The Genius Of Elvin Jones

my name is Elvin Jones and uh I'd like  to give you some a little background I could never really accept the standard form so  I was in a way of like a Rebels man and the Word   was out there you know nobody could play with me  because I played too uh I couldn't understand it laughs known for his polyrhythmic approach to  time keeping comping and soloing his power and   explosive energy behind the drum kit and for  being one of the first jazz drummers to really   approach the drum set as One Singular voice  Elven Jones is one of the most influential   drummers in jazz history a drummer who influenced  other drumming Legends like Mitch Mitchell John   Bonham bill bruford John Densmore and Ginger  Baker who Elven actually drum battled in the   early 70s Elvin started drumming professionally  in the late 1940s and continued to perform until   he passed away in 2004. most famously he worked  with John Coltrane as part of his classic quartet   from 1960 through to 1966. recording on pivotal  Jazz records like a Love Supreme my favorite   things and Ascension and he also performed with  other musicians like Wayne shorter Joe Henderson   Freddie Hubbard Miles Davis Sunny Rollins and  he even LED his own solo projects including   the Elven Jones Jazz machine Elvin was a musical  Pioneer and innovator and ultimately he changed   the direction and future of jazz drumming join  us as we dive into the genius of Elvin Jones so when you mention jazz music to someone they  probably only think of songs like this one so that was so wet from the 1959 Miles  Davis record called kind of blue which   features the legendary Jimmy Cobb on drums  this is one of the most influential and   best-selling jazz albums in history now  on the other end of the spectrum here's   an example of what Elvin was already up  to a few years before this record came out many say that the Sonny Rollins album  live at the Village Vanguard which was   recorded in November 1957 maybe one of  the very first times where we hear what   would later be described as the Elven  Jones sound from dramatic Dynamics to bombastic cymbal crashes a washy rivet-filled ride cymbal sound and Alvin's complex use of  hemiolas and polyrhythms in the words of Branford Marsalis what you hear if  you check out the Sonny Rollins record is I think   the most important aspect of elven's playing he  came through the tradition of Swing drumming not   at the expense of the tradition and extended that  concept Alvin describes his approach like this I   grew up with the old methods and learned them  and then I had to reject them not really reject   but rather I chose to use the parts of them  that suited me which isn't exactly a rejection   so to start off let's dive into some key  characteristics of elven's playing starting   with his swing feel when you listen to records  from the 40s 50s and 60s most drummers would   Place emphasis on Beats two and four when playing  the ride symbol or even on every quarter no beat   this is pretty standard across the board  whether you were listening to Art Blakey   Max Roach or Philly Joe Jones when Alvin would  play the ride symbol he would place the emphasis   on the upbeat of Beats 2 and 4 which really  gave the music a sense of forward motion and   emphasized the triplet here's a comparison  between a more standard swing feel with the   emphasis on Beats two and four and Elven swing  feel with the emphasis on the upbeat foreign here's some examples where you can hear Alvin  emphasizing the upbeat on the ride symbol like his ride symbol playing Elven approached  comping or accompaniment in a way that was very   non-traditional incorporating not only  all four of his limbs into his playing   but doing it in a very linear style that at  the time was seen as unusual not to mention   very difficult to follow for some musicians  who weren't used to this style of playing   I played with other groups and I've had sometimes  severe criticism about the way I played I didn't   try to comply to standard forms but with John I  was sort of everything that I had learned up to   that point it gave its significance one thing  Elven was famous for was his use of triplets   before Elvin not many drummers were focusing  in particular on the middle triplet partial   in interviews and Clinics Elven is described and  demonstrated this exercise to explain his approach so this is simply the Jazz ride symbol  pattern played with the right hand while   filling in the missing triplets with the  left hand on the snare drum and if you look   at the sticking it's a single paradiddle  diddle just starting in a different place   now according to Canadian jazz drummer  John McCaslin who took notes during one   of elvin's clinics at McGill University in  1999 Elven explained that you don't have to   play all the missing triplets on the snare  drum instead you can assign those missing   triplets to the snare drum the hi-hats and  the bass drum in lots of creative ways foreign foreign so you can hear this type of  playing on so many different   recordings including