Jazz In this first lesson I will try to illustrate the importance of a drummer’s sound in a jazz setting.

I will touch
Lesson 1 on the role of the ride cymbal, form/phrasing, and comping in conjunction with an exercise on sound and
another exercise on independence. I hope you enjoy it! – Sara T.
By Sara
Tomassetti
Jazz — Part One: The Basic Concepts

As a drummer performing in a group setting, you will have to know some basic concepts that apply to all drumming
regardless of style. Time keeping, feel and listening are among the qualities that produce a great drummer. In a jazz set-
ting (small to large combos, not big band--that is another lesson), there are several additional things to think about: the
bass player, the soloist, the melody and harmony of the tune, the phrasing and so on. So when diving into the jazz arena,
I would suggest working on these things first:

I. Ride cymbal pattern

The majority of how you establish the time is done with your ride cymbal and hi-hat.

Instead of playing the regular phrase, try playing quarter notes. It may sound a little too simple, but this will really give
you the chance to lock in with the bass and create the groove, also known as swing. When I first starting playing jazz, I
jumped in to things like comping and soloing, and I really missed the importance of my ride cymbal. A few months later
I became unsatisfied with my feel and stripped away all my preconceptions of jazz drumming and started over — it was
a very long and tedious process. To avoid this happening to you, work on your ride cymbal first.

EXCERCISE 1: The Ride Cymbal

Take out a jazz cd that you like and play along only on your ride. Feel the music, the pulse, and close your eyes; picture
yourself playing along with the band. At first play quarter notes.

Sound Byte 1 - Jeff Tain Watts

Notice the swing Jeff "Tain" Watts creates by just playing quarter notes. The exercises below are listening exercises, as
well as playing exercises, follow each step in order to achieve maximum results.

i. a) While playing listen to the bass player and the drummer on the cd. Notice how they work together, and
listen to the relationship they have.
b) Ignore the drummer on the cd, and just listen to the bass. Lock in with the bass player.
c) Next listen to the rest of the band, still excluding the drummer. Listen to how they communicate with one
another.
d) Now listen to the whole band with the drummer. Listen to how he or she communicates in a group
setting. You may find you don t like what he is playing or you may feel that you would play differently —
and that is perfectly all right! Everyone has his or her own style and voice. If you like what that drummer
is playing, practice some of his comping styles or licks, transform them, and then make them your own.

ii. Once the quarter note pattern feels good to you, try different tempos; starting out at medium tempo works
best in the beginning. Start at quarter note = 100bpm, then 60, then 140 and go up from there.

© 2001 Happy Mazza Media LLC

 Jazz iii. When you become more comfortable you can start to add notes to the pattern and mix it up a bit. Try put
ting the skip note in different places instead of always playing the same pattern, which can get boring not
Lesson 1 only for you but for the listener as well.
By Sara
Tomassetti

Make sure you practice these three exercises with your ride cymbal only! I can assure you that these exercises will
keep you busy for a while, but in the end the effort will be well worth it. Establishing a solid groove with your ride and
hi-hat will give the other players the freedom to run with the music instead of worrying about whether or not their band
is swinging.

Locking in with the bass player, whether it s quarter notes, half notes, or swung sixteenths, will establish the solidity and
feel that will make others want to keep you on the gig. (Imagine playing along with a metronome only it s not the "beeps"
you re following but the notes the bass player is playing.) After a while you may not hear the bass notes anymore--that s
a great sign; it means you re right on. That sounds easier than it really is: some people play behind the beat, others ahead.
Whatever situation you are in, try your best to be in tune with each of the players and to listen to each other. Listening
is key.

II. Sound

Since your ride cymbal and hi-hat have very important and distinct time-keeping roles, they should be the most "visibly"
heard, then comes the snare and bass drum. In a small combo jazz setting, the drummer s overall sound is very impor-
tant. Sticking out like a sore thumb is not always appropriate in this kind of music, even though in other genres, it can
be just what the music needs. Think of the snare and bass drum as being sprinkles on top of a cup cake: just the right
amount adds a great look but too many and you cover up the frosting.

Sound Byte 2 - Philly Joe Jones

Sound Byte 3 - Max Roach

Notice the sounds of their rides. Also observe how they use their snare and bass drum. It can be very discouraging to
hear a group where the drummer is slamming down rim-shots in the middle of a mellow piano solo or a huge bass drum
note that just doesn t belong. It sounds like a bomb is going off at the wrong time.

III. Form/Phrasing

Knowing the form of a tune is very important. The A section is different than the B. If they were the same they would
have the same letter, so why play them the same? Usually the B section of the tune is a marker for a lot of people.

Sound Byte 4 - Elvin Jones

In this example, Elvin Jones illustrates the A sections with a latin feel and the B sections with a swing feel. If you have
phrasing that follows the tune, chances are the other musicians will pick up on this and no one in the group will get lost
in the tune or let their solo run over. Think of the melody while you re comping. Play some of it while someone is solo-
ing at the appropriate time.

