact that both drummers were allegedly informed by Parker’s melodies as a source of inspiration for their own drumming, from at the very least a rhythmic and phrasing perspective, is highly significant. Furthermore, this is also consistent with the overall methods presented by Gullotti and Weiss in that they both used melodic material from other instruments to inform their own melodic approach on the drums.

242 243

Riley (1996: 7) Schmalenberger (2000: 39)

156 Allegedly, Charlie Parker himself directly influenced many of the drummers he played with by suggesting that they learn the lyrics to the compositions they performed. He stressed the importance of being able to sing the complex melodies of his compositions. As drummer Art Taylor recalled: I got a great tip from Charlie Parker when I was a very young fellow. I was playing with him and he said, “You have to learn all the lyrics to all the standard songs, and learn to sing all the songs we play.” Not that you’re going to be thinking about those lyrics when you play, but it’s in your subconscious, and knowing the lyrics to a song, you would not play something that is uncouth and that would turn a musician off. You would always play something that would be in context…I sing the melody. Like with a Charlie Parker song, I would sing [sings Parker’s “Scrapple From The Apple”]. I can sing every one of those notes. It gives me a tremendous advantage in a situation, which other people don’t seem to know about.244 Evidently, the melodic vocabulary of Charlie Parker has a wide appeal amongst jazz drummers. Drummer and jazz pianist Andre White suggests that it is Parker’s use of space and overall rhythmic placement within this space that makes his rhythmic and melodic content so appealing: The reason Charlie Parker’s phrases translate so well to the drums is precisely because of his prowess with time and space, the way he placed his phrases in time. The rhythms are interesting enough, but the actual rendering of those rhythms the way he did is what makes them so timeless. That’s why Philly Joe Jones sounds as powerful as he does, because he understood this from bombarding himself with Bird (recordings). He might not have been able to explain it, but I feel that he certainly exemplified that power in his playing.245 While many different compositions and soloists have undoubtedly influenced jazz drummers in terms of their melodic potential as applied to the drums, the music of saxophonist Charlie Parker, in particular, has significantly influenced many drummers. This is quite likely because of the relatively complex melodic and rhythmic structures that Parker would use as both a composer and an improviser. This appears to have had a significant appeal to the imagination and creative possibilities in jazz drumming.

244 245

Mattingly (1994: 24) White (2014)

157 6.5 HARMONIC AWARENESS

Many drum educators advocate the use of vocalizing melodies and/or instrumental solos and applying them in various ways on the drum set to improve their overall melodic sensibility and phrasing. In contrast, Bob Emry, in his Percussive notes article “Form Awareness on Drum Set” (April 1995) advocates the practice of singing only a specific musical element of a given piece to specifically improve one’s awareness of form. Emry argues the benefit of focusing on the elements of a piece’s harmonic progression to improve one’s facility with form rather than its melodic structures.

In working with various drum students, Emry encountered consistent problems when his students were tasked with soloing over a given musical structure (as opposed to soloing in a free-form, formless context): These students had developed the necessary skills to play time in various styles, to read music, count measures and improvise solos. However, they had trouble keeping their place in the musical form when they were required to solo in jazz ensemble classes. Although they could count measures, they had great difficulty soloing on a 12-bar blues or 32-measure song form.246 In terms of a prescribed method, Emry’s approach is similar to that of Drier and others. It is a multi-step process of analyzing the form of a composition, adopting a vocal component and then building progressive technical steps around that on the actual drum set. However, the major difference is that Emry chooses a harmonic focus rather than a melodic one, as emphasized by so many others. Emry’s method is described as such:247

246 247

Emery (1995: 22) Ibid

158 1) Analyze the form of the music. Use a lead sheet if it is available and determine the phrase structure (i.e., 12-bar blues, AABA, ABA, etc.). 2) Write the roots of the basic chord progression using whole or half notes and rest whenever possible. Rests are important for breathing and space. Eliminate unnecessary chords from this exercise. 3) Sing the roots of the chord progression while playing time. The instructor could reinforce the students’ efforts by playing these notes on a pitched instrument (vibes, piano, etc.) while singing with the student. 4) Sing the root notes of the progression while playing time and singing. Fill or solo during the rest measures.

Like Drier, among others, Emry cites the importance of singing while playing the drums, however he specifically sings only what he considers to be the most important harmonic roots of a chord progression (in whole notes). He leaves out other chords in order to achieve the exercise’s goals. What constitutes an important chord or an “unnecessary” chord is not clear from his description.

He does acknowledge the singing of actual melodies, however he also believes that focusing on harmonic root chord tones of a progression will ultimately serve its purpose and doesn’t believe that focusing on the melody of a piece is entirely necessary: Singing the melody of the composition will also help the performer’s awareness of the form. However, some melodies are complicated and difficult to sing while playing drums, especially for students at an intermediate level. Whereas it is interesting and challenging to sing intricate melodies as you play the drums, it is fundamental to sing the root notes of the basic chords in the progressions. Singing the root notes also increases awareness of the bass part, which further helps the performer honor the form of the composition during improvisation.248 248

Ibid

159 While Emry’s approach has merit and should be considered, he fails to address how a novice drummer might approach dealing with more complicated harmonic structures beyond that of the blues form. Given that many compositions can potentially have complex harmonic structures, this approach might be beyond the ability of many drummers. Furthermore, to diminish the role that melody plays represents a stark contrast to the other drummers interviewed and this, in my opinion, is perhaps is a bit shortsighted.

Focusing on developing and internalizing a harmonic foundation rather than a specific melodic one is echoed by Ian Froman who shared during his interview, his own thoughts on his personal relationship with the harmonic aspects of a composition while playing the drums: In many senses I think the harmony is even more important than the melody because the melody is played at the beginning of the tune and at the end, but the harmony is played throughout the entire tune. What happens is that if I can play the harmony of the tune and really follow the harmonic structure and the harmonic rhythm then I’m really inside the tune and this is particularly noticeable.249 Froman feels that internalizing the melody while playing is useful in certain situations but that an overall harmonic awareness will be more beneficial to his playing: I sing the melody to myself during the melody but if I sing the melody during anybody else’s solo it conflicts with the solo because they’re not playing the melody anymore. So what I sing or what I feel internally, it’s almost like I’m imagining the chords moving chord to chord. It’s like I’m feeling the harmony inside me, right to my core…so there’s no more melody at that point. It’s harmony, the harmonic rhythm and the form, essentially.250 He also stated that, when teaching students, he emphasizes the importance of understanding the harmonic rhythm of a given piece in order to provide a coherent relationship with the rest of the band:

