[Dixielandjazz] Drummers - Do you hear the changes?

[Stephen Barbone]

Gigged with drummer Howard Kadison over the weekend. He and I met in NYC
at the Cinderella Club in 1959 and have gigged off and on since. (He
lives 150 miles away.) We met 3 hours before the gig (Sydney's Jazz
Club, Rehoboth DE) had dinner and talked a lot about "The Good Old Days"
in NYC.

Later at the gig, (which was just extraordinary) everyone in the band
remarked about his impeccable sense of time. And so Howard and I talked
about it after the gig. I told him we all thought he was just wonderful
and then I asked him specifically about his solos.

You see, he plays "musical" drums". When he takes a chorus, or two, most
musicians and some in the audience can clearly hear the song. He is not
just tapping out rhythms, he is playing he song. (And yes, of course, he
tunes his drums) And nobody in the band has to count measures on the
drum solo, we hear where he is and come in automatically when he has
said what he wants to say. So I asked him how he constructs his solos.
He said:

"Simple, I hear the chord changes and I play them. Doesn't every drummer
do that?"

I don't know and so my question to drummers on the List. Do you hear the
changes, and play them when you solo?

Cheers,
Steve Barbone