Category: Jazz

June 8, 2009

Poop Loops

Loop #73

Things are pretty crazy at Gruss Headquarters right now. Not only am I busy preparing for Volume II of the loop packs, I have a few other musical projects which I’m in the middle of. And on top of that, my wife just reminded me it’s my turn to clean the cat box. As much as I’d rather be writing on this blog, making fun of certain fusion drummers and telling stories about random celebrity encounters, I have other work to do. And some poop to scoop.

cat poop Poop Loops — We're working on it.

On that note, I leave you with this beat. It’s an outtake from some odd time grooves in Volume II. Four bars phrase in 7/8 with a bit of a drum and bass turnaround on the last measure.

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94 BPM

May 7, 2009

300 BPM

300 BPM. It’s the tempo that separates the men from the boys. For drummers, it’s the breaking point where playing eighth notes isn’t just a matter of bouncing the stick, but utilizing your arms, wrists and fingers to make it all happen.

I first learned to play at this tempo by listening (and eventually playing) to John Coltrane’s, “Giant Steps“. Released in 1960, this classic album features several uptempo tracks that are performed masterfully by drummer, Art Taylor. Two cuts in particular, “Countdown” and “Giant Steps” showcase Art’s relaxed yet technically adept drumming at tempos of 300 BPM+.

arthur taylor 300x201 300 BPM — Art Taylor

Loop #64

Today’s loop is another 8 bar phrase recorded at the “balls to the wall” tempo of 300 BPM. Rather than a straight groove, it’s more of a dotted quarter note type vamp with some slight fills in between.

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300 BPM

May 5, 2009

Brush Party

Well, I promised nothing but jazz this week and I’m staying true to my word. As much as I wanted to record some glam-rock, power ballad beats (trust me, they’re coming), I resisted the temptation and stayed focused on the “classic” stuff.

Loop #63

max roach vb 201x300 Brush Party — Max Roach

Like yesterday’s groove, today’s loop is another eight bar phrase, but at a brisker tempo and played with brushes. Stylistically, it’s a mix of all of my favorite brush players including; “Philly Joe” Jones, Max Roach and Vernel Fournier.

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245 BPM

May 4, 2009

Jazz Week

So, rather unintentionally, it’s turned into “jazz week” over here at ryangruss.com. Maybe it’s the large supply of ride cymbals I currently possess, or maybe it’s just the warm spring air inspiring me to play something other than Top 40-friendly backbeats. Whatever the case, I keep recording various jazz grooves every time I step into the studio… and like REO Speedwagon once said, “I can’t fight this feeling anymore“.

Loop #62

tonywilliams 300x257 Jazz Week — Tony Williams

Today’s loop is an eight bar phrase that incorporates a few things that were inspired by the great Tony Williams. No, I didn’t paint my kit canary-yellow and put black dot heads on every drum (though I’ve thought about it). I incorporated Tony’s distinct, hi hat on every beat approach (instead of the more traditional 2 & 4) along with some single stroke rolls and aggressive ride playing.

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220 BPM

May 3, 2009

Elvin

One of my biggest regrets is that I never saw Elvin Jones perform before he passed away. Whenever he was in New York, performing at The Blue Note or The Village Vanguard, it seemed like I always had a gig or a rehearsal and couldn’t make it to the show. I kept hearing from friends that he was still playing with the same fire and energy that he did in the 1960′s with Coltrane, to the point where it seemed like he getting better in his later years. I had a false assumption that age would never slow him down and I would have plenty of opportunities to witness one of the great masters in person.

Loop #61

I’ve noticed there seems to be a shortage of decent jazz drum loops out there and I’ve decided to do something about it. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be recording a wide range of jazz grooves. Everything from Art Blakey Mambos to Vernel Fournier bush patterns. Today’s loop is the first of many more to come. It’s a groove in 3/4 inspired by Elvin with a bit of Bill Stewart thrown in.

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173 BPM

April 2, 2009

Funkifying the Clave

I was 16 years old when I first learned how to play “real” Afro-Cuban and Latin grooves. Prior to that, my only exposure to anything close to that style of music was hearing Santana’s cover of “Oye Como Va” on the radio. You have to keep in mind, I grew up in Iowa.

Pete Simonson, my drum teacher at the time, wanted to help expand my vocabulary of grooves beyond the borders of FM radio. He recommended that I check out a new instructional book called “Funkifying the Clave”. It was written by NYC heavyweights, drummer Robby Ameen and bassist Lincoln Goines and featured a play-along cassette tape (really, I’m not THAT old).