249 250

Froman (2011) Ibid

160 Something that I stress with all my students is that if you don’t play harmonic rhythm, either alone on the drums or with a group, people will know that you don’t know where you are. It ends up sounding random. But if you play and are thinking harmonic rhythm on the drums…then I feel like I’m playing with the rest of the band. I’m playing the same tune as they are.251 Without a doubt, developing a harmonic awareness of a piece of music is very important and should be considered with equal weight in addition to any melodic knowledge. However, perhaps Emry’s approach, while well intentioned, is a bit of an over-simplification and fails to recognize the overall potential that can come from being able to sing a melody while drumming. As many of the drummers have stressed, truly studying all aspects of a melody gives the musician more information about the form of a composition and many aspects of a tune’s overall construction (which includes the form of the composition). Furthermore, while neither melodic nor harmonic knowledge can be directly and literally played on the drums (although it can be implied), a melodic line will ultimately inform a drummer in a greater scale than solely a harmonic focus. Melodic rhythms can also be expressed on the drums whereas it would be very difficult to play a literal harmonic progression on the drums (although it could be attempted, albeit in an abstract way!).

However, this is not to say that thinking or playing from a harmonic perspective is not significant or cannot be used effectively. Froman, on the other hand, offers a more realistic approach to dealing with hearing and using harmonic movement in a performance situation.

When interviewed by John Riley, drummer Steve Smith acknowledged how, in some circumstances, he may think more from a harmonic perspective than a melodic one in order to inform his drumming and maintain his place in the form of a composition when he is soloing. The discussion between them proceeded as follows: 251

Ibid

161 Riley: When you are soloing, what’s going through your mind? Smith: I’m singing the melody. I’m not thinking through numbers of bars at all. If I thought numbers of bars there’s a good chance I would mess up! I’m referencing the melody itself and sometimes you can even hear that in the solo itself. Riley: Would you say that’s a philosophy you use with all kinds of songs, to reference or sing the melody to yourself as you are playing? Smith: Especially in a tune like this (i.e. “Moment’s Notice”) - yes. Although there’s other tunes we do like when we play “Two Bass Hit.” It’s a blues so I’m not really thinking of the melody there but I am thinking of the twelve-bar blues form.252 It should be noted that using melody and/or harmony to inform one’s approach to playing the drum set are not mutually exclusive ideas. Certainly a drummer can use any combination of either/or to their benefit and satisfaction. It is certainly important to consider the harmonic aspects and implications of a composition and use them to one’s advantage while playing the drums (either as a timekeeper or improvising soloist). Perhaps harmony and melody should not be separated but rather considered equally as two parts of the same thing, which both contribute greatly to a drummer’s overall musical approach to the drums.

The amount of attention a drummer should place on either melody vs. harmony is highly subjective and would be very difficult to accurately measure. While many drummers acknowledge their use of harmonic awareness in their own playing, it isn’t always clear to what degree of use or accuracy they do so.

Shelly Manne described how at the every least, even a broad but intentional attention to harmony and melody is important and will yield positive results:

252

Smith (2008)

162 The drummer, if he’s aware of music as a whole and listens in terms of form, melody and chord changes, without actually studying, he can become aware of these things and use them in his playing. Even though he may not be able to name what change logically follows another, he can sense it. In jazz, the sensing of that thing is just as important as knowing253 According to Manne, specific detail in terms of melody and harmony isn’t necessarily needed to be effective. However, as Manne describes, the “sensing” of both these items, at least in a broad, general sense, is still necessary. It should be considered an important skill to develop and it represents an important aspect of jazz drumming.

6.6 SUMMARY

While melody can be used and expressed in a variety of different ways in the overall practice of jazz drumming (either as an accompanist or as a soloist), many drummers have demonstrated that it can also be applied in specific pedagogical contexts, and with great success. Incorporating a melodic element or concept into one’s teaching and/or practice regimes, combined with different technical aspects of drumming, can greatly benefit one’s musical approach to jazz drumming and overall command of the instrument. Furthermore, other drummers have demonstrated that the specific study and expression of melody can yield interesting results when further explored on the drum set.

Several jazz drummers and educators have demonstrated how melody can be incorporated into one’s practice regime. Most notably, the teachings of Alan Dawson (via himself and several of his students such as John Ramsay, Arvin Scott, Joe LaBarbera and James Drier) represent an approach in which one can combine singing various melodies along with specific technical exercises on the drum set. Dawson’s approach to teaching the drums involves the specific 253

Riley (1994: 33)

163 vocalizing of jazz standards while executing coordinated patterns from George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control. The benefit of this being, of course, that a drummer will then be able to express rhythmic patterns and different degrees of coordination on the drum set while at the same time considering the larger, overall musical context.

Similarly, drummers Ralph Peterson Jr., Yoron Israel, Allison Miller, Ted Warren and Adam Nussbaum all emphasized the importance of developing a functional knowledge of common jazz repertoire. These individuals pointed towards learning a large body of compositions as a means to developing melodic vocabulary on the drum set and becoming a competent, musical accompanist in a rhythm section. Significantly, they all described very similar, sequential methods that they use to teach repertoire development to drum students.

The concept of singing while drumming presented itself as a consistent, central theme amongst drum set educators who sought to develop not only technically competent drummers but musically inclined and aware ones as well. For some, the answer lies in singing melodies (although not using the lyrics or necessarily even the exact, specific pitches) while drumming. For others, the approach lies in actually learning melodic solos and material drawn from other instrumentalists (specifically non-drummers). Bob Gullotti cites the benefit of studying the music of bebop alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. Dan Weiss shared his extensive experience studying and learning improvised solos from a variety of musical sources including material drawn extensively from other instrumentalists. Both felt that this approach greatly benefited their overall musical approach to the drum set and had a significant influence on their sense of melodic phrasing on the drums.

164 Drummer Matt Wilson describes this concept of drawing from external musical sources and applying them to the drum set as: “Thinking beyond the boundaries of your own instrument.”254 This concept specifically refers to the idea of expanding one’s musical options as a drummer by incorporating ideas from other musical sources sought from beyond the drums. The benefit of this of course, is that a drummer will develop the ability to hear and view the drums in a larger musical context, free from a restrictive, “drums-centric” perspective, and perhaps, ideas that are non-intuitive, strictly speaking, as a drummer. Furthermore, this will also allow the potential for a drummer to develop and express creative ideas, ones that are not obviously drawn from common drum vocabulary.

