Listener Friendly Solos (1)

Back in the days of Gene Krupa and Papa Jo Jones, drum solos were simple, with jungle rhythms on the toms and a lot of fancy footwork on the snare. As music became more sophisticated, so too did drum solos. Then we hit the whole 'uber art' decades of bop and neo-bop. Intellectuals with chops to burn set the world on fire while raising the technical bar considerably. But, truth be known, Max Roach could not move an audience quite the same way Buddy Rich could. And the reason was simple: Max created his solos in a more intellectual, perhaps less user-friendly style. Buddy always played to the crowd.

I use a simple formula when I’m writing: audience, content, style. Many people, when they sit down to write, focus too much on style, or they obsess about content. The result is that they may virtually forget about the audience -- the people who might want to read their work. If you want to be read, then you have to make your writing user-friendly.

As musicians, we can fall into this same trap of style and content before everything else. A lot of beginning drummers obsess about speed, licks and chops, sometimes neglecting to study music and music history. Worse, they may play totally for their own amusement or to impress rather than express.

Now, despite the nature of his music, Max Roach said he played for the dancers. He wanted to play music that would move the listeners, to get them ‘on their feet’, if only in spirit. And it worked, despite the limitations that were applied to small clubs at the time(2). 

A great example of playing for the audience is Steve Moore "The Mad Drummer”. You've probably seen Steve in a video titled “This drummer is at the wrong gig.” A very capable player to begin with, Steve decided to specialize in what drives audiences crazy. Why? Well why not? And despite Steve's unorthodox style, he generally doesn't let it mess with the music. 

My suggestion is, next time out -- whether soloing or just playing time -- pay attention to your listeners and try to tell them a story through your instrument. If you get this right, your chops will be put to good use and you'll have a better chance of getting the ‘dancers’ on your side.

 

1 - This is a concept I got from veteran Toronto-based drummer Al Cross. In this video, Al talks about studying with Joe Morello.

2 - In 2017, New York City repealed its Cabaret Law. The law went into effect in 1926 and it banned dancing in clubs without the appropriate license, which many clubs -- primarily small jazz clubs -- could not afford. So Max really was playing for the dancers, even when they couldn't dance.