If you are serious about the drums then you need to know about the heroes of big band drumming, the music they made and why they were pivotal in the evolution of our instrument.
How many of you players out there are using a 'one up, two down' set up? I hope all of those of you who are know that this arrangement of drums was introduced by Gene Krupa.
Krupa was the first drumming 'celebrity' for the want of a better expression. He propelled the star drummer as both team player and soloist into the mass consciousness of America and later, the rest of the world.
The drummers of this time were not college educated, they didn't have drum camps, clinics or the internet. Most of the study material that was available had its roots in the rudimental tradition. Krupa and Buddy Rich were two among many who gave their names to tuition books, but even they shone comparatively little light on the drummer's function in the band when you compare them to what we have available today. Of course there were legendary drum authorities back then like Billy Gladstone, Sanford Moeller, Henry Adler, Murray Spivak and countless more, but the drummers of the day got the bulk of their education on the bandstand, on the bus and on the road.
In order to be a big band drummer you needed ability, dedication and experience. Not that these are not prerequisites of drummers of all styles who wish to pursue a performing career, before or s evbut this was a time when hit making, chart topping music was at an unprecedented level of sophistication as never before or since.
Over four parts I'm going to be discussing some of the great players as well as attempting to give a little insight into some key concepts of the style.
There is probably no era or musical style that influenced the development of the modern drumset as we know it today than the golden age of big band drumming during the 1930s and 1940s. Key elements of the drum set; hi hats, ride cymbals, tuneable toms (a big innovation for the time) all first came into common usage during this period. In addition a great deal of what we play on the drum set across all manner of styles and genres can be traced back to the swing era. One key player made the biggest impact, and to this day is irrefutably one of the few genuine ‘star’ drummers, the legendary Gene Krupa. Krupa simplified the drum set, tripping away of ‘traps’, temple blocks, effects etc, leaving us with bass drum, snare drum, tuneable toms and cymbals.
The biggest innovation of the period which changed drumming forever was the introduction of the hi hat. Prior to this drummers did a great deal of their timekeeping on the snare drum using press rolls and embellishments, but with the introduction of the hi hat a whole new rhythmic landscape opened up, and it was Papa Jo Jones (1911-1985) who was generally acknowledged as the originator of the jazz ride pattern that we know today.
I get asked very often why many of the players of the era would hold the hi hat cymbals between the thumb and first finger whilst playing with the right stick. Two possible answers are as follows. Firstly, prior to the development of the hi hat drummers would often keep time by playing a cymbal with one hand and choking it with the other. Thus creating a primitive version of the ride pattern we know today. Ride cymbal timekeeping didn’t play a major part in drumming until years later. The cymbals of the swing era were too small and thin to carry a sustained ride beat. Also, it’s highly likely that the relatively primitive engineering of those early pedals made control of the cymbals difficult with just the foot alone.
Something we always need to keep in mind as drummers is that it’s important to be authentic both in the manner in which you play and crucially your choice of equipment. Ultra heavy duty cymbals designed for highly amplified heavy metal aren’t going to cut it in a big band. I like a medium weight bottom cymbal with a slightly lighter one on top. The A Zildjian New Beats are ideal in this regard. If the hi hat cymbals are too heavy they will have too much fundamental (stick sound), and not enough harmonic (wash). It’s also vitally important that the hats make a bright, clear, ‘chick’ sound when stepped with the pedal. In spite of its inherent subtlety, that 2 & 4 with the left foot is crucial to a successful big band drummer. That’s what the musicians are listening to in order to hear the tempo clearly.
Similarly the ride cymbal should be thin enough to double as a crash. When you’re on stage some of the musicians are going to be a fair distance from where the drums are set up. They will want to hear your ride beat clearly, but the wash is important too, so just like when choosing hi hat cymbals it’s important to have the right blend.