Similar to the others, Bob Emry recognized the importance of singing while drumming in order to internalize the form of a composition and help keep one’s place while playing. However he advocated for focusing on the harmonic root movement of a composition rather than the melodic activity in order to do so. While he does acknowledge the importance of recognizing melody, he feels that a harmonic focus yields superior results. Ian Froman also expressed his concern about focusing too much on melody while playing in the context as an accompanist. His rationale is that this might interfere with whatever it is the soloist might be playing. Rather, he feels that an intimate knowledge of the harmonic rhythm of a piece is integral to executing a successful performance.

Overall, the common theme shared by most of the drummers addressed in this chapter is that they recognize the importance of being able to express a melodic and/or harmonic idea or concept in conjunction with the technical aspects of drum set playing. They internalize a melody by singing it out loud and then translate that into practice while they actually play the drums. 254

Wilson (2011)

165 Using melody and actually singing melodies while drumming is considered to be an effective tool in developing a high level of overall musical awareness and musicianship as a drummer. Not only do many drummers consider melody to be an important element of their own playing, but they have also sought out ways that they can put this into legitimate practice. Furthermore, many have developed structured pedagogical approaches to teaching this material to drum students in organized ways.

The overall philosophy and concept of combining a musical idea with the technical aspects of drumming and then translating it into an overall musical approach to the drum set can be summed up by Bob Moses when he states in his text Drum Wisdom: There should be a musical idea behind everything you practice, just as there should be a musical idea behind everything you play. It’s a bad habit to separate the drums from music.255 Moses, as others have stated, emphasizes the overall importance of thinking along musical lines at all times while playing the drums, even when dealing with the drums isolated in a practice room. Drumming, even in its study, should always reflect a higher musical purpose.

255

Moses (1984: 5)

166 CHAPTER 7 - MELODIC INFLUENCES

An investigation into the various influences that inform a drummer’s melodic concept on the drums is equally as compelling as the drummer’s own personal approach and application of melody on the drum set. It is worth considering many of the diverse influences (whether they be specific, individual drummers or broader styles of music and experiences) that inspire a given drummer to pursue a melodic approach to the drums. While often very personal and subjective in nature, the discussion of what sources influence a drummer to address a melodic approach to drumming can also sometimes reveal an important context for any further consideration of a drummer’s technical or conceptual approach. In particular, this information can help us appreciate why and how a drummer addresses the drum set in a given way. While these musical influences may vary considerably from one drummer to another, as a whole they are all significant and it is worth recognizing the diversity of these sources. While many individuals cited specific jazz drummers as being melodic, many other significant influences were alluded to as well.

7.1 MELODY VITAMINS – THE INFLUENCE OF THE PIANO AND OTHER MELODIC INSTRUMENTS

In conversation with Toronto bassist Steve Wallace, he recalled how when touring with drummer Jake Hanna (an accomplished sideman, formerly of Woody Herman’s “Thundering Herd”), that Hanna would frequently carry a small, portable xylophone with him, wherever he performed. In his spare time (either backstage or in his hotel room) he would often practice the melodies to his

167 favorite standards on his portable mallet instrument. Hanna referred to this as his daily “melody vitamins.”256

This anecdote reinforces not only many of the approaches to connecting with melody from Chapter Six but also presents the idea of drummers playing other melodic instruments with the goal of making a deeper connection with melody. In Hanna’s case he used a portable xylophone to do so but many drummers also look towards the piano, the vibraphone and guitar (or other instruments) as a source of melodic inspiration.

Jack DeJohnette is a prime example of a jazz drummer whose experience as a pianist has helped shape his drumming. A Downbeat magazine feature article describes that: “Another important aspect to DeJohnette’s talent is how his piano playing and writing impact his drumming and music.”257 In response to this DeJohnette agrees with this claim: They [playing piano and composing music] help me think more orchestrally. Add to that, I’ve been referred to as being one of the most melodic drummers around. That might have to do with tuning the drums in a melodic way so that every time I play one of the components on my kit, there’s always a melody happening. I’m always thinking in terms of composition. Playing the piano and writing helps me do that, and to have a better overall sense of what’s going on in the music. It also helps me to know how best to complement a composition and the soloist with their improvisation. And the instrumentalists know I can hear everything they’re playing and where they’re coming from. They have that trust that I will be there supporting them.258 In DeJohnette’s assessment, his piano playing has had a direct influence on how he hears and plays melodies on the drums as well as influencing his approach to playing a composition and accompanying other musicians. Furthermore, his self-described method

256

Wallace (2014) Ephland (2010: 39) 258 Ibid 257

168 of tuning his drums to higher pitches combined with his experience as a pianist has also influenced his melodic approach to playing the drums, particularly in a solo context: My first instrument is piano so I am always hearing melody along with the rhythm. If you’ll notice my drums are tuned relatively high to most drum sets and I tune them that way because it makes me play melodies, it makes me more melodic. So whatever drum I hit it’s going to set off a melody.259 Furthermore, DeJohnette feels that the study of the piano or a keyboard instrument should be mandatory for any drummer serious about pursuing a musical approach to the drum set: I think the would-be drummer should study the keyboard before he gets to the drums. Or he can get into piano and drums at the same time. It would help him think "music," not just "drums."… You know, everyone thinks of me as a drummer who knows how to play piano too. But, actually, I was a piano player before I was a drummer.260 Many other drummers also professed their study of the piano (or another instrument) and how this benefited their drumming. Ali Jackson described how his piano playing improved his overall sensibility, particularly to harmony, while he plays the drums: It’s a great advantage because you can understand how harmonically things work. You won’t get lost in the tune because you can hear all of it. You can understand the choices that can be made harmonically and it can prepare you for what choices you will make from a textural or rhythmic framework.261 How the study of another melodic instrument has an actual melodic impact on one’s drumming varies from drummer to drummer. For DeJohnette, the effect of learning the piano was very specific in terms of his approach as a soloist and as an accompanist on the drums. However for others, this knowledge can also benefit in a broader way. As Jason Marsalis describes, his vibraphone studies have greatly developed his understanding and appreciation for melody and harmony as a drummer in the wider scope:

259

DeJohnette (2014) Perry (1980: 27) 261 Jackson Jr. (2011) 260

169 It makes you more aware of the whole of the music: the melody, the chord changes, the form and how to interact with all of the other musicians. That’s how the vibes have helped me. It has really opened up my overall awareness of music.262 7.2 BRAZILIAN DRUMMING AND WEST AFRICAN RHYTHM

Many of the drummers interviewed considered their own personal melodic sensibilities to be influenced by other drummers, percussionists and experiences not necessarily associated with the jazz tradition. Rather, these influences came from various ethnic styles of percussion found in music traditions from other parts of the world.

