My dad was a jazz drummer and Elvin Jones was his hero. About twenty five years ago, my dad had the opportunity to hear Elvin give a masterclass in Montreal at the Salle Gesu concert hall and actually got to play with him. My dad told me that besides marrying my mom and my birth, that day with Elvin was happiest day of his life.
Just a few thoughts that haven't been touched on. First of all, when Elvin first came out of Detroit and was making a name for himself, NOBODY played like him at the time. He made a lot of the old guys mad for his very unique style and his use of polyrhythyms. Elvin was not liked at first. He was a brave man, a pioneer. He knew what he was doing and so did guys like Coltrane and Sonny. He came from a very musical and talented family. The Jones brothers were all so uniquely talented. The second thing I want to point out is his appearance in the early 70s cult movie "Zachariah", where Elvin plays a gunslinger. He appears along with Joe Walsh and the James Gang and pushes Jimmy Fox away from his drums and proceeds to play one helluva solo. So cool and weird and amazing. Hard to find, but worth the search. Elvin was a gift to us drummers. He paved the way for so many. There was only one Elvin.
The audio had been lost for Elvin's drum solo in that scene in ZACHARIAH, and Earl Palmer actually recreated the solo, which was then dubbed into the scene.
John Coltrane played with and listened to hundreds of AMAZING drummers, but the first time he heard Elvin playing he thought there were two drummers with two drumsets on the stage. That's how good Elvin is... No one touches him... No one.
andrew hall Have I got an Elvin Jones story for ya. Back in the mid 70's, he was invited to perform with a high school jazz ensemble my older brother played in, and conduct an afternoon masterclass. Since I was learning how to play drums at the time, I cut class to go to the Masterclass and also was able to go backstage to the concert since I was helping my brother cart his gear around. What happened at the concert is that Elvin has his Gretsch kit with the 18inch bass drum, and at that time, the spurs they had were those old fashioned ones that didn't really hold the bass drum firmly in place when put on a wood floor at an auditorium, they forgot to get him a carpet for his drum set. Anyway, during the first song, Elvin's bass drum was sliding forward and Elvin was constantly pulling back his bass drum. Well, after a couple of minutes Elvin stopped the song and he told them to get something to put in front of the bass drum. This is where it gets Fucking hilarious. They gave Elvin Jones a wood block, a couple of long nails and a freaking hammer. So, the auditorium is packed with people, the high school band is on stage watching this and Elvin FREAKING Jones is crouching in front of his bass drum pounding nails into a block of wood to hold his bass drum. After a couple of hits with the hammer he accidentally hit his thumb and yelled FUCK! He finished pounding the nails in the block of wood and then started the song back up. I felt bad for the guy since the High School Band conductor didn't have someone ELSE pound the nail into the block of wood. Another part of this was during their rehearsal, the band conductor chose the songs ahead of time and since Elvin has a brother Thad, he figured it would be appropriate to play one of his songs. But here's the kicker, the song he chose was a big band arrangement and Elvin never even heard of the song, let alone have any experience playing it. They played it anyway. During the masterclass, Elvin kept on nodding off and making his traditional moaning/grunting sound, but he was doing this while the question and answer period. I guess he had just flown from New York to California and I guess he was so tired, he was nodding off and making that sound instead of answering questions. No one knew what to say or do. FUCKING CLASSIC.
I am a drummer and drumming instructor. I appreciate all of the drummers-- in their own way. I think that we should not compare Elvin Jones to other drummers. I feel that he is a magnificent drummer. His polymeters and barline crossings seemed strange at first to many people. Also, he didn't use the typical cymbal pattern when swinging. If you are only into crisp technique, then Elvin is probably not your cup of tea either. Anyway, he was a true pioneer and modernist. I love him.
Certainly! But do you know anyone who makes this comparison? It must be someone completely ignorant about music and who can only evaluate music based on sensory pleasure, rather than intelligence and creativity.
WTF!! are you talking about don’t compare. You compare everything to yourself or others. If not how the hell would you know they were great. Don’t compare!! Please that must be the dumbest thing I’ve ever read on Y/T congrats. Oh I just compared your comment to every other one Y/T.
