Today, we feature freelance drum set artist James Yoshizawa performing Cannonball Adderley’s solo on “Freddie Freeloader” from the Miles Davis’ album “Kind of Blue” on drum set. I have never seen anyone take this approach to soloing on drum set and I hope this inspires more people to try this out. If you have any suggestions or input, please leave your comments below. Follow James on FaceBook.
In one of the handful of lessons I’ve taken with Jason Harnell, he suggested transcribing and playing a horn solo on the drums. I decided to use Cannonball Adderley’s solo from “Freddie Freeloader.”
This was all done by ear. I started by listening to the solo over and over to become familiar with it. Then I started picking out phrases that I thought could be orchestrated on the drums in an interesting way. I didn’t go bar-by-bar from beginning to end. Sometimes a 1-bar phrase in the 4th chorus would catch my attention, then a 4 bar phrase in the 2nd chorus, etc. I gradually did that over the course of a week or so until I basically had the whole solo orchestrated on the drums.
This is a totally different experience than black and white transcription. A lot of creative, interpretive decisions need to be made in order to transfer ideas that sound hip on the saxophone to ideas that sound hip on the drums. There’s a fine balance between being too literal or too vague.
Originally posted on DrummChattr.com on July 26, 2012.
If you do not know Gavin Harrison’s drumming, you probably have been living under a rock. Gavin currently plays drum set with Porcupine Tree, a British “progressive rock” band formed by Steven Wilson in 1987. Today’s video features footage from a clinic Gavin did at the 2008 PASIC.
What is your favorite example of Gavin’s drumming? What is your favorite Porcupine Tree album? Leave a comment below and let us know what we should be checking out. Thanks to Axel Clarke for recommending this video.
Originally posted on DrummChattr.com on March 11, 2011.
The creativity exhibited on the internet often blows me away. Some of the my personal favorites includes videos that feature Gavin Harrison (british drummer and member of Porcupine Tree). He released a book and video set back 2007 that featured his compositions. His video of Cymbal Song is still one of my favorite videos on YouTube.
If you enjoyed that video, also check out Leo DiAngilla’s Cymbal Song video.
Obviously, a lot of works goes into the production of these videos. Are there any other videos you can recommend that we should check out?
Originally posted on DrummChattr.com on February 18, 2011 by Dave Gerhart.
Today’s video features Bill Cahn playing Joe Green’s Xylophonia with Nexus and Steve Gadd on drum set. Make sure you check out the drum break in the middle of the song to see Steve Gadd tap dance! This video is from a live performance in 1988 at Gotanda Kan-I Hoken Hall in Japan.
What is you favorite xylophone rag? Have you ever seen Steve Gadd tap dance? Let us know.
Happy Sunday everyone! We thought it would be a good idea to lighten things up with some classic drummer humor. This video speaks to the tried and true drummer stereotype that louder, faster equals better. All kidding aside, why do you think this stereotype exists? Name ONE factor that you think contributes most to this frustrating but humorous stereotype. Leave your thoughts in the comments.
Thanks to Payton MacDonald for the tip.
Originally posted on DrummChattr.com on January 23, 2011.