For Billy Martin, the influence of Brazilian music has played a central role in terms of his own personal drum set style and, specifically, this has strongly influenced his melodic approach to the drums: I think for me it (i.e. dealing with melody) came more out of Brazilian music. In my early development I discovered Brazilian Samba and Batucada and all these different parts of Brazil that had certain specific percussion styles. What I learned, through taking apart all these rhythms, was really about all the different percussion instruments. I actually stopped playing the drums for a couple of years almost and I learned each individual instrument in the Batucada groups. So whether it be a two-tone agogo bell, the cuica, pandeiro, caixa, snare, ganza, or repinique, they all had a voice and that made me realize that there was this counterpuntal, musical and sophisticated approach to playing rhythm with a certain melodicism in there.263 Not only was Martin exposed to a style of music rich in rhythm and percussive texture, he also recognized how those individual parts represented individual melodies on their own. Then, when combined, the melodies came together to create a complex rhythmic structure that also implied, in his opinion, a certain sense of melody. Martin’s immersion into the Brazilian percussion rhythms of Batucada and Samba were so extensive that when he went back to playing the drum

262 263

Marsalis (2011) Martin (2011)

170 set, he felt that the same rhythmic and melodic sensibility that he had gained from playing Brazilian music naturally transferred over to his drum set playing: I was learning claves. I was learning two-tone clave patterns and a more expressive solo style. So this made me aware of rhythmic melody. That made me aware of melody to such an extent so that when I got back on the drum set, I was doing everything automatically. I wasn’t thinking: “Oh now I’m playing melody.” I was just always playing that way. I loved it, you know.264 As Martin’s experience developed he also quickly realized the significance of the melodic content that permeated not only Brazilian drumming styles but also found itself in other contexts: And then later, when I started getting more soloistic, improvisational and expressive, I started to realize that melody was coming out and that it was also compositional. I think when you’re thinking compositionally you can’t avoid melodic expression, in general, when you’re playing. But, as you know, melody is different to everybody. Melody can be just rhythm.265 While Martin acknowledges that the interpretation of the concept of melody can be very subjective and personal, to him the recognition of the melodic aspects of Brazilian percussion further exposed him to a wider consideration of drumming in a compositional way in general, and how melody naturally factors into this.

Martin’s personal studies also included different rhythm structures and styles found in the African diaspora, specifically the rhythmic concept of clave. He discovered how the clave rhythms from the regions of West Africa, Cuba, the Caribbean, Brazil and New Orleans, while varied, are very similar. For Martin, the way these clave rhythms are designed and interact with the other rhythms of an ensemble also implies a sense of melody and contributes to a melodic sensibility: To me, it’s like talking about rhythmic harmony and to me the way most African rhythm is structured, West and Central African rhythms in particular, they are all counterpuntal, no less than Bach’s chorales. I would say that each rhythm has its own voice (but it could even be one tone as well). When you listen to the music and you listen to the masters 264 265

Ibid Ibid

171 play, those rhythms have a deeper expression of dynamics and little tonal nuances. It’s like someone speaking a language. Each line, in a microcosmic sense, there’s a lot going on in each line. You could have, say, four rhythmic lines but each one generally has a different tone. Whether it be relative or not, you hear them because they’re different pitches or sound qualities that make them different tonally and create a melodic combination.266 Martin feels that the combination of rhythms found in a West African drumming ensemble and the different tones of the percussion instruments, when combined, lend themselves to a strong melodic combination. For Martin, his experience of playing Brazilian and West African percussion music had a profound influence on his drum set playing.

7.3 NORTH INDIAN TABLA

For Dan Weiss, the influences of his North Indian tabla studies and rhythmic concepts have greatly influenced his melodic approach to the drum set. Weiss was eager to share how his experience dealing with these particular areas helped influence his total approach to the drum set in terms of how he deals with rhythm. Furthermore, he feels that melody plays greatly into tabla playing and that this has affected his melodic approach to the drum set as well: I’ve been studying tabla for about fifteen years and a lot of the compositions, they’re kind of melodies within themselves. You have so many tones and sounds on the drums that the combination of those sounds and patterns create a kind of melody. So thinking along those lines, I’ve tried to recreate some of those melodies on the drum set. When I’m playing, I’m trying to hear the contour of the rhythms as if I was playing the Tabla but on the drum set. Overall I’ve tried to take the melodic aspect of playing Tabla but play it on the drum set, trying to capture those melodies on the drums.267 When asked to elaborate on how he achieves the replication of these tabla pieces or “melodies” on the drum set, Weiss described how he has developed very specific guidelines in order to do so. Matching certain tones and strokes, as played on the tabla, to the drum set (with further

266 267

Ibid Weiss (2011)

172 specific strokes and drums), creates a logical connection to the original patterns and instrument and, according to Weiss, a melodic sound is created as well. Weiss further commented on this: I try to be extremely specific about how I do this but allow room for trying to get a balance between the shape and the melody of the composition and keeping in mind the limitations of the drum set. There are certain phrases that are stock to Tabla which have melodic content in themselves so you have that kind of built-in intonation that you’re drawing from. So that can all be carried over to the drum set.268 Through his directed and specific studies of North Indian tabla drumming, Weiss has developed the ability to transfer this information and approach directly to the drum set. Because he feels that many of these rhythms and compositions inherently have a melodic construction to them, this built-in melodicism transfers over naturally when he chooses to play them on the drum set.

