Looking for advice

[Greensail]

Been VERY quiet here but hope everyone has been playing regularly with infectious grooves. I have been. Anyway, looking for some advice.

I've been playing with new group of mates doing mostly traditional jazz. (Keyboard, guitar, sax, flute, trumpet, and me.) Jazz - without a bass ??? Yeah, makes it tough. We only have an occasional kit drummer so much of the time I tend to be the time keeper and it is needed with this group. Been finding my way with what rhythms fit with various tunes.
Anyway, we have been doing Miles Davis - All Blues which is 3/4 time although I tend to count it as 6. Have a pretty good feel for the timing but not really satisfied with the base rhythm which I've tended toward a preponderance of bass notes. I've been working on it for some time but not all that happy. Any suggestions from this learned and experienced group? Any recommendations for a 3/4 rhythm?
All the best.

[Thomas Altmann]

Hi Greensail,

here's one pattern that I play for 3/4 tunes:

Waltz pattern for congas

The small note on the middle line is a palm, heel or bass stroke, the note without head is a finger stroke /time touch. The rest is clear. That's the notation I normally use.

If you are playing with the (original) swing feel, there's always a tendency towards a triplet or 9/8 movement. And you can easily apply the familiar triplet figure in the variation pattern anywhere you feel. And create more variations at your gusto on top of that.

Hope this helps,

Thomas

[Greensail]

Thanks much Thomas. I'll give your suggestion a try. I have done a few waltzes (well only 2) but when I tried the patterns I had used, did not feel quite right. That said, it's Miles. He was pretty big on feeling. My favorite quote of his - If you don't make a mistake, it's a mistake!"

Been doing a good number of jazz tunes with these guys which has been challenging but very enjoyable. We have an INCREDIBLE keyboard player. New things to learn. Cannonball Adderly - Mercy, mercy, mercy, and Horace Silver- Song for my father have become some of my favorites.

[Thomas Altmann]

Yes, these are popular jazz hits. They are almost like "I-don't-like-jazz-but-this-is-cool". Soul jazz or funk jazz ... in the 1990s it was called acid jazz or dancefloor jazz over here, and people would go to special discos to dance to it. As a young and rising set drummer I played in a band that was dedicated to a Horace Silver repertoire. And some of the first jazz numbers I played in my life were Cannonball Adderley tunes like "Jive Samba" or "Sack O'Woe" and all the stuff from the "Live at the Club" LP that also has "Mercy Mercy" on it. And I always wanted to play "Hippodelphia"; if I remember well, I couldn't find a lead sheet of it. That's a killer record - great drumming by Roy McCurdy, who I think is still alive. It was a fake live recording, by the way, as was Wes Montgomery's "Smoking at the Half Note": They had invited some friends to the studio to applaud!

It was only later that I realized that those simple numbers are deceivingly simple: If you don't play them with that soul that the Adderleys had a surplus of, they melt down to almost nothing ...

Thomas

[Greensail]

Thomas, wanted to let you know that I had been playing around with the rhythm you suggested. Wasn't quite sure it was working for me. But a few days back, we had a gig and sure enough All Blues came up so I went for it. Felt it was working and after a bit, closed my eyes, found the groove pretty successfully and put in some changes and variations. It worked pretty well. Not perfect and have plenty room for improvement but enjoyed myself and got a few positive comments. Thanks for your suggestion. Regards.

[Thomas Altmann]

Hi Greensail,

I'm happy to hear that. It might be more satisfying to figure out something on your own, as long as it's in a free-style jazz or pop context. But you can always use someone else's suggestions as a point of departure, making it your own by your personal choice of interpretation and variation or other ways of adaptation.

Thanks for letting me know -
Thomas

[Greensail]

I think that has largely been my course over the past few years. I've worked a good bit on fundamentals and rudiments, while fretting over my technique. The dividend has been to be able to play more closely to what I hear in my head or feel. So I typically begin with a "base" rhythm and then improvise from there. May not be correct or proper but seem to get positive comments and so far I've not lost out on any million dollar contracts

[Greensail]

Thomas, have not seen any posts in some time. I still check in occasionally. But wanted to tell you- couple weeks ago we were playing to a decent size crowd at the bar, Miles - All Blues comes up. I started with your base rhythm and as we moved along, I managed to improvise a good bit. Used a lot of bass notes on all the drums. Occasionally returned to the basic progression but was mostly just playing what I was feeling and...it felt pretty good to me. And - we had a really great reaction from the audience. So wanted to say thanks again.

[Thomas Altmann]

Hi Greensail,

I'm really happy to hear that.

As you see, I still do check the forum for posts, too. I think it can no longer be denied that this forum has almost died - at least as a place for actual correspondence. It can neither be denied, however, that it remains to be a great source of information, kind of a lexicon.

As far as I'm concerned, I do not have any other channels to communicate on percussion topics, like social media (or whatever the newest gimmicks might be called). I somehow closed and stored away the file of Latin percussion and rhythm. In general, music is about to take new directions, which I find is a good and due thing - but I cannot take part in it anymore. Occasionally I go and listen to concerts of what could be promising projects, but i just have to leave it up to the young people. I know what I have to work on for myself, and I pursue that, but my artistic realm has become a more or less defined area. I am rather working towards preserving and perfecting my material than reaching out for new ideas or concepts.

So this is why I haven't posted anything in the recent months. There wasn't anything that I could have responded to, either.

Also, my situation is such that I don't get any attractive offers anymore, which is just fine, because this confirms that my particular set of talents is no longer sought for by the young generation. Even the occasional lessons and workshops that I give are more for older amateurs.

Lastly, I have (re-)activated my writing (text, not music). There are just so many things going on in the world which are leading us in completely wrong directions, and so many errors and lies about these things, that I feel the urgent pressure to point out the dangers and do my tiny part to help get stuff back on the track. I know the next question would be whether I wanted to publish a book eventually. Well, I don't know yet. I'm not even sure whether any publisher would be interested. As I said, all I can do is to offer my small contribution, be it music or literature. Everything else is black-box.

Greetings,
Thomas

[Greensail]

I'm with you Thomas. I pretty much stay away from the news and most of the social media crap. I'm still working but since the pandemic, do so remotely. So basically hide away on my little island, enjoy my friends, and my congas. Do enjoy playing out with others but honestly, most enjoyment probably by myself at night with the lights out. Giving thanks for the day!