Some of my favorite JazzTimes pieces throughout the years haven’t been profiles or music reviews but rather the more thematic and conceptual features-for instance, Geoffrey Himes’ 2013 article on the history of the bass clarinet (which, it’s worth noting, recently earned its author and outlet a prestigious ASCAP Deems Taylor Award).
Over the past summer, as I was taking in various gigs and sifting through stacks of promo CDs, I kept thinking about bigger-picture topics that might do well in this drum-themed November issue. At the Umbria Jazz Festival in July, I heard pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s Volcan and it hit me. The quartet features Giovanni Hidalgo and Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez on percussion and drum kit, respectively-two Eddie Palmieri alumni who create simmering excitement without ever seeming to get in each other’s way or overpower the group. It was a remarkable hookup to witness live, and it made me realize how many great groups, in and out of Latin jazz, have employed a kit-plus-percussion setup in the rhythm section. More important, it made me want to learn about how this particular rapport works-its strengths and potential pitfalls. So I assigned Thomas Conrad a feature detailing both the history and theory behind these relationships, from Chano Pozo and Kenny Clarke through fusion and into contemporary teams like Daniel Sadownick and Antonio Sanchez.
While I was assembling this issue (and the Jazz Education Guide), I continued to dissect these dynamic rhythmic kinships because they seemed to be everywhere. At a Town Hall tribute to John Lurie’s music in September, a brilliant nod to Lurie’s National Orchestra featured the original union of G. Calvin Weston and Billy Martin plus John Zorn in Lurie’s spot and guest percussionist Cyro Baptista. And I kept spinning Ginger Baker’s Why? (Motéma), his recent release featuring saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, bassist Alec Dankworth and Ghanaian hand drummer Abass Dodoo. Now in his mid-70s, Baker has aged in the best possible way a musician can: The years have streamlined his technique but not damaged it. He has always been a purposeful drummer, even in wide-open situations-his band with Peter Brötzmann and Sonny Sharrock moved with surprisingly coherent propulsion-but now his style comes off as one even, limber wave of rhythm that crests modestly and roils on. Dodoo gets in where he fits in, and with Baker’s ensemble-geared attack and mesh of influence from jazz, R&B and West Africa, it’s sometimes difficult to discern who is playing what.
JT Editor Evan Haga Introduces the November 2014 Issue
The power of two