7.4 FUNK DRUMMING

Quite interestingly, Billy Martin and Peter Erskine both spoke about how they feel that melodic drumming found in other styles of drum set playing has influenced their music as well. Specifically, Billy Martin offered his impressions of how several funk drummers often exhibit a sense of melody in their approach to timekeeping. As Martin described: When I hear the great funk drummers play, like Zigaboo Modeliste or Clyde Stubblefield, I hear melodies in the way they converse between the bass drum and the snare drum, how they deal with the highs and lows of the drum set and the way they dance between the two. To me that’s got a certain melodic quality to it because you can sing those drum beats and it’s got a certain lyrical quality to it.269

For Martin, the timekeeping drum patterns of funk drummers Zigaboo Modeliste and Clyde Stubblefield demonstrate a sense of melody in the way that the syncopated figures between the snare drum and bass drum interact with each other. He feels that this is further emphasized by the

268 269

Ibid Martin (2011)

173 contrast of high and low sounds of the drum set, specifically the interaction between the snare and bass drum. He suggests that these represent a certain melodic sound due to their “lyrical” qualities; that one could even be able to vocalize or “sing” the ideas expressed.

Furthermore, Peter Erskine also pointed to Bernard Purdie as being an example of a backbeatorientated drummer whose playing also demonstrates a melodic quality: Another drummer that I would include as melodic would be Bernard Purdie if you listen to the way he connects phrases and the dynamic shape. I consider the dynamic shape to be a very important part of melody, especially when you’re talking about a percussive or drum set driven melody.270 Erskine believes that Purdie’s approach to the drum set represents a melodic approach due to his attention to the dynamic subtleties that he interjects into his timekeeping patterns. From his own observations Erskine determined that rather than playing a drum pattern in a static, monodynamic way, Purdie would often phrase his patterns with subtle dynamic crescendos and decrescendos creating, as Erskine describes, an “arc” to the overall phrase. In a conversation between Erskine and Purdie, Purdie agreed with this notion: I was talking to Bernard once, you know his beats were great and the groove was fat and clever and all these things, but I said: “Bernard, the thing that stands out probably the most to me is that whenever you would play like a descending figure on the drums, there was a very interesting crescendo/decrescendo ‘arc’ to it.” And as I was in the middle of saying this his eyes kind of opened up real wide and he got this big smile. He started shaking his head and he said that’s really where he felt his contribution was. And that was the key to it. It wasn’t so much just the fat beats that he had but he played with a sense of phrasing.271 In Erskine’s opinion, Bernard Purdie’s drumming represents a melodic approach due to the intentional dynamic phrasing of his timekeeping phrases. This is consistent with Erskine’s earlier comments that melodic drumming is not necessarily purely represented by attempting to play melodies verbatim on the drum set but instead a reflection of an intentional use of

270 271

Erskine (2011) Ibid

174 dynamics and intentional phrasing. Erskine’s own personal interpretation of Purdie’s drumming in a Funk style of music is an example of how one can apply the concept of playing melodically in a non-jazz style of music, by applying subtle nuances of dynamic contrast over the course of a timekeeping pattern.

7.5 SUMMARY

Throughout the interviews conducted over the course of this research, many jazz drummers cited a variety of influences and their sources of inspiration with regards to applying melody on the drums. While many individuals cited specific drummers as examples of being “melodic” in their style, others provided examples of other styles of music or percussion as valid melodic ideas.

Most of the drummers interviewed all praised the learning of another instrument, such as the piano or vibraphone, and general studies of harmony and music theory to improve one’s overall understanding of music and practice as a musically-aware drummer. Drummer Jack DeJohnette is a prime example of a drummer whose piano playing is viewed as having a profound influence on his drumming.

Drummers, such as Billy Martin and Dan Weiss, also shared how their approach to melodic drumming was influenced by their studies of percussion in other musical realms. For example, Martin cited his extensive study of both Brazilian and West African drumming traditions while Dan Weiss credited his study of North Indian tabla drumming and his attempts to replicate those pieces as accurately as possible on the drum set.

175 Interestingly, several drummers expressed their admiration and impressions of melodic drumming in contexts other than that of jazz drumming. Peter Erskine discussed a broad impression of melodic drumming in Bernard Purdie’s use of subtle dynamic nuances while maintaining timekeeping patterns in a funk or rock/pop drumming context. Similarly, Billy Martin also cited the examples of funk drummers Zigaboo Modeliste and Clyde Stubblefield as being melodic by virtue of their syncopated snare drum and bass drum combinations, used while playing time in a funk drumming situation.

Recognizing the variety of influences that inspire a drummer to pursue a given conceptual or technical approach is significant and worthy of including in this discussion. Perhaps this discussion can offer some insight into why drummers choose to express themselves in the way that they do. Furthermore, if we can identify the variety and depth of these different sources then perhaps we can also use these roots to inform, motivate and inspire our own personal conceptual and technical approach to dealing with melody on the drums.

Bob Gullotti perhaps best sums up the overall benefit of studying a diverse collection of ideas and experiences in that: “The more you understand, the better you’re going to play. The more you understand, the deeper the music can get!”272

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176 CHAPTER 8 - CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY The musical potential of the drum set is limited only by the imagination, intention and overall musicality of the drummer who plays this instrument. In this dissertation I have explored how the consideration of melody can be used in various ways, to explore the musical and creative potential of the drum set in the context of jazz music. Keeping this mind, the specific question I originally asked over the course of this thesis has been: How do jazz drummers use melody when they play the drums? The various means in which a melodic approach to jazz drumming is practiced and accomplished has been addressed throughout this research primarily through analyzing and comparing interviews with several of today’s accomplished jazz drummers. Furthermore, ideas and concepts from a variety of other sources have assisted in compiling a wide collection of resources. Overall, these all relate to a broad discussion of how melody is used from a jazz drummer’s perspective.

As demonstrated from the commentary offered by many different jazz drummers, I have discovered that melody can be used on the drum set in varying capacities. This ranges from literal and specific applications on the drums, to broader conceptual (even philosophical) considerations. The personal insights into how melody factors into a jazz drummer’s performance practice that are presented in this research, reveal a multitude of practical information and a wide range of ideas that can be considered when asking the further question: “What does melodic jazz drumming mean?”

177 My investigation and analysis of the conducted interviews revealed many common themes and areas related to melodic jazz drumming. The ideas that emerged from these discussions have been organized so that specific common thematic areas can be further discussed. I have organized my observations and conclusions into seven specific thematic areas that emerged over the course of this research. These areas include: 1) general overall philosophies that acknowledge melody in a way that promotes playing the drum set generally as musically possible, part of a broader approach to musical drumming; 2) applying melodic principles and concepts while playing the drums in an ensemble, as an accompanist, and in a general, in a timekeeping context; 3) using melody as a tool to construct and develop improvised drum solos derived from some kind of melodic concept; 4) a discussion about the style and influence of jazz drummer Max Roach; 5) devising techniques to manipulate the pitches of the drum set in order to approximate, to varying degrees of accuracy and specificity, actual pitches and specific melodic content on the drum set; 6) incorporating melody into drum set pedagogy, combining technical studies with a melodic concept in order to develop a broader sense of musicality on the drum set in conjunction with expanding one’s technique on the instrument; 7) discussion related to diverse formative influences that reflect a melodic approach to drumming.

