drums Archives - JAZZ IMPRESSIONS

Pete La Roca – Lazy Afternoon

One of the many attractive qualities of jazz, more than any other musical genre, is how the same song can be interpreted in many different ways. Whether this is Bill Evans and Yusef Lateef offering their personal takes on a classic soundtrack, or Ahmad Jamal and Bobby Hutcherson reworking a Herbie Hancock original, the musical freedom that underpins jazz allows its musicians to constantly reinvent and offer fresh perspectives on popular classics. In his last post, Dan wrote on guitarist Grant Green’s version of the ballad ‘Lazy Afternoon’. Whilst Green’s version is excellent, the definitive version in my opinion of this well known standard is found on drummer Pete La Roca’s album Basra, released in 1965 on Blue Note.

Idris Muhammad – Piece Of Mind

After a couple of months in hibernation, we’re back! In our last post, Dan chose Freddie Hubbard’s fusion classic ‘Red Clay’, released on CTI Records in 1970. A year after this album was released, CTI founded Kudu Records, a sub-label intended to showcase artists with a more commercial appeal to their CTI counterparts. Consisting of mainly black musicians, Kudu’s releases were often rooted in the soul jazz sound that was popular at the time. Drummer Idris Muhammad’s defining masterpiece Power Of Soul, released on the label in 1974 is one of the standout albums of the Kudu catalogue.

Max Roach – Tears for Johannesburg

As tens of thousands of protestors march against police brutality and systemic racism, one album demands to be heard. We Insist! Max Roach’s Freedom Now Suite is a protest record from 1960, and the inspiration behind many subsequent works including ‘The Reverend King Suite’ from Jack DeJohnette’s Sorcery (1974). As Ollie mentioned, Roach said after its release: “I will never again play anything that does not have social significance.”

Jack DeJohnette – Epilog

What do Mahavishnu Orchestra’s ‘Vital Transformation’ and Jack DeJohnette’s ‘Epilog’ have in common apart from being great examples of jazz fusion? They both begin with incredible drum breaks. ‘Epilog’ is the final track on DeJohnette’s album Sorcery released on Prestige in 1974.

Max Roach – Effi

The previous post focussed on ‘Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting’ from Charles Mingus’ political and earthy album Blues & Roots. Today, I look at the album Members, Don’t Git Weary, released on Atlantic in 1968 by a musical contemporary of Mingus, the great Max Roach, one of the most influential drummers in the history of jazz. Roach was a bebop pioneer and changed the way drummers played jazz, elevating the drummer from accompanist to major player.