tracks like this next one now before we move on we have all of the examples  from this lesson available inside of the drumeo   members area where you can slow down the parts  you can Loop them and this is a huge help when   you're working on these ideas especially  when you're practicing the comping exercises so you can click the link right below  this video to get a free 7-Day trial   to drumeo and with that let's dive into  the next section on elven's drum sounds although we typically think of a thunderous  and powerful sound when we think of Alvin he   did choose to use small drums in his early  days a small four-piece Gretch Progressive   Jazz kit just like the one I have here except  you would typically use an 18-inch bass drum   which are super rare nowadays so if you have one  I would strongly recommend hanging on to it and   later in his career you can also see him playing  slingerland Premiere Tama and Yamaha drum kits as   well now Elvin has said in interviews that using  a small bass drum was partly due to the fact that   they mostly traveled by car and an 18-inch bass  drum just fit better into either a trunk or the   back seat Elven even played a 16 inch bass  drum with the Coltrane quartet back in 1965. He also mentioned that playing big drums  or drum sets were obtrusive on the small   stages that he would perform on and to  give you some perspective here's a record   that the Coltrane quartet recorded at the  half no Club in New York in Spring 1965. now look how small that club was and this was  pretty typical of a lot of venues that Elven   would perform in with Coltrane and with other  Jazz musicians Elvin was also known to use K   Zildjian symbols back in the day which is what you  hear on all of those classic records from the 60s he clearly had a wide dynamic range but he  was known as a drummer who could play very   loudly with a lot of energy Steve Davis  who played bass on the records Coltrane   sound and my favorite things recalls this  about Elvin that first night Elven was in   the band he was playing so strong and so  loud you could hear him outside the club   and to helm the block Trane wanted it that  way he wanted a drummer who could really kick   and maybe this explains why sometimes Elven  would nail the bass drum to the floor let's   just say we're not the only ones who  have to deal with creeping bass drums now when it came to Elven sound we can't forget  about his use of mallets as heard on tracks like   the drum thing from Crescent Alabama from live  at Birdland and love from first meditations   here's a clip from 1991 where you can see  Elven performing with felt mallets foreign or even on Psalm which is part four of a Love  Supreme where Elvin is heard playing timpani   on this one you'll also hear elvin's riveted  symbols that you hear on so many of his recordings and of course we can't forget about elvin's  masterful brush playing as heard on tracks   like say it over and over again from  ballads and shiny stockings from heavy   sounds here's a great example from 1990  of Elven playing in a Sentimental Mood foreign and here's a clip from a solo  played entirely with brushes but even when Elven would play with regular  drumsticks he would often play using the butt   end of the stick in the left hand and sometimes  even in the right hand as well here's a clip where   you can see Elven playing using the butt  end of the stick in the left hand foreign all of these things combined with  elven's masterful drum set playing   resulted in a completely new sound that  would change the direction of jazz drumming all right I explained polyrhythmic style to a  man and the moon the poly of that word means   many and a rhythm of course so it just means  many rhythms and uh so that's exactly what it is   one aspect of elven's playing that gave him such a  fresh and unique sound was his use of polyrhythms   and hemiolas Elvin once said in an interview I  think the phrasing should never be confined to a   rigid pattern why shouldn't it overlap listen to a  song like agenda from elvin's polycurrence record   where you can hear Elvin playing an afro-cuban  style Groove against some other percussion parts this idea of polyrhythmic playing can be  heard in countless examples of Alvin's   playing here's an example of Elven  playing some three beat phrases in a   4-4 context which is something he did all the time here's a similar idea from resolution which is  part two of a Love Supreme in this one Elvin   and McCoy Tyner outline a repeating three  beat phrase together on drums and piano or in the bridge of three card Molly where Elven  is playing on the toms with different groupings Elven would commonly use several layers of  polyrhythms all at the same time according   to Jazz drummer John McCaslin who took notes  during the master class I mentioned earlier   Elven explained how these were the actual  exercises that he himself had worked on and   they allowed him to develop his unique style of  jazz drumming according to Elven these exercises   are the basis of his polyrhythmic approach  to time keeping here's