8.1 WHY IS MELODY IMPORTANT?

Fundamentally, melody is considered by most of the jazz drummers I surveyed as being part of an important overall musical approach to playing the drum set. The answers to the first question that I presented during the interviews: “Why is melody important?”, reveal a fundamental philosophy and attitude that recognizes principles of utmost musicality as an overall priority (rather than a narrow rhythmic, drum-centric approach, strictly-speaking). The drummers in question all consistently consider themselves to be: “musicians first, drummers second” and

178 “musicians that happen to play the drums.” In Adam Nussbaum’s own words: “The music is our main priority, our foremost priority. . .We are obligated to serve it, protect it and honour it.”273 For Nussbaum and others, recognizing and reflecting melody in their playing is part of an overall musical approach to the drum set which serves to benefit the entire ensemble and the overall fabric of the music in question. This is accomplished by playing the drums in a way that is sympathetic (for example: texturally, dynamically, rhythmically, etc.) to the rest of the ensemble. For many drummers, melody is part of a larger musical equation, one that recognizes that the drums and rhythm are only pieces of a larger overall musical consideration.

8.2 THE MELODIC DRUMMER AS AN ENSEMBLE PLAYER

How jazz drummers literally apply melody when they play the drums takes on many different forms. Generally, the application of melody in terms of actual performance practice, can be divided into two areas: 1) when drummers are playing with other musicians (as an accompanist) or 2) when drummers are playing by themselves (as a drum soloist).

When playing with other musicians, jazz drummers commonly use melody as a musical reference point. For some, constant internal repetition or recollection of the initial melodic theme allows them to maintain a regular, steady tempo during a performance. For others, specific study and constant referral to the original melody of a composition reveals the overall form and structure of a piece. Both uses of melody employ the use of not only recognizing its composition but also analyzing it and consistently using it as an internal reference point while playing the drums. When the drummer accurately and consistently reflects the form (or structure) of the

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179 piece, they are able to help contribute to the overall cohesiveness of the ensemble in a meaningful way.

Furthermore, while the drums are not considered to be a harmonic instrument (certainly at least not in the same way as a piano, guitar, double bass, etc.), the constant melodic awareness throughout a piece of music allows a drummer to develop a sort of a musical “common denominator” which allows them to connect with other instrumentalists. This ultimately allows a drummer to efficiently play together with others, rather than dealing with an approach that focuses strictly on rhythm.

These approaches, in which a melodic awareness is used in aid of a timekeeping structural role, demonstrate that at the very least thinking of melody, while not necessarily playing melody, is considered to be an important aspect of melodic drumming and contributes to an overall melodic sensibility in one’s playing.

Keeping in the context of playing the drums as an accompanist, some drummers viewed the idea of playing melodically not in terms of “what” they play but rather “how” they play something on the drums. For these drummers, how a rhythmic passage is played in terms of its articulation (as either a long or short notes) in conjunction with which instruments it is expressed on (i.e. orchestration) is representative of a melodic approach to jazz drumming.

180 8.3 THE DRUMMER AS MELODIC SOLOIST

The interviewed drummers presented many different interpretations and approaches to the application and interpretation of melody in a drum solo context (i.e. considering melody in an improvisational context).

Many addressed the question of whether or not it is absolutely necessary to approach playing a drum solo with specific pitches in mind in order for it to be considered genuinely melodic. Most felt that while it was a worthy (and impressive!) approach, the concept of melodic drumming was not necessarily dependent on doing so.

Many drummers preferred the idea that one’s overall musical intentions, when soloing, were actually the central elements that directed one towards melodic phrasing. That said, many believe that if a drummer is thinking and playing with a melodic intention in mind, melodic phrasing will reveal itself, in some way and at some level, in their playing.

However, while the intention of a drummer is indeed significant it does not necessarily provide clear answers as to how a drummer can play melodically on the drums without the use of clear, pitch-based material. Just because a drummer is thinking of melody while he is soloing, or intending to play with a melodic idea, does not absolutely guarantee that the results will offer a clear melodic sensibility. This is because the definition of what ultimately constitutes a melodic approach to jazz drumming can vary from drummer to drummer and is, perhaps, highly subjective. This answer, while honest, still adds a bit of mystery in the search for its true meaning.

181 The overall theme of clear and organized rhythmic phrasing was consistently mentioned as a way to create a melodic sensibility on the drum set. Clearly, for many drummers, the overall organization of a drummer’s rhythmic phrases at different levels (for example, playing in four and eight bar phrases, improvising over the form of the piece) plays an important role in creating a melodic sensibility. As Lewis Nash stated (among others), the impression of a melodic statement on the drums comes from intentionally playing clear and definitive ideas (described by Gullotti and Nash as being “lines” or “linear drumming”) all organized in a logical and developed way. Bob Gullotti described these melodic “lines” as having a clear “beginning, middle and end to them.”274

Furthermore, many described the use of repetition, space (rests), dynamics, accents and even sticking patterns as being key elements towards creating melodic ideas on the drum set. These elements all contribute to creating what Matt Wilson, Peter Erskine, Barry Elmes and John Riley all described as playing melodic “shapes” on the drums.

The transcription and analysis of a performance by Roy Haynes further illustrate these concepts. This performance demonstrates that a great deal of melodic continuity can be clearly achieved on the drum set. In the case of Haynes’ performance on “In Walked Bud,” Haynes demonstrates how the literal rhythms of the original composed melody can be orchestrated on the drum set in a clear way. His subsequent improvisation also demonstrates how the repetition and development of specific rhythmic ideas and themes can be developed over measured eight-bar phrases.

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182 8.4 MAX ROACH

While Roach chose not to emphasize the notion of melody in his own assessment of his personal approach to the drums in a solo context, but rather the overall organization of his drumming, it is not to say that other drummers haven’t recognized a melodic sensibility in his playing. Regardless of his interpretation of his own playing, Roach’s influence in this area continues to be profound.

