DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

I have a bunch of fairly quick swing tunes I work out to, but it's time to take the next step. 

Can anyone help me find a handful of tunes in the range 250 - 400 bpm? 
Ideally, tunes that are recorded in the last 20 years or so, with good clarity?

Thanks much.

Miles Davis "Four" from the "Four and More" concert.

Well, it's more than 20 years old and I'm not certain of the exact BPM, but. . .

Check out Louie Bellson on "Cotton Tail" from the Duke's Big Four album. 

Louie + brushes + up-tempo = good stuff.

There's also that Johnny Griffin record BLOWING SESSION (JG, Lee Morgan, Trane, Horace Silver, PC and Jimmy Cobb), there's only 4 tunes and they're all pretty quick.
But, from the right hand side of this screen "I don't ever think about how fast I can play. It's about sound, it's about music."
— Jack DeJohnette

These may be slightly odd picks, but I love these tunes/albums, from 1986 and 1990.

Michael Brecker - debut album, "Syzygy" cut.
Brandford Marsalis - random abstract, "Yes and No" cut.

both are pretty quick tempos. and Yes and No has a 14 bar section as part of the form, or maybe is the whole form, I forget, so it keeps you on your toes at that tempo.


Edit: I thought of some more.
Most versions of Coltrane's Impressions or Giant Steps are fast tunes.
Most versions of Cherokee would be fast and also Salt Peanuts - Dizzy G.
I used to have a Philly Joe record called Philly Joe's Beat with Salt Peanuts, very fast.
http://www.amazon.com/Philly-Joes-Beat-Joe-Jones/dp/B000VJ6I0Q/ref=pd_bbs_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1208288186&sr=8-10 (http://www.amazon.com/Philly-Joes-Beat-Joe-Jones/dp/B000VJ6I0Q/ref=pd_bbs_10?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1208288186&sr=8-10)

Have fun!!

Here's a workout for you...GRP All Stars playing Cherokee with our good buddy Dave Weckl clockin' in at mm=320!  Man, this one is burnin'!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=twKzRzcd744

PS - The trumpet players are Arturo Sandoval, Randy Brecker, Chuck Findley and Byron Stripling in the order of their solo.  I believe the opening section is a voicing of the Clifford Brown recording.

Hey, NY Frankie...

Here's another...Just Guitar and Bass (Joe Pass and Niels-Hennings Orsted Petersen) playing Donna Lee at mm=320; kind of a Music Minus One approach.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Npy3DlV98yM

Always loved Corea and company playing "Got a Match".  This one's fun to watch with the dancers...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKqn6Bpv8Q4&feature=related
Sorry, don't have the tempo...

I resource that I've found VERY helpful is a CD called Meet The Bass Player, by Allan Cox. It's  tracks of double-bass and guitar playing Rhythm Changes, Blues, etc. at tempos from 40BPM to 340BPM. Mostly in 4 but also in 3 and 5. Great practice material.

Fantastic.  I'm listening to samples now.  Perfect!   Thank you.

another good practice book/CD, is "Burnin'!!!" by Jamey Abersold.  I have this and have used it.  A GREAT workout. 
http://www.counterpoint-music.com/Catalogues/jajazz/jamey_4.html

As far as recorded jazz tunes, there are tons.  I will see if I can compile a list for you.  However, almost all the ones I know/am thinking of, are MUCH older than 20 years ago....  (Ben Riley, Stan Levey, Max Roach, Tony, Buddy....) 

and with NO metronome!!!


 ;D

Ohhhhh, noooooooooooooo.........!


 ;D

That's the nice thing about the Allan Cox CD: you get a count-off and then it's just you and the rhythm section.

how do you guys play the really fast (250 bpm) swing feels on the ride? do you use french grip or..?

Yes, I use a thumbs-up grip on the ride for faster tempos - in fact for most of my jazz playing. Remember that the standard jazz ride pattern tends to straighten out as you get faster, otherwise the forward motion is lost and it feels too stiff.

thanks for that. i never knew about the pattern straightening out, that would make things easier... oh, the merits of going to jazz school.

Well, you can learn technique at "jazz school" - or you could simply get some lessons with a jazz drumming teacher near you - but the best tool for hearing swing is your ears. Get some recordings of jazz drummers playing fast tempos and listen to the way they phrase their swung 8th-notes. Some of the straightening is simply a matter of technique - it's easier to play the notes as three relatively evenly spaced strikes of the cymbal at 320 than to try to articulate them the same way as you would at 120. But, it's also about generating a feeling of forward motion. At really hot tempos, playing the "skip" beat of the ride cymbal pattern too close to the next quarter really makes things feel herky-jerky - as though you were stopping and starting every two beats. Think fluidity.

Also, it's good to conceive of the time in a "bigger", more open way than at a slower tempo. Trying to think/feel 1.2.3.4.1.2.3.4.1.2....when the tempo is burning, is both hard and is going to give you and your playing a feeling of tension. A lot of players tend to think/feel things in "2" (so your pulses would be on 1 and 3) or even in single bar lengths (pulse on 1 of each bar). One warning, when thinking in "2", make sure not to play in two (with the bass drum on 1 and 3, for instance) as you will wreck the fluidity at those tempos.