I was thinking about Jimi Hendrix and how unorthodox his guitar playing was. Not only did he play a right handed guitar upside down left handed but he pushed every boundary of rock and roll. He often played under the influence of drugs and admitted it freely. Many consider him the greatest rock guitarist ever. There was an equally adventurous music pioneer who performed three decades earlier. Fueled by drugs and an incredible imagination not to mention impeccable technique was the saxophonist Charlie "Yardbird" Parker. Bebop jazz stretched traditional jazz grooves to their limits with speeds of over 200 bpm and incredibly complex harmonies and rhythms and Charlie, or Bird as most called him, was the best ever. I'm wondering if there is a drummer who has come along and defined a generation of drumming in the last 100 years. John Bonham comes to mind as does Max Roach and Art Blakey. Neil Peart should be considered. Any other suggestions?

I’m not overly confident on swing percentages. I’ve heard the term and have, I think, a working definition, but I’m not entirely certain how it is applied when playing. It seems that is something done by feel, but I don’t know. Any insight or input is greatly appreciated. Thanks to this school, I’ve gotten more into jazz and want to develop a greater sense of what to listen for in jazz drumming.

Thanks Jack. I've been trying to catch up on understanding chord changes and hearing them, but that's pretty new to me. I'll have to look up Mark Levine's book.

Thanks Rebecca, that clears it up a lot. I didn't know Salt Peanuts was part of that genre. I do know some piano, and I have studied theory, but sometimes it's still a little more than foggy. I have an especially hard time understanding the concept of suspended 4ths. Are you familiar with Mark Levine's book on Jazz Theory? I've learned all the ii-V-I progression in each key. I should take up piano as second instrument.

Rhythm changes mean it's a tune based on the standard "I've got Rhythm". The form is AABA, but more than that, the chord changes will be the same. Anthropology, Cotton Tail. Salt Peanuts, and many others are contrafacts of "I've Got Rhythm". So whenever they call rhythm changes you know it's a 32 bar AABA form, usually up tempo.

Well, before COVID, yes. I haven't played out now for about a month. I played with several ensembles, all jazz. I do read charts, but for the most part I just use the Real Book which I think is pretty standard. If the song is not in the Real Book, and there are no drum charts, it's nice to have the bass chart. Do you have a preference for the style of jazz you play? Have you ever listened to early recordings of Zach Danzinger? He is one of my favorites. The answer to the question, I think is; if I'm at a jam and I call out rhythm changes tune, the form will be AABA, but not vice versa. So, for a drummer I don't think it would make any difference other than you may get a strange look from the bass or pianist, if you call incorrectly. Honestly, I've never gotten a straight answer on this topic.

Thats a good Q. Are you playing with a jazz group? Play with a jazz group for fun but I am not following charts like the rest of the band. I just iisten to the tune if possible before to hear the form and then listen for the changes while playing the tune. Do you read charts?

I've often wondered about this. I'll be on a gig and they'll call out a tune in rhythm changes. Right away I register AABA. Is that incorrect? I think the way it works is that Rhythm changes is related to the chord structure but the form is AABA? Confusing.

Have you looked at John Riley's book on Alan Dawson? Dawson has some excellent exercises that incorporate the Stone book with song forms. A-A-B-A, A-B-A-B, A-B-A-C. The name of the book is "The Drummer's Complete Vocabulary."

I GOT IT!!!! Ok, it's taken me nearly a month but I now understand the Form of Take the "A" Train! I went through loads of different versions of it until I came across one by the BBC Big Band Orchestra where I was able to hear all of the sections clearly AND was able to sing the melody over the solos which helped me start to understand it..... now playing Study 1 over that WHILST singing the melody is killing me, BUT I UNDERSTAND IT and thats the important thing!

Hi Stephen, thanks for taking the time to reply. I'm slowly making sense of what the Plan says, but perhaps I'm missing something as I'm struggling to hear the chord changes after the first 32 bars in any of the recordings I've listened to. IF you have time and wouldn't mind shooting a short explanation of a version of Take the A Train along with a shot of the album cover so I can get the same version, I'd be very appreciative. Jazz is a very different world compared to the Rock/Metal world I grew up in!

Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty obvious...but I remember being perplexed by this exact thing. Below is a link that explains it. If that's not enough, let me know and I'll shoot you a short video explanation as well! https://www.jazzinamerica.org/LessonPlan/11/2/160#:~:text=In a jazz performance%2C the,through is called a chorus.&text=For each chorus%2C something different,1.

Hi guys n gals, Just wondering if theres a walk through type of thing of any Jazz Standards where each section is pointed out? I've been really struggling with this and whilst in theory it seems simple, to me as a novice its really knocked me on my butt! I've heard Stephen say that Take the A Train is an AABA piece, and each section is eight bars and I've worked out the A section, but the B......darned if I can find it as theres several 8 bar sections before the A section comes back! Does such a thing exist?? It would really help me in understanding even one song which would mean that I could then take the same idea to another one! Anyone??? P.S. I think you're all amazing......😜

I've just got into Swing When You're Winning by Robbie Williams, two drummers split the tracks. Ralph Salmins & Harold Jones..... The thing I need to work on now is trying to learn the heads! I've always struggled with learning songs from memory, but can read them from a sheet fine! I think thats gonna be my biggest challenge....getting over my own hangups and trying to really learn the heads before playing them

I live between Vienna and Salzburg in a city called Linz, located on the river Danube. Everyone knows Mozart but does anyone know Anton Bruckner? A classic composer and probably the most famous musician from this city, our music university is named after him. An exceptional drummer lives nearby: Martin Grubinger.

I'm very new to Jazz having come from a Rock/Metal/Folk/Country/Orchestral background but a lot of the gigs I'm getting asked to do currently have some Jazz parts in which I just can't bend my head around! The current headache is the Crucifixion track from Jesus Christ Superstar which I've clocked at about 272 BPM!! It also has a repeating 5/4 Swing piece so as I've now got time to properly get into Jazz, I thought I would! I've been playing along (just the Ride pattern and Hats on 2 & 4 ) to several tracks that I've found both with and without vocals on to try and get a good balance of pieces. Particular favourites are Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga doing The Lady is a Tramp, Robbie Williams doing Aint That a Kick in the Head, Art Blakey Moanin' & Glenn Miller In the Mood....

Easiest place for me to say is Bath, England as its both the nearest city to us and one of the few places people outside of the UK might have heard of..... apart from London (and no, we are nowhere near London!)

I discovered him a few months ago and I can't stop seeing him playing!!! Amazing! It's funny how feelings act... seeing these out of mind players many times it's like "Ok, what am I doing?? I'll never be so good!!" but on the other side is this good feeling... "I'll be as close as possible!! I want to do it!!" hehehe The video where he "teach" how to count in Chicago is hilarious! hahaha I take the opportunity to say hello in my first post! A pleasure! PD: and this little towel... love it.

Agreed! Really Brian's playing on ANY album is pretty savage haha.

I love Brian Blade's playing on the Joshua Redman album elastic. Savage stuff.

Yeah. It's pretty freaking nuts. But also very inspiring to watch him play the snot out of a groove.

I will just say it out loud here...I have a severe man crush on Brian Blade's playing. Just one of the best in the game.

Just saw his concert last week...insanely good

I've transcribed a TON of Nate Smith's playing. He is a legend. Here are a few: https://youtu.be/Oo0SReYA4po https://youtu.be/tIdzPYMUEys

This may not be "jazz" necessarily. But my goodness this is stupid good.