[Dixielandjazz] drums

[BillSargentDrums at aol.com]

Clive said
 
<<Its an hoary old question, I know, but why is it that the great  bands of 
the
20's and early 30's (Oliver, Armstrong, Morton, Bix, Bechet et  al) seldom if
ever featured drum solos (I am talking about the days of  electric
recordings) - if they had featured drum solos when playing live,  would they
not have recorded with said drum solos included? >>
 
Two things,
 
1. For a long period of musical history, and in some prejudiced circles  
still today, the band consisted of "5 musicians and a drummer". The prejudices  
dictated that the drummer surely couldn't be a musician.
 
Frankly, today, in many cases the reverse is now true. In many, not all,  but 
many cases the drummer is the most advanced, most musically educated  
musician in the band. Drummers for the past 3 decades have been elevating their  
skills to levels never before seen.
 
I can tell you when a chord change or voicing is wrong. I can discuss  
musical phrasing, melodic choices. I choose my cymbal at any current moment in a  
song based upon the overtones from the cymbal matching the harmonic structure of 
 the section of the song being played at that moment. can sing you the key a  
song is usually played in, etc. etc., and I am, by far, NOT anywhere near as  
skilled as some of my contemporaries.
 
Furthermore, in many cases a drummer today is well versed in many different  
genres of music. I wear so many different hats, musically . . . people  
pigeon-hole me in the particular genre they hear me in, usually having no clue  as 
to the other circles I travel in. And, once again, I am no-where near as  adept 
at that as some of my contemporaries.
 
2. You can't base the present, or the future, on the past. If that was the  
case, then none of us would be doing what we're doing now. It is highly  
irrelevant what anyone did or did not do in the 20's or 30's. If that's the  case, 
the why draw the line there. Why not the 18 or 1700's?
 
The drum set itself is only about 100 years old. Gene Krupa brought the  
drums from the back of the band to the forefront in '38. Don't know exactly when  
singers started using a microphone.
 
But things evolve and drummers deserve a piece of the pie just like every  
other musician. We have something to say too. That's said, there are many times  
I'm totally content with playing no solos at all and just making everyone 
else  sound good. But, when I have something to say, I like to be heard too.
 
I guess it's a matter of taking one's eyes off one's self and being  
considerate to others . . . including the drummer.
 
 
 
Bill
414-777-0100
BillSargentBands.com

Just released:  "The Best Of Bill Sargent Bands - Volume 1"

Available at:  http://billsargentbands.com/recordings.htm








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