Jazz Drum Transcriptions - an educational resource - newest transcription: In the Mood - drums: Maurice "Moe" Purtill

A quick note on a personal matter: My YouTube series Real Book Drumming has now been turned into a digital book, which is available from Hudson Music. It is called:

Jazz Standards on the Drumset

It contains transcriptions and analyses of ten well-known jazz standards,each in two different versions, played by different drummers (e.g. Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Joe Morello, Jimmy Cobb). The aim is to show the diversity of musical approaches to the same piece, with a focus on the interpretation of the theme.

If this is of interest to you, your students, or colleagues, I would be delighted if you would take a look:

https://hudsonmusic.com/product/jazz-standards-on-the-drumset/?wcacra=1961717

And, as always, I welcome feedback or questions, either here in the thread or on my YouTube channel.

Best regards,
Timo

Awesome!

Congratulations mate, well done. I will definitely be having a look at that.



Ps - will it become an actual paper book at any point?

@Huw Owens: Thanks a lot, I hope you will like it! Thanks for your support, it really means a lot to me!

Huw Owens said:

will it become an actual paper book at any point?

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Unfortunately, I don't think so. Maybe if it becomes a bestseller. It depends somewhat on the sales figures. So keep your fingers crossed for me!

Dear drummers,

In my newest episode of my “Real Book Drumming” series, I focus on the first 68 bars of Billy Higgins' drumming in “Mr. Kenyatta".


The composition by Lee Morgan appeared on the album Search for the New Land, recorded in 1964 but not released until 1966. Alongside Morgan on trumpet, the jazz greats Wayne Shorter (tenor saxophone), Herbie Hancock (piano), Grant Green (guitar), Reggie Workman (bass), and Billy Higgins (drums) also played on the track.

The song Mr. Kenyatta is dedicated to Kenyan President Jomo Kenyatta, who led Kenya to independence. The piece is characterized by its energetic, driving character, not least due to the interplay between Hancock's piano theme and Higgins' expressive drumming. Mr. Kenyatta is rhythmically direct, with a drive that clearly defines the piece. The feel of Mr. Kenyatta moves between binary and ternary in the A section, which is also referred to as in-between and cannot really be represented in standard musical notation. The B section is clearly recognizable as a classic swing.

At that time, Higgins was one of the busiest jazz drummers of his generation. Over the course of his career, he played on over 500 albums and worked with Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, and many others. His style combines the melodic approach of Max Roach with the energy of Art Blakey, but remains more restrained in relation to the overall picture of the music.

Thanks for watching!

Dear drummers,

In my newest episode of my YouTube series “Real Book Drumming,” I focus on one of the most famous big band pieces of the swing era: “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra. In this video, I present a complete drum transcription and a performance of Maurice "Moe" Purtill's drumming.


In the video, you will see two lines of notation: at the top, the drum chart in a big band context; at the bottom, my transcription of the August 1, 1939 recording by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra. This dual layout helps you understand how the chart is translated into musical drumming. The drummer of the Glenn Miller Band at the time, Maurice "Moe" Purtill, was known for his precision and disciplined swing. With his hi-hat playing, he was largely responsible for the typical Miller groove. In this 1939 recording, he demonstrates how a swing pattern can be put at the service of the ensemble, without frills, but with maximum effect.

If you enjoyed this video, I would appreciate it if you subscribed to my channel, as new videos are posted regularly.Which big band drummer inspires you? Which songs would you like to see transcribed?

Thanks for watching!

By the way, if you would like to download the complete transcription, you can find it on my Patreon page. There I offer over 50 additional drum transcriptions from my “Real Book Drumming” series, all as printable PDF files.Patreon – Transcriber Membership: https://www.patreon.com/c/jazzdrummerscorner/membership and please take notice of my book "Jazz Standads on the Drumset", released by Hudson Music: https://hudsonmusic.com/product/jazz-standards-on-the-drumset/?wcacra=1961717

Thanks for your support!

omygosh thought I read "Paul Motian plays Kurt Weill with Tethered Moon"

don't forget Paul Motian later works
early Bill Evans stuff is pretty straight; but after that...
Be interesting if possible to chart any of it out )
probably an unnecessary task) forget it.

jda said:

Be interesting if possible to chart any of it out )
probably an unnecessary task) forget it.

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Hey, I transcribed Money Jungle by Duke Ellington with Max Roach on drums, which was a real challenge. Could it get any worse? Which song from Tethered Moon do you have in mind?

Alabama Song
or any track that seem coherent to tackle(!

maybe there's a coherent section somewhere (I mean time-played


being it's pretty-much "instinct meter.. emotional-meter.. "lofty-cloud meter".. "highly-atmospheric"

pS: don't do it... I wouldn't tackle it unless paid to do so! and even then.. possibly/impossible/ I just thought I saw "Paul Motian" in your latest post title
he does "groove" during "piano solo" in "Alabama" but it's so unmeter random I wouldn't wish transcribing it on my own worst enemy (!!

jda said:

Alabama Song
or any track that seem coherent to tackle(!

maybe there's a coherent section somewhere (I mean time-played

Tethered Moon Play Kurt Weill - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

being it's pretty-much "instinct meter.. emotional-meter.. "lofty-cloud meter".. "highly-atmospheric"

pS: don't do it... I wouldn't tackle it unless paid to do so! and even then.. possibly/impossible/ I just thought I saw "Paul Motian" in your latest post title
he does "groove" during "piano solo" in "Alabama" but it's so unmeter random I wouldn't wish transcribing it on my own worst enemy (!!

Click to expand...

Honestly? I love transcribing things that seem impossible at first glance. Even if you can't write down every note exactly (which is actually the case with every transcription), you can learn a lot from phrasing, dynamics, touch, and space. So it's not something I would take on without good reason, but please, no deadlines! Thanks for the inspiration!