what they sound like thank you if you listen to a track like three card Molly  you can hear these elements throughout like in   the saxophone solo where you can hear Alvin  playing dotted quarters on the bass drum and speaking of polyrhythms or many  rhythms Elven would utilize all four   of his limbs when comping within a  group which wasn't super common among   more traditional players of the time here's  two examples from Witch Hunt and the trip and we see all of this culminate in some of  Alvin's more impressionistic or free time   playing as well like on coltrane's sonship record  which was recorded in August 1965 and a word of   warning this record isn't the easiest listen but  the band interaction is absolutely incredible foreign you can even hear this approach on a song   Elven recorded with the rock  band our lady piece in 1999. Elvin was one of the first jazz drummers to  really approach the drum set as One Singular   voice compared to drummers during the big  band era and even the Bebop era who used   certain voices on the drum set primarily  for time keeping and others for comping   in the words of Elvin people are never  going to approach the drum set correctly   if they don't start thinking of it as a  single musical instrument if you learn   at piecemeal that's the way you're going to  play it you have to learn it in total foreign recalls a conversation with Elvin Jones asking  how many times he played my favorite things   with the Coltrane quartet and Elven replied  we played it every night for five years man   we played it every night like there would be  no tomorrow like it would be the last time   we played it now with that kind of experience  and consistency it's pretty clear how Elven was   as great as he was not to mention all of the  experience and practice hours he accumulated   before working with John Coltrane according to  elvin's longtime saxophonist Pat labarbra Elven   loosened up the time and opened up the music  whenever he played he had the ability to move   with the music and lead the band when it came  to time and feel this was a characteristic that   made elven's playing so refreshing and different  from a lot of other drummers listen to how Elven   plays relaxed time on recordings like speak  no evil and Fifi faux fum by Wayne shorter foreign was also known for the way he played in a  3-4 Waltz context here are a few examples foreign we even hear examples of Elven playing an  odd time on tracks like 5-4 thing and siete ocho Alvin also explored the world of afro-cuban  and Latin inspired grooves and these can be   heard on some of his most iconic tracks  so I'm going to demo a few of them for   you starting with the famous Elvin Jones afro  Waltz so Elven will improvise a ton within this   sort of GrooVe framework but here's two  variations that you can get started with foreign here's one from the song Passion Dance by  McCoy Tyner which features one of elvin's   famous Mambo style grooves in the bridge section foreign this next one is from a track we looked  at earlier by Art pepper called the trip   which features a Groove involving  all four limbs in the intro section and lastly let's look at two grooves  from one of my all-time favorite   records a Love Supreme the first  Groove is what Elven plays right   when Jimmy Garrison's Baseline comes in  during part one called acknowledgment thank you and the second one is from later in the tune  when the band is improvising and Elven adds   in the Mozambique Bell pattern Elven plays  This Groove with the bell and bow of the ride   symbol throughout the song so feel free  to try both options for yourself foreign so Elven plays a ton of really  cool Latin inspired grooves on   the song acknowledgment and I've actually  transcribed the entire drum part and it's   available inside of the drummio members  area right now so you can see exactly   what he plays in every bar of the song you  can slow down his Parts you can Loop them speaking from personal experience sometimes  it's really tough to hear exactly what's   going on when you're listening to Elven so  I highly recommend checking it out you can   click the link right below this video or  the button right here on screen to start   a seven day free trial to drum you beyond  this type of playing Elven also explored   the world of jazz fusion in the mid 70s as  you can hear on his album on the mountain like we talked about earlier Alvin was also  quite Adept at playing in softer scenarios   as well this is heard in his brush playing  on tracks like you are too beautiful which   features his two brothers Thad Jones on  cornette and Hank Jones on piano foreign true Elven fashion he could also play with  more power and volume like on this track and to tie all of these examples together in  elven's own words fundamentally nothing has   changed in time keeping but we have become more  aware of the possibilities of the drum set foreign captivating aspects of elven's playing was his  bombastic spontaneous and creative drum solos his   vocabulary was also very rooted in the rudimental  tradition Elven