Wednesday, September 10th
Following up on Friday’s post, here are a couple more early favorites.
*****
October 15, 2009
How to be both solid and fluid, both fat and delicate. How to make the beat breathe. These are things that, as a child, Philly Joe Jones began to learn while dancing—tap-dancing. Just watch the way Thelonious Monk, listening to this solo, rocks back and forth (1:25-1:50), as if he’s about to break into a little dance himself.
Philly Joe Jones, live (with Thelonious Monk), 1959
*****
October 3, 2009
Here are two New Orleans drummers who embrace the Muhammad Ali aesthetic: float like a butterfly (0:56-1:58, etc.), sting like a bee (1:59, etc.).
Dwayne Williams (bass drum) and Jason Slack (snare), live (before a gig), Hudson, New York, 2007