Many jazz drummers shared and discussed their influences with regards to dealing with the drum set melodically. Jazz drummer Max Roach was consistently cited as a major influence in this area despite the fact that Roach himself chose to refer to his approach as being a style of “conversational drumming.” Max Roach cited listening to solo jazz pianists, North Indian percussionists and an overall desire to deal with the drum set in a musical way as being influences towards his own personal solo style.

Despite Roach’s reluctance to describe his own playing as being “melodic,” his innovative and highly musical approach continues to wield a great influence over many jazz drummers. Furthermore, an analysis of Max Roach’s solo drum set composition “Conversation” reveals his organized approach to drum soloing that uses clear phrasing and the development of orchestrated rhythmic motifs. Overall Roach’s approach to the drum set is significant to the overall discussion of melodic jazz drumming.

183 8.5 MANIPULATING THE PITCHES OF THE DRUMS

This dissertation also explored the specific technical approach of changing the pitch of the drums to create melodic content. As Ari Hoenig demonstrated through his in-depth commentary on his specifically developed techniques, the overall collection of discernable pitches of a limited selection of drums can be manipulated by pressing into the drum and applying tension to the drum head. According to Hoenig, with enough diligent and specific practice, a drummer can express melodies as clear as any other instrument. Hoenig’s approach and investment in these techniques represents some of the most in-depth discussion on this topic.

Similar to Hoenig’s approach, but not as specific, is Jeff Hamilton’s approach to playing melodies on the drum set (specifically in reference to his drum solo interpretation of the composition “A Night in Tunisia”). While Hamilton’s approach impresses a great deal of melodic continuity, it does not rely specifically on replicating the exact, pitch-for-pitch, accuracy of notes in order for it to be successful. As Hamilton describes it, he is creating a mirage in order to convince the listener that he is, in fact, playing a melody. This is accomplished by accurately reflecting the overall phrasing of the melody on the drums (i.e. accenting the change in direction of the pitches by either playing different drums or occasionally increasing the pitch of a drum by pressing in to it, like Hoenig, and using accents and subtle dynamic shifts within the phrase). While Hamilton’s approach is not as specific as Hoenig’s, we are still left with an overall impression of a complete melody being stated on the drums that uses, to a certain extent, the manipulation of a drum head’s tension.

184 The lessons gained here are that melody can indeed be reflected on the drum set (an instrument often considered to be an instrument of indefinite pitch) with specific degrees of accuracy through specifically applied techniques.

8.6 MELODIC DRUM SET PEDAGOGY

Using melodic concepts in the context of drum set pedagogy was also found to be a significant application of melody. Many teachers have devised methods of practicing various rhythmic and technical coordination patterns on the drum set that also involve the student simultaneously considering some sort of melodic concept. The goal of these methods is to encourage drum students to think of playing the drums from a musical context rather than from a narrow, technical and drums-centric perspective. For example, the method taught by educator Alan Dawson combines technical aspects of drum set playing with singing or humming common jazz melodies in order to promote an overall musical awareness and approach to drumming.

Many drummers and drum teachers look to non-drumming melodic examples as a means to influence their own approach, teach improvisation, and develop vocabulary on the drums. For example, Bob Gullotti points to the solo improvisations of saxophonist Charlie Parker via The Charlie Parker Ominbook while Dan Weiss transcribes and learns improvised solos by other instrumentalists and vocalists (all non-drummers) to develop their solo vocabulary on the drum set.

185 Overall, these different pedagogical approaches teach us that melody can be used and successfully combined with technical drum set studies. A common philosophy emerges that music and drumming should never be separated but rather integrated, even in the context of the practice room. Similarly, musical ideas and vocabulary from beyond the drum set can successfully be used in creative ways on the drums.

8.7 MELODIC INFLUENCES

Many jazz drummers discussed their influences, from a melodic perspective. Specifically these discussions of various melodic influences included sources from outside the realm of jazz drumming. These influences included learning to play the piano, or other melodic/harmonic instruments (in particular through the experience of drummer Jack DeJohnette), Billy Martin’s extensive study of the rhythmic and percussion traditions found in Brazil, Cuba and West Africa and Dan Weiss’ study of North Indian tabla drumming. Peter Erskine and Billy Martin also praised the intricate and sophisticated rhythmic styles of funk drummers such as Clyde Stubblefield, Zigaboo Modeliste and Bernard Purdie as being significant examples and influences on their own playing from a melodic perspective. These were all described as being profound influences towards melodic drum set playing, at least in some capacity.

The variety and depth of influences with regard to melody demonstrates the significance of studying different styles of music and studying different drummers. While melody can certainly be found in a variety of contexts, it is clear that melody is something that great drummers listen for across all genres and through the study of other instruments.

186 8.8 LIMITATIONS AND CHALLENGES OF THIS RESEARCH

Several limitations were revealed over the course of this research. Most notable was the relative lack of available literature specific to the topic of melodic jazz drumming. To compensate for this lack of resources, a significant number of personal interviews were conducted with current jazz drummers, recognized experts in their field, in order to solicit their own personal opinions and experience with the subject matter.

The interviews were extremely beneficial and proved to be an invaluable resource and integral part of this discussion. However, several challenges presented themselves here as well. Many of the drummers, while enthusiastic about the prospect of talking about melody and greater overall musical concepts as applied to the drum set, demonstrated some degree of difficulty in articulating how they actually apply these specific concepts. Some individuals were able to answer certain questions more completely or clearly than others. This raises an important issue that some artists may be able to play or express themselves effectively in certain regards, but when it comes time to explain or even describe their own artistic process, their explanations aren’t necessarily clear or complete. The result of this, of course, is that some of the answers that many individuals provided were possibly incomplete, convoluted, or sometimes off on unrelated (yet highly interesting!) tangents.

One of the main goals of this paper was to ascertain how different jazz drummers think about how they consider melody when playing jazz drums (whether conceptually or technically, or a combination of both). The difficulty is that what individuals think they are doing in a situation, compared to what they are actually doing, can vary greatly!

187 8.9 FURTHER STUDY

Further study and research about melodic drumming should also be considered and explored. Possible courses of further research may include expanded interviews to reflect the concepts, thoughts, opinions and techniques of a larger pool of jazz drummers, and possibly even drummers and percussionists from outside of the jazz realm. Furthermore, it would be of great value to have each interview participant demonstrate their own approach to melodic drumming in a controlled environment.275 These examples could be recorded and then compared from both an audio and visual perspective.