When you play the ride cymbal you should use a really relaxed technique. There are two particularly good reasons for this. Often you maybe called upon to play the swing rhythm at faster tempos, and if you’re choking the stick and becoming tense your endurance will be seriously compromised. Also, the more relaxed you are, the better quality of sound you will get. The legendary big band drummers were all revered on account of having a great touch on the instrument. Personally I play downstrokes on beats 2 and 4 and upstrokes on 1 and 3. The skip note (2 and & 4 and) is part of the upstroke motion.
In addition to having the right sort of cymbals for the job we need to take a look at drum tuning and head selection. The first thing to bear in mind is that just like in the heyday of the big bands, the music is largely played largely acoustically. More often than not your kit will have few if any mics, you’ll quite possibly be working without monitors and most importantly of all you are playing with acoustic instruments and your drum sound needs to reflect that by being wide open and resonant, so single ply heads are going to be the order of the day.
The snare should be tuned so that it bright, crisp and clear. That means no tape, and no damping. I favour a fairly tight batter head and medium tension on the bottom head. Many times drummers make the mistake of over tightening the bottom head to the pint where it chokes up and won’t resonate effectively. After all you wouldn’t expect the guitarist in your band to over tighten that really thin top string to the point where it simply won’t produce a note, (unless your guitarist is an idiot of course).
The typical big band drum set up takes up back to Gene Krupa’s legacy yet again. Krupa, along with Buddy Rich, Louie Bellson, Sonny Payne, Butch Miles and countless others favoured one hanging tom and two floor toms. My personal setup has been adapted inasmuch as I’ve reduced the tom sizes to 12, 14 and 16 as opposed to the more traditional 13, 16, 16 configuration. The 12 is tuned reasonably high, and the 14 is medium low. There should be a reasonably wide interval between the two pitches and this should resolve pleasingly when rounded off with a bass drum note. Check the video for an example of this. The second floor tom is a great place to keep your towel as every Buddy Rich fan knows. I tune the 16 tom quite low, to the point where it’s just on the cusp of bass drum frequency. The reason for this is that when I’m doing swing style floor tom solos I like to give tham a modern twist by incorporating contemporary linear ideas. There will be notation and video examples of this in the fourth part of this series so stay tuned.
Lastly let’s look at the bass drum. Getting the ‘right’ bass drum sound is absolutely critical to sounding good and authentic in the big band rhythm section. A single ply head, sometimes with an old school felt strip damper, is ideal but not always essential. Of far greater importance is the type of beater and the technique involved to get the right sound. Vater have just introduced a vintage style beater, which is perfect for achieving that warm, round tone, which blends perfectly with the acoustic bass.
Okay. Now we’ve got ourselves geared up with all the right tools to become the next hero of big band drumming. In the next part we’re going to begin to take a look at some of the key techniques required to set you on the road to swinging stardom.
I'm currently working on a book which will break down and analyse all of the key techniques required to play big band drums, both as time keeper and soloist, with authority, authenticity and conviction.
Listen and Learn
There are many great compilation recordings available which give you the opportunity to compare and contrast a whole range of players. Legends like Krupa, Jo Jones, Buddy Rich, Sid Catlett, Ray McKinley and many more besides. The ‘Jazz Drumming’ series on Fenn music is especially recommended if you want to get right back to the roots of the style. However we need to bear in mind that the music has progressed right up to the present day, so throughout this series I’m going to nominate 20 great big band players from all the eras and endeavour to explain what made them great and recommend recordings for you to check out.
Chick Webb (1907-1939)
A name spoken with awe by his contemporaries and those who followed him, Chick Webb was undoubtedly an intuitive rhythmic genius. He triumphed over the adversity of disability and in his short life left a legacy of recordings, which sound remarkable even today. Power, energy, creativity, and breathtaking facility were his trademarks. Disabled and short of stature Webb nevertheless cast a giant shadow from his residency at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom and changed the life of every drummer fortunate to see him play live.
