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Review of JC as a teacher and mentor.Pros - JC is experienced...old school as he would say and what he shows you is everything from the old to the new (with an emphasis on the old). When he teaches a topic/rhythm he has the perspective to tell you and show you and teach you how it was originally played, how it was adapted to a certain group/conguero, how it was developed decade to decade, and how players are playing it now. He gives you a thorough understanding of a rhythm and its history rather just what notes to play in...

Rodrigo Villanueva
 
Jeff Hamilton’s Melodic Approach on A Night in Tunisia.
Solo Analysis
 
 
 
In recent years, jazz drumming has become very sophisticated. Today’s successful drummers know it is not just about chops or keeping time, it is also about achieving a great level of understanding about music. In fact, many contemporary jazz drummers have transcended the role of accompanists, becoming writers, arrangers, and fine soloists. Jeff Hamilton is an excellent example of this new breed of player. He is an accomplished musician with a very impressive career, and with great taste for playing drums in the jazz idiom.[1]
Jeff Hamilton is an artist committed to jazz: his whole career has evolved around this genre, covering a wide variety of subgenres within this style, from big band playing to small groups. Hamilton, as a versatile player, has played for a wide variety of jazz artists, including Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Monty Alexander, Laurindo Almeida’s L.A. Four, Ray Brown, Ella Fitzgerald, Diana Krall, and Oscar Peterson.[2]
In the present article, I am presenting an analysis of Jeff Hamilton’s solo in A Night in Tunisia (by John “Dizzy” Gillespie and Frank Paparelli) because it clearly represents the new trend in melodic drumming that many contemporary jazz drummers are using. This performance is a really well-conceived piece of music, with unique features, such as the use of time, sound colors, dynamics, motifs, and melodic formulas. The use of these structural elements makes for a well-designed solo work, with good balance between unity and variety.
The most innovative element of this performance is Hamilton’s use of melody in the drumset. By pressing the drumhead of the high tom, in combination with the rest of the kit, Hamilton is able to reproduce most of the pitches from the original melody, resulting in a unique interpretation of A Night in Tunisia. In this solo, this great soloist performs, all by himself, the introduction, head in, solo, head out, and coda, just as any other instrumentalist would do in a solo situation.
During the process of transcribing this solo, many complex elements appeared that lead me to choose a compound system of notation. I have basically used three different systems of notation depending upon Hamilton’s approach during the solo. For instance, you will see traditional notation that covers the introduction, the B section in the head, and most of the material of the fist chorus of solo. A second notation system is used for the melodic areas, where Hamilton is playing actual pitches from the original tune. In these sections the notation is more like that of a timpani part, incorporating bass clef in order to indicate the approximate pitches that are produced by the different drums. I use the term “approximate” due to the fact that standard drums are unable to produce a definite pitch. Their sound wave is very irregular, so a given sound can be an A or an Ab, depending on acoustics, stroke velocity, placement of the stroke, etc. However, the sound produced is still identifiable within a certain range, which means that it is not a definite pitch, but it is an approximation to it. In the transcription I use notation symbols like l and j to indicate a change of the drum’s pitch.
The third notation scheme is used for the last part of the solo, where Hamilton plays the second chorus with his hands. A more complex system of notation is required, as hand playing creates a much wider range of sounds and effects. This is due in part to the fact that the hands are, by themselves, a collection of percussive devices that can be used for playing in many different ways. Each finger can produce an independent sound, as in North Indian tabla playing. The palm of the hand produces a different sound than the fist, and so on. Therefore, for the last section of the solo I strived to convey the most essential types of stroke, but it is necessary to listen to the actual recording to hear the wide variety of sounds that Hamilton gets from the drums with his hands.
The solo has a symmetrical structure, divided in six sections. Each section involves a specific playing technique, but sometimes a given section involves a combination of different techniques. The first section is the Intro, which consists of...

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I have been performing since i was 9 years old. First as a child actor in school plays and then to music by the 6th grade, where i learned to play the recorder then the flute.The bongo drums(the small ones), i had first started to play at the age of 6, due to a Cuban uncle of mine that bought me...

If you were to learn one thing on the drumset

Originally published in World Percussion & Rhythm magazine, Fall 2003
Even a small sampling of the drumming styles in Haitian Vodou music reveals an incredible depth and diversity of repertoire. Each zone of the country has its own distinct drumming traditions, which are often not shared by drummers from other areas. Several of my Haitian drum teachers, who for this very reason dedicated years to traveling around the country for the research and documentation of their own Vodou heritage, have told me that no one person could ever possibly know all the different drum rhythms played in Haiti. Certainly my own 20 years spent studying and performing Haitian music have lead me to the same conclusion.
Port-au-Prince A logical starting place for a discussion of Haitian Vodou drums is in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince. Here, and in the surrounding areas, one finds a fairly established regional repertoire of standardized drum music performed in the Hounfor (Vodou temple). With some exceptions, the majority of these Port-au-Prince Vodou rhythms can be placed into one of two main categories: Rada or Petwo. Typical Rada rhythms from Port-au-Prince drumming include: Yanvalou, Parigol (or Twarigol), Mayi, Zèpòl and Dawòmen. Each of these rhythms are actually made up of many different styles, variations, and conversations between the drums. Yanvalou for example, is actually a myriad of forms such as Yanvalou Doba, Minokan, Anbatònnel, etc. One also finds locale-specific styles: dialogues between the Manman and Segon drums which are created and passed down through generations of drummers within a particular community. The entire family of music broadly termed Petwo is vast as well. A few of the many Petwo drumming styles include Fran, Doki, Makaya, Makanda, and Ti Joslinn. Other rhythms such as Boumba and Kita also fall into the Petwo family. Other Port-au-Prince Vodou rhythms outside the Rada/Petwo paradigm include Ibo, Kongo, Nago, Djouba/Matinik, Maskawòn (or Yanvalou Gede) and Banda. Presently, Port-au-Prince Vodou ceremonial drummers typically utilize two sets of drums; the Rada and the Petwo, to perform all rhythms, including those that fall outside the Rada/Petwo categories. For example, the Kongo, Ibo and Nago rhythms can all played on the Rada drums, while the Djoumba/Matinik and Banda rhythms are usually performed on the Petwo drums. The Kase The kase, meaning break, is a unique phenomenon present in most if not all of the rhythms of Haitian Vodou, and when one considers that each rhythm also has its corresponding kase, the entire Vodou drum repertoire is effectively doubled. A sudden...

If you're looking for quality percussion lessons, then look no further. I have been the principal percussionist in multiple ensembles, have taught at many different public school music programs, and have tutored at several different institutions. I am now self-employed...