even said that his time serving   and playing in the U.S Army Band helped him to  build his rudimental chops which undoubtedly   had an influence on his later playing you can  hear this influence in tracks like these foreign the single paradiddle diddle was one of  elvin's go-to rudiments he had countless   ways of applying the rudiment around  the kit whether it was played between   the ride symbol and the snare drum in an  up-tempo setting or around the Toms in a   Solo setting here are a few examples where  you can hear him using it in a Solo foreign theme in Elven solo vocabulary is its use of   linear playing around the kit  typically in groups of threes foreign now when you're practicing this  you can practice right left kick or you can practice Left Right  kick which is the sticking I prefer or the way Elven used this idea most  often switching between lead hands you can even try substituting the bass drum for  the hi-hat like Elven would do in his solos and   comping and really you can just be creative with  this concept in terms of how you orchestrated   around the kit and the subdivisions that you  use now chances are you've probably heard these   triplet ideas played by drummers like John Bonham  Carmine a piece and Ginger Baker but you can hear   Elven playing these triplet ideas even before  bands like Zeppelin Vanilla Fudge and cream   even existed here's an example from November  1965 where Elven is performing with Larry Young and beyond all of this Elven solos included all  of the traits that he became known for thunderous   Tom rules bombastic cymbal crashes wide open  flams and polyrhythmic playing in this clip   of Village Green you can hear Elvin playing  some wide open flams between Different Drums and here's some clips where you can see and hear   Elvin playing some flurries around the  toms with some powerful symbol crashes foreign drum solos we can't forget about how he  used Melody as a key element of his solos   here's a clip of him discussing his process  while soloing over the tune three card Molly   if we understand the melody then we  can understand how the melody or that   rhythmic phrase can be developed so  the melody being in terms of rhythm from there he adds the bass drum and hi-hat  and starts experimenting with orchestrations   in this next part you'll see him actually  soloing over the melody and if you sing The   Melody of the song which will be on screen  you'll hear it outlined in the drum part foreign so in that three card Molly solo you hear Elvin  moving between lots of different subdivisions or   note values to build tension and momentum  in the solo one of my favorite examples   of Elven demonstrating this concept is from  his Solo in the song affendi by McCoy Tyner thank you well Alvin could have a loud and aggressive  playing style he was just as masterful in softer   more delicate settings just like you hear on  the song the drum thing from the record Crescent and as many of you probably know Elvin also had  a signature way of ending his solos in elven's   own words sometimes one has to use devices to  bring the group back together my device at that   particular time was a role and a vigorous nodding  of the head finally you can see many of these   ideas summed up in one of elven's most iconic drum  solos from the track black Nile by Wayne shorter foreign that's a wrap on the genius of Alvin Jones  hopefully you enjoyed this deep dive into   elven's playing and of course there's no way  we could cover everything we've only scratched   the surface and now it's up to you to check out  all of the recordings and start practicing these   ideas for yourself now before you go make sure  you leave a comment below and let me know one   thing that you've learned from listening to Elvin  Jones and if you enjoyed this video be sure to hit   those like And subscribe buttons along with the  notification Bell because there's so many other   great things coming up here on the drumeo channel  including Live Events guest artist lessons and   lots more videos in the genius of series if you  enjoyed the geniusub series make sure you check   out some other features on drummers like Taylor  Hawkins Neil Peart Danny Carey Phil Collins and   many many others and if there's another drummer  you'd like to see a drum you feature on please   let me know in the comments or through one of my  social channels and we'll see if we can make it   happen with that thank you so much for watching  and I'll see you all in the next video cheers

Channel: Drumeo

Views: 469,084

Keywords: The Genius Of Elvin Jones, elvin jones, elvin jones solo, jazz drumming, elvin jones drum solo, elvin jones live, elvin jones interview, elvin jones john coltrane, elvin jones drums, jazz drumming techniques, jazz drumming solo, drum lesson, free drum lesson, fun with drums, jazz music, jazz, jazz drummers, Brandon toews, brandon toews drummer, brandon toews drumeo, drumeo lesson, drumeo, jazz drumming lesson, jazz drumming tips

Id: bFTvZl8G9Z4

Length: 32min 20sec (1940 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 16 2022