“He represented true hipness. His playing was different, original and completely his own”. (BUDDY RICH)
TOP TRACKS
‘My Wild Irish Rose’.
‘Liza’.
‘Harlem Congo’. All by Chick Webb and his Orchestra.
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Gene Krupa (1909-1973)
Arguably the biggest ‘drum star’ of them all. Krupa cut his musical teeth in the bustling Chicago Jazz scene of the late 1920s but it was as a star sideman with Benny Goodman’s orchestra that Gene achieved national and international acclaim, and the legendary recording ‘Sing Sing Sing’ blazed a trail in the evolution of the drum solo. An extraordinarily charismatic man whose appeal extended far beyond specialist music fans, inevitably Krupa branched out as leader of his own big band in 1938. He had a unique career with recordings, live appearances and frequent cameos in Hollywood motion pictures. After the big band era had waned he led many small groups and was a regular on Norman Granz’s Jazz at the Philharmonic concert tours through the 40s and 50s.
“He had a unique feel, a groove, a hell of a groove when he played”. (STEVE GADD)
TOP TRACKS
‘Sing, Sing, Sing’. Benny Goodman and his orchestra.
‘Leave Us Leap’. Gene Krupa orchestra.
‘Drum Boogie’, Gene Krupa trio, The Drum Battle.
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Jo Jones (1911-1985)
‘Papa’ Jo Jones came to prominence as one quarter of what was dubbed the ‘All American Rhythm Section’ when Count Basie’s band arrived in New York from Kansas City in 1937. Jones almost single-handedly defined the role of the hi hat cymbals in the rhythm section. His endlessly propulsive, light and swinging time created an airborne feeling in the Basie rhythm section, and in the countless small groups he appeared with until the 1980’s. Of particular note is a BBC TV recording of him soloing on the Duke Ellington composition ‘Caravan’ recorded at Wembley town hall in 1964. An innovator and consummate musician, who used showmanship to great effect without it compromising the integrity of his playing.
“King of the hi hats, a very tasty drummer, in his heyday I thought he was the best around”. (JAKE HANNA).
TOP TRACKS
‘Doggin’ Around’. Count Basie.
‘The World is Mad’. Count Basie.
‘The Drums’, Jo Jones.
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Dave Tough (1908-1948)
You could be forgiven that the point of view that drumming is all about the groove and not the chops is largely a contemporary opinion. However, Dave Tough was half a century ahead of his time in this regard. Technique and showmanship played no part at all in Tough’s approach to the drums, and yet he could light a fire under bands both big and small like almost none of his contemporaries. The esteem in which he was held in the industry was such that in the era of the star big band drum soloist Tough held down the chair with the bands of Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and Woody Herman without ever playing a drum solo or twirling a stick.
“He had a certain sound on the cymbals that nobody else could do. He was a mystery really”. (LOUIE BELLSON).
TOP TRACKS
‘Prince of Wails’, Bud Freeman.
‘Wild Root’, Woody Herman.
‘The Good Earth’, Woody Herman.
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Sid Catlett (1910-1951)
I have to claim a vested interest here. Although he passed away many years before I was born Catlett (aka Big Sid, immortalised in a Max Roach solo drum composition) has had the most profound effect on my stick technique. Watching him play in archive movie footage I couldn’t help but notice the sheer fluidity and total relaxation in his hands. When you see him play a drum everything looks so natural, relaxed and totally devoid of any tension. I was so impressed by this (Jo Jones had a very similar quality in the way he played) that I was inspired to re-evaluate my approach. Catlett was as much at home with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie as he was with Louis Armstrong, and was a massive inspiration to the young, upcoming drummers of his time.
“I can swing seventeen men with one wire brush and a phone book” (SID CATLETT)
TOP TRACKS
‘Sleep’. Sid Catlett quartet.
‘Here Me Talkin’ to Ya’. Louis Armstrong and his Orchestra
‘Pound Ridge’. Benny Goodman and his Orchestra.
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