In Celebration of Drums

There’s been a ton of good music this year, but for the last month or so, the music scene has felt slow. So rather than plug recent records, I think I’ll take inspiration from my Summer obsession – learning drum set. In honor of this, here’s a few drum records I’m really digging right now:

Bert’s Playground, Ari Hoenig

Ari is celebrated for playing melodies on his drum set. He has several albums on his site playing standards on solo drum set. Wild stuff…you can actually hear the melodies going by. And sometimes, he plays some crazy stuff while singing…so…

This album is him with a band of monsters. Chris Potter and Jonathan Kriesberg are amazing additions. And the rest of the band are no slouches. The set opens up with a ridiculously chopsy version of “Moment’s Notice” in 7/8. And it features a nasty little reharm. on the extended C section of the tune. Great solos throughout. I also recommend “Green Spleen”.

Birds of a Feather, Roy Haynes

One of the great drum heroes and a celebrated master of bebop released this tribute to Charlie Parker in 2001. It features a line up of young lions including Joshua Redman, Kenny Garrett, David Kikowski and Dave Holland, but the real features here are the arrangements. “Yardbird Suite” and “Barbados” are real standouts.

Telepathy, Bill Stewart

One of my favorite drummers! He has an intricate, highly textured style featuring amazing cymbal work. All of his albums are worth checking out, as well as several of his sideman dates (En Route from John Scofield being a personal favorite), but Telepathy comes up time and time again among critics as a masterpiece.

So, tell me…what are your favorite drum records from any style?

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1 Response to In Celebration of Drums

  1. Natalie Morris says:

    I listen to all kinds of music, therefore I do not have a favorite. If I begin to name all the artists that I prefer to listen to, the list would be never-ending. The way I feel about music, as in life, you can’t make a judgement until you try it!

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