How sick is THAT?
Caravan: an absolute gem of a classic by Duke Ellington. It's now considered a standard, and is forever ensconced in the cannon. You can't call yourself a Jazz player if you don't know this piece.
The architecture: it's written in AABA form (you don't need a Master's degree in composition to understand it) The main theme (A) is stated for 8 bars, then re-stated, verbatim. A contrasting section of 8 bars (B) follows, and then there is a return to the first 8 bars. It's also know as "32-bar form." Those 32 bars are what we call the 'Head.' After the head is played, the Jazz combo launches into a series of solos by various players. All of them base their solos on this skeletal structure. For reference, listen to "I Got Rhythm," by George Gershwin.
I give this short primer to explain my reference in entry #9, follows.
The timeline:
1. 1:00: Jo Jones begins his solo on snare, snares disengaged - with no sticks. Watch how he uses his index finger to act as a fulcrum- pivoting between thumb and f5. Subtle, fast as lightning. Dropping quiet bombs on the kick drum 1/16th off the pulse
2. 1:23: Love the use of rim shots to bring up the volume/energy. No skins in this section. Different rims produce different pitches. They sound like bongos. Watch the rimstick work at 1:45.
3. Did you hear his quote of "Salt Peanuts" at the 2:00 mark? Grinning at his own 'inside joke.' I'm already losing it.
4. 2:30: It sounds like he's dropped tempo into a slow swing. What he's really done is something called 'augmentation.' That frenetic pace is still cooking in the background, but he's stretched out the timing between strikes to make is sound slow. THE PULSE HAS NOT ACTUALLY CHANGED. Genius.
5. 'Hand work' approaching the 3:00 mark makes it sound as if he's working an entirely different kit.
6. After the extended snare drum roll, listen to the hi-hat at 4:00. Still snapping on 2 and 4, you can hear that he hasn't lost the original tempo at all. Dude's got a metronome in his chest.
7. 4:30: watch the cross-sticking. Right hand plays a drum to his left/left hand plays a drum on his right. Now, he's just showing off.
8. 5:30: back to the original quiet stick work on and near the rims... and listen to how quietly he can get those drums to speak. I can almost see the audience leaning forward in their seats, as he draws them in. He knows that a whisper can sometimes be more powerful than a shout. He brought that entire drum solo right back to its genesis. Total mastery at work.
9. The bass player sets up the return of the band 4 bars before the beginning of the B section, when the band re-enters to close the tune, to take it out. (I told you that primer was for a purpose, didn't I?
)
This drum solo is the epitome of musicianship.
So many different sounds, so many different touches, timbres. And to think that he did all with the most minimalist of kits:
1 kick drum
1 snare
2 floor toms (bass and tenor)
1 crash cymbal
1 hi-hat
In less than 10 minutes, this Player made more music with his minimalist setup than most drummers (with 30+ -item kits) will ever make in their entire lifetimes.
It isn't the size of tool kit.
It's expertise of the craftsman who works the tools.
.02
Bone: Have you ever seen the Clint Eastwood produced/directed 1988 movie "Bird?" It's a biopic of Charlie 'Yardbird' Parker, BeBop sax pioneer. The opening scene features a close-up, slow-motion follow of the flight of a drum kit cymbal heading towards the feet of a young sax player, at an after-hours jam session. That scene was taken straight from Jazz history/lore. The sax player- Parker, or course. The cymbal tosser: Papa Jo Jones. True story. Musicians are nasty, judgmental beasts.
