On drums...

Can somebody please explain what jazz drummers are thinking about?

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Gregory

Speaking for myself:
1. Swing.
2. Swing harder!
3. Relax.
3. Stay off 'one'.
4. What would Elvin do now?
5. What would Billy Higgins do now?
6. The bass player is dragging.
7. The bass player is rushing.
8. All of the above.

Ron

Great replies, Ron. Numbers 4 and 5 suggest knowing the vocabulary. No wonder I don't understand. But keeping 1,2,3 and 4 in mind, I may be able to give an approximation.

The single largest problem I have is that playing jazz swing has always been a bit of a joke with me, so that I am imitating "being cool" when I play that sort of swing. Hard to take myself seriously.

It must be an artifact of my cultural heritage.

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Gregory

Hysterical Ron!

"now that I think of it, all the music that was generated by the drug culture is all seriously awry."

You know all the jazzers were all stoned and drunk back then right?

I was always taught to listen and support the other players. Thats why I hate "practicing jazz", it's completely uninspiring, unless I am playing along with a record.

Tim, Forget playing along w/records. Try getting high.
Ron

A sorrowful reality insofar as it may be true, and no doubt deeply reflected in the music, but the effect is different in character from the generation that venerated alleged psychedelics.

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Gregory

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Gregory

From time to time, over the last 25 years or so, I've encountered young drum students steeped in pop/rock, who aren't able to 'cop' a jazz feel. The rock feel is fundamentally straight eighth notes. The jazz feel is fundamentally 3 against 4, or, 3 against 2.
Perhaps an oversimplification, but it all stems from this.



Of course one can master this technically and still not 'swing'!

Ron