'Nick’s Drum Lessons' Tagged Posts

'Nick’s Drum Lessons' Tagged Posts

Buddy Rich, Buddy Rich Live at The Montreal Jazz Festival!

Buddy Rich was always described as, “the world’s greatest drummer.” While watching this full concert of him in his later years it’s extremely hard to disagree with that tagline! Behold an amazing powerhouse of technique, strength, focus and depth of Buddy at the Montreal Jazz Festival!

Antonio Sanchez, A Solo With A Purpose!

Antonio Sanchez is best known for the drummer for contemporary jazz guitarist Pat Metheny. He has had 3 albums out as a band leader/drummer of solo work which showcases his amazing blend of Jazz/Latin/Chops/Feel! He is a must listen and watch for any drummer interested in any of those 4  qualities. Here’s a fantastic solo from Antonio during the Modern Drummer Festival in 2003. Here’s another one from his DVD “Master Class!”    

Tommy Aldridge, Underrated Rock Drummer!

We all know the songs he drummed on by we probably don’t recognize his name. Which is a crime! Tommy Aldridge is a veteran heavy metal and hard rock drummer.  Aldridge is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Gary Moore, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent and Thin Lizzy. His most notable work was with Ozzy Osbourne’s first solo albums, “Blizzard Of Oz” and “Diary Of A Madman.”  Here’s a…

Weather Report’s, “Birdland” As An Uptempo-Boogie!

Weather Report had several famous drummers play for them through out their popularity of the 70’s. Peter Erskine was probably one of the most famous drummers to come out of their line-up. His years with Weather Report were over shadowed by the incredible Jaco Pastorius on bass guitar. If you’ve never read up on Jaco,  his playing and his personality then you are in for an odd account of a genius musician whose mental health was never treated. Here’s a great…

Gene Krupa, Constant Solo, Groove and Smiles!

Gene Krupa was known for his showmanship and drum solos. Here’s the classic Big Band tune of Benny Goodman featuring Gene Krupa, “Sing, Sing, Sing.” Of course you recognize it for his famous drum solo that the melody is wrapped around. A classic!   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pW2nkA0vjTU

Jojo Mayer, The Drumming DJ?

Jojo Mayer came onto the drumming scene in the 90’s. Always respected as a drumming guru, this guy’s claim to fame is how he has drawn a huge amount of skills from copying what a DJ does to a record. The style is referred as Drum & Bass and is very common in Dance Clubs and Spas. A huge amount of innovative technique has been developed by Jojo to sounds like a DJ’s ability to “twist” the patterns and double-time…

Postmodern Jukebox – A Study in Style!

For the last week I’ve been raving to all my students about this ultimate group called Postmodern Jukebox. It’s not a new practice to take a popular song and change it’s context/style. But this group of musicians lead by piano player Scott Bradlee do awesome work! Here’s a clip of them doing George Michael’s, “Careless Whisper” with guess appearance by sax player Dave Koz. The thing to notice for us drummers are the changes in style/feels! They start with a…

Dennis Chambers, Great 5/8 Groove!

Dennis Chambers has always had a great feel in different genres of music. Here he’s playing “Mother’s Tongue” with John Mclaughlin and what a great groove! Comes across like a half-time shuffle with embellished ghost-notes but it’s in 5/8 to boot! Enjoy the flow of Dennis’ playing!

Downfall Of Paris!

I came across this version of “Downfall Of Paris” a couple of months ago and was blown away by the arrangement. It’s performed by  Iowa State University Percussion Ensemble under the direction of Matthew Coley. Fantastic and very moving! “Downfall of Paris” is traditionally played by Drum and Fife, here’s they have fife, flute, piccolo, snare, tenor, bass, marimba, paino and that’s just mentioning the majority! Enjoy!

Vinnie Colaiuta, Amazing Drum Solo!

Vinnie Colaiuta made his name with Frank Zappa in the late 70’s, early 80’s. He went on to become a great studio and touring musician. His work with Sting and Jeff Beck are just some of his highlights to his career! Here’s a video of him doing a song of his solo CD. I present, “I’m Tweeked / Attack Of The 20lb Pizza!” Check out that amazing drum solo while the band vamps on a melody.

Frank Zappa Thought Like A Drummer!

In high school I was obsessed with Frank Zappa! The composer/guitarist was always a favorite with drummers/percussionists. He thought and wrote like a drummer. Experimenting with odd-time signatures, odd groupings and zany changes. Here’s a little taste of Frank Zappa with, “Inca Roads.” Notice Chester Thompson on drums, before he joined Genesis! Warning…this is a zany tune!