From Mozambique to Guaguanco to Songo grooves, I spent the next six months with my head inside of that book, eating nothing but beans and rice and rarely playing the bass drum on one. This was definitely an import period in my development as a musician.

Loop #44

Today’s loop is one of the songo grooves that I first learned fifteen years ago. I’ve taken some small liberties with the basic pattern, but for the most part, it’s the beat transcribed below.

songo drum beats 2 300x49 Funkifying the Clave — Basic Songo Pattern

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112 BPM

March 13, 2009

ECM.

Recently I’ve been digging through my collection of albums on the ECM label. It’s been a refreshing change to the over-compressed (then compressed again to mp3) music that’s usually jammed into my eardrums throughout the day. ECM records tend to have a very distinct, clear and present sound that are particularly complimentary of cymbal work.

Several of my favorite drummers have recorded on albums produced and released by ECM. The two that have probably influenced my playing the most are Jack DeJohnette and Peter Erskine. I highly recommend checking out Jack’s work on the Keith Jarrett trio albums or Peter’s 1992 record, “You Never Know”.

peter erskine 1 300x200 ECM. — Peter Erskine

Loop #32

Today’s loop is inspired by all of those great ECM recordings. It’s also a great opportunity to fine tune my overhead mics (and play fills over the bar line).

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123 BPM

February 28, 2009

Somewhere in Between.

There is a special feel that was born from the brass bands of New Orleans. It first emerged around the turn of the 20th century and eventually worked its way north, merging into other styles of music along the way. This is a groove that is neither triplet nor sixteenth note based. It’s not straight funk and it’s not totally swung. It’s somewhere in between. It’s a feel that’s literally impossible to notate on sheet music and even harder to play.

There are only a handful of drummers in modern music who can truly find this “in between” feel and make it work in a variety of musical settings. Two of my favorites are Bill Stewart and Idris Muhammad. Whether they’re keeping it cool on a straight ahead jazz session or laying down back beats behind a funk band, they always manage to find this rhythmic sweet-spot.

idris muhammed gv 215x300 Somewhere in Between. — Idris Muhammad

Loop #22
Today’s beat is a four measure loop based on this “in between” feel. It’s a lazy funk groove that borrows more than a few licks from Bill and Idris (guys, the po’ boys are on me next time). And you, sitting in front of your computer, don’t even think about touching that quantizer.

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66 BPM

February 25, 2009

Cry Me a River.

Ok, get those violins out. Today I’m a bit under the weather AND I’ve got a bum wing…. well, wrist actually. I’m hopped up on flu meds, painkillers and I’m wearing a splint that makes me look like a professional bowler. I’ve actually been mistaken for Ernie McCracken three times today. Being a huge fan of Kingpin, I’m going to chalk it up as a compliment.

I was going to take the day off, get some rest and recover a bit, but then I thought about Rick.

On December 31, 1984 Def Leppard drummer, Rick Allen, lost his left arm in a horrific car collision. Most drummers would consider this a career-ending accident, but Rick had the courage and strength to come back and learn how to play drums with one arm. If Rick Allen could overcome so many obstacles and make a triumphant return to Def Leppard, how could I sit around and watch Seinfeld reruns all day? I decided I must record with one arm. I decided the blog must go on.

Loop #19

With 75% limb functionality, I put my left foot to work and used it to cover the hi hat pattern. I then laid down a funky, almost New Orleans style groove between my left hand on the snare and right foot on the the kick drum. The Pseudoephedrine and Oxycodone took care of everything else.

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100 BPM

February 8, 2009

Saturday Night Fusion

In 1970 Miles Davis turned the jazz world upside down with the release of Bitches Brew. Featuring 20+ minute songs and an expanded rhythm section, Miles pushed the envelope of a genre that would be later be known as “fusion”. Blending jazz improvisation with rock instrumentation and grooves, Bitches Brew was a turning point not only for Davis, but for several members of his band.

One of those members was keyboardist, Joe Zawinul. After the release of Bitches Brew, Zawinul went on to start his own band, Weather Report along with sax player and fellow Davis alum, Wayne Shorter. Weather Report carried the fusion torch into the 1980′s, releasing several classic albums along the way including; I Sing the Body Electric, Night Passage and my personal favorite, Heavy Weather.

alexacunaweather4 300x186 Saturday Night Fusion — Weather Report

Loop #7

Today’s loop takes the hypnotic, vamping style of Bitches Brew and mixes it with the quarter note, cross stick grooves found on several tracks from Heavy Weather. I took out all of the muffling in the kick drum and tried to lay down the foundation with more “boom” than “thud”. Unlike many of the albums mentioned above, no drugs were used during the recording process (mom, I swear).

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130 BPM