It would also be worthy to discuss impressions of melodic drumming with other jazz instrumentalists and compare their thoughts and opinions on their rhythmic counterparts. The impressions of melodic drumming from a non-drummer perspective could potentially reveal some interesting and relevant observations and points for discussion.

From a technical standpoint, further transcriptions of selected performances by different jazz drummers should be considered, compiled and analyzed with the intent of establishing specific instances and examples of melodic continuity within their playing (whether as a soloist or as an accompanist). It would also be of value to transcribe a drummer’s performance and then followup with the actual drummer in question, and if possible gain first-hand insight into what they were thinking (or perhaps even what they weren’t thinking!). This would provide information on how melody may or may not have factored into their performance.

275

For an example of how this can accomplished refer to Steve Smith and Adam Nussbaum’s DVD production The Art of Brush Playing (2007) for a comparison and discussion of brush techniques between several established jazz drummers.

188 In terms of considering approaches to melodic jazz drumming that rely on manipulating the pitches of the drums themselves, more specific attention could be given to transcribing and documenting this approach (for example the works of such drummers as Ari Hoenig and Jeff Hamilton). Specifically, a method of notation that accurately and realistically represents the manipulation of pitches on the drum set should be explored and considered.

8.10 PERSONAL BENEFITS

As a currently active and practicing jazz drummer and teacher, I have personally benefited from this research. The personal insights I gained have allowed me to successfully implement many of these concepts in my own performance practice as a contemporary jazz drummer. The conceptual and technical ideas that I have discovered with regards to melodic jazz drumming have been, and will continue to be, great sources of practical information and inspiration in the years to come. Furthermore, the information collected has also been an excellent source of pedagogical ideas, which I will continue to use with students of jazz drumming in my own teaching practice.

8.11 CODA

This paper has discussed many conceptual and technical applications of melody largely through the words and experiences expressed by current and contemporary jazz drummers. Regardless of its application, I have discovered that jazz drummers consistently view melody as being a key element in terms of embracing music as a whole. These drummers are able to reflect this philosophy on the drum set in a number of different ways. Fundamentally, accomplished jazz drummers and educators recognize musicality as being a high priority in their own playing and

189 that melody is an integral part of being a musical drummer. To reinforce this point, as Bob Moses so eloquently stated during the beginning portion of this paper: “If you know only drums, you don’t necessarily know music but if you know music, then you know drums!”276

While the exact definition of what constitutes melodic jazz drumming varies considerably, it has been shown to be applicable and expressed in many common ways with regard to jazz drum set playing. I feel that this research has highlighted the overall importance of thinking and playing melodically as a jazz drummer. The application of melody on the drum set should be taught and practiced. The consideration and creative exploration of melody on the drum set should be pursued with an overall musical goal in mind.

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194 White, Andre. e.mail message to author. September 18, 2014. Villanueva, Rodrigo. “Jeff Hamilton’s Melodic Approach.” In Percussive Notes (February 2007): 16-23. Whitehead, Kevin. “Max Roach: Drum Architect.” In Downbeat (October 1985): 16-18. Whittal, Arnold. The Oxford Companion to Music, 1st ed., s.v. “Counterpoint.” New York: Oxford University, 2002. Whittal, Arnold. The Oxford Companion to Music, 1st ed., s.v. “Melody.” New York: Oxford University, 2002. Zhang, Wei-Hua. “Some Characteristics of Max Roach’s Music.” In Percussive Notes (April 1996): 7-20.

195 DISCOGRAPHY RECORDINGS Blakey, Art. Orgy in Rhythm. Blue Note (1957). BLP 1554/1555. Blakey, Art. Drum Suite. Columbia (1957). CL 1002. Blakey, Art. The History of Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. Blue Note (1991). CDP 7971902. Braxton, Anthony and Max Roach. Birth and Rebirth. Black Saint (1978). BSR 0024. Braxton, Antony and Max Roach. One in Two, Two in One. Hat Hut Records (1979). hatOLOGY 601. Hamilton, Jeff. Jeff Hamilton Trio Live. Mons Records (1996). MR 874-777. Hoenig, Ari. Time Travels. IK Recordings (1999). Hoenig, Ari. The Life of a Day. Ah Ha Records (2003). Monk, Thelonious. Misterioso. Riverside (1958). OJCCD-206-25. Roach, Max. Deeds, Not Words. Riverside (1958). RLP 12-280. Roach, Max. Drums Unlimited. Atlantic (1966). LP 1467. DVDs Glass, Daniel. The Century Project: 100 Years of American Music from Behind the Drums (1865-1965). DrumChannel.com (2012). Gray, Edward. Different Drummer, Elvin Jones. Rhapsody Films (1986). Hoenig, Ari. Melodic Drumming. Jazzheaven.com (2012). Israel, Yoron. Creative Improvisation for Drum Set. Berklee Press (2007). Peterson Jr., Ralph. Jazz Drumming Demystified. Jazzheaven.com (2012). Smith, Steve and Adam Nussbaum. The Art of Playing with Brushes. Hudson Music (2007). Smith, Steve and John Riley. Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. Hudson Music (2008).

196 APPENDIX A - INTERVIEWS Allen, Carl. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: July 18, 2011. Baron, Joey. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. Berlin: August 1, 2011. Drummond, Billy. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: June 7, 2011. Elmes, Barry. Interview by author. Digital audio recording. Toronto: October 10, 2007. Erskine, Peter. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. Los Angeles: June 6, 2011. Froman, Ian. Interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: March 25, 2011. Gullotti, Bob. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. Boston: August 8, 2011. Israel, Yoron. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. Boston: June 17, 2011. Jackson Jr., Ali. Interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: March 24, 2011. LaBarbera, Joe. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. Los Angeles: August 15, 2011. Mackrel, Dennis. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. Woodstock: March 10, 2008. Marsalis, Jason. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. New Orleans: September 22, 2011. Martin, Billy. Interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: March 23, 2011. Nash, Lewis. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: September 29, 2011. Nussbaum, Adam. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: October, 2011. Ramsay, John. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. Boston: November 13, 2011. Riley, John. Interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: March 23, 2011.

197 Waits, Nasheet. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: November 5, 2011. Washington, Kenny. Interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: March 28, 2011. Weiss, Dan. Phone interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: November 20, 2011. Wilson, Matt. Interview by author. Digital audio recording. New York City: March 29, 2011.

198 APPENDIX B - TRANSCRIPTIONS

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