If you know the melody of the tune and can sing it while you are playing, chances are you will always know where in the
song everyone is, and if you have to trade fours or take a solo yourself, it won t sneak up on you. Have you ever been
playing and then all of a sudden everyone in the group stops and looks at you and you realize, "Uh-oh solo time!" But
where were you? Maybe you were counting the tune and got lost. If you knew the melody, you probably wouldn t have
gotten lost. Assisting the other members of the band know the form of the tune is often overlooked by drummers. Always
keep the form of the tune going through the piece, during the melody and during the solo s.

© 2001 Happy Mazza Media LLC

 Jazz IV. Comping
Lesson 1 In jazz music, while one person takes a solo, the other musicians — like the drummer, pianist or guitar player — will fill
By Sara up the spaces and keep the momentum of the tune going by comping. A loose definition of comping is: free bits of improv-
isation that feed the soloist and communicate with the group. It s important to remember that while in a jazz setting--
Tomassetti
actually any setting--the drummer s most important role is to establish the time and feel. After that is accomplished, the
drummer is allowed to have some fun.

Comping basically allows the drummer to help create the mood of the solo, enhance the intensity of the solo, as well as
determine the direction in which the solo goes. It s important to remember that the volume you are comping at should be
relative to your overall sound and not overpowering or distracting from the ride. I particularly admire the comping style
of Roy Haynes--

Sound Byte 5 - Roy Haynes

EXERCISE 2: Beginning Independence

1. Play ride pattern 1 until comfortable. Start at quarter note = 100bpm.

2. When ready, play figure 1 on the snare until comfortable. Then, when ready, play the same figure on the
bass drum. Finally, play figure 1 with both snare and bass together. Make sure that you do not move to
the bass drum until you are absolutely comfortable with the pattern on the snare. Also if the tempo indicated is too
fast, slow it down. Remember: there is nothing wrong with slow!

3. Keeping the same ride pattern, move to figure 2--snare first, then bass, then together.

4. Once you ve done each figure with the ride pattern 1, move to ride pattern 2 and go through figures again,
as you did with ride pattern #1 (snare first, then bass, then together), until each figure is comfortable. After
you ve practised ride pattern 2, move on to ride pattern 3. *Note ride patterns 2 & 3 are with a swing feel.

5. Finally practise steps 1-4 at slow, medium and fast tempos. Make sure that you know your limits and are
comfortable.

© 2001 Happy Mazza Media LLC

 Jazz Further Reading:
Lesson 1 To further develop your independence and knowledge of the jazz vocabulary, check out these books: Jim Chapin s
By Sara Advance Techniques for the Modern Drummer; this book is considered by most to be the bible of jazz drumming, cov-
ering independence, comping and soloing. Another great book is John Riley s The Art of Bop Drumming, which con-
Tomassetti tains independence exercises, transcriptions of bop drummers, some jazz drumming history, comping, soloing, and brush-
es — plus it comes with a cd.

Of course, books could never take the place of listening to the people who started it all. From the early beginnings of
jazz with Count Basie s Big Band, to Charlie Parker and Miles Davis, there are too many to list. John Coltrane s "Blue
Train," (1957) with Philly Joe Jones, and Miles Davis 1959 album with Jimmy Cobb, "Kind of Blue," are considered
classic jazz recordings. Both of these albums are an excellent introduction for your journey into jazz.

Sound Bytes:

1. Jeff "Tain" Watts, "Stompin At the Savoy." Harry Connick, Jr., When Harry Met Sally Soundtrack. 1989

2. Philly Joe Jones, "Surrey With Fringe On Top." Miles Davis, Steamin. 1956

3. Max Roach, "Jordu." Clifford Brow and Max Roach, Self-Titled. 1954

4. Elvin Jones, "Summertime." John Coltrane, My Favorite Things. 1960

5. Roy Haynes, "As Long As There s Music." The Roy Haynes Trio, Just Us. 1960

Sara Tomassetti Bio

Influenced by friends and high school band director, Sara Tomassetti began playing drums at age 13. This spawned an
intense relationship between Sara and drumming. After graduating from high school, Sara attended Berklee College of
Music in Boston and graduated in 1998 with a degree in Percussion Performance. She is currently playing with her new
band, Dr. Gloop, teaching privately and working at Music Tech in Minneapolis, MN.

Link to my previous bands page:

http://home.mn.rr.com/lpeckham/spermatozoa/ -where you can download samples of my playing with Spermatozoa and
my current project, Dr. Gloop, mp3 site coming soon.

email:
Scarahead@aol.com, to take lessons in Minneapolis or to write with questions.

© 2001 Happy Mazza Media LLC