In the Drumeo video highlighting Elvin, they at one point say, “There are some things you can’t transcribe.” That’s Elvin. His feel, his swing, is unique and probably not replicable. He’s the best.
TheHighTower A love supreme is overrated? Get the fucking fuck outta here. That album did what the Beatles Revolver did to me. It took me to a new world where it felt like I left my body. I’m much more of a Beatles, Dylan, Neil Young kinda guy, than a Jazz guy, but there is no denying that A love supreme is one of the greatest works of art ever.
I’m always dazzled by Louie Bellson and Buddy . They are truly great players and they have so much technique. If I see Elvin something else happens. It’s more like he is telling a story and on a subconscious level I fully understand what he is telling without the need to figure out what he is doing on a technical level. It’s so raw and instinctively played on the moment. I love Elvin.
....i counted his phrases all the way through the dialogue.......and he hit the 1......kept track......his ideas are super advanced musically.......just sing the phrases with the basic melody in your mind while you do.....its a trip
I'm a classical flutist, but in college, went with a group of friends to hear him at Yoshi's Jazz club, in Oakland, CA. To say I was blown away would be the understatement of all time. He would go into the most complex solo I've ever heard, then at the end bring his buddies back into the song with his wire brushes on his snare, with the most perfect "feel", "groove " I've ever heard. Every cell in that man was created for rhythm and percussion. The greatest Jazz drummer there ever was, in my opinion. NO ONE COMES CLOSE.🥁🎵
Many drummers knowingly or unknowingly have been influenced by Elvin, and there is no argument as to who was better Elvin or Buddy. Because both men respected each other as fine musicians usually do. I saw Elvin at a modern drummers festival, and another drummer that I was with was criticizing him.I said to him, this man is not a young man anymore, and still he is doing things that many younger musicians still cannot play. He came and brought a new book to music and playing. He is without doubt one of the greats. Listen to any of his Coltrane recordings and watch the videos, this man was a creative genius with his own fingerprint.
This might be my first video of seeing Elvin do something like this. Very interesting. Taking a melodic idea and transposing rhythmically. He starts out kind of humbly then when he hooks it up, the sparks fly. Then after totally ripping it up gives a sweet little smile. Classic!
Michael Lantz Without question! Just ask him, Ginger Baker, John Bonham (if he were alive), or Tico Torres (from Bon Jovi). So many rock drummers were greatly inspired and influenced by Elvin's style.
Legend. His playing is beyond 'polyrhythm' as we know it, or talk about. In the sense that it isn't about playing different ostinato's/meters simultaneously like a computer. It's more about time-stretching, like a rubberband, without ever losing the One: the beginning and ending of the song are set in time/fixed points, but in between it's playing around (bending and stretching) with time, without losing the pulse, speeding or slowing or otherwise. Ultimate musical freedom. One of the few living greats capable of doing this is Jack DeJohnette, in my opinion.
A pure mix of genius, talent and above all COOL! Makes me wanna rush right out and grab a vintage Gretsch bop kit and start learning to be half as cool.
WOW! With Bellson's recent passing, Rich, Roach, Jones gone, we lost most of the cream greatest drummers from the golden age of big band and jazz. Thanks for posting. Glad we have them for a masters class on drumming.
One of the HIGHEST FIDELITY recordings of Elvin that I ever heard was, "Live at the Lighthouse." - Two disk set. (Vinyl and CD) It sounds superb! As if you are sitting ten rows out, center. Get ready, cuz it is TRUE Avant-garde!! ❤
I know, me too. I discovered Elvin through Mitch Mitchell, mainly from "Axis: Bold As Love". Elvin's influence on Mitch is all over that record. Backwards osmosis I guess. I had never heard Elvin or Coltrane when I first bought the first two Hendrix albums "Are You Experienced?" and "Axis: Bold As Love". Then after reading reviews of these albums in Downbeat and "Jazz and Pop" magazines, I went out and bought my first Coltrane album "Impressions". Totally blew my mind. Never heard music or drums the same way again.
Totally cool. He starts with a marching type rhythm then goes into a whirlwind of all types of patterns with rolls and flams that gel together. I'm a drummer and I still find it difficult to articulate what's going on. What a talent.
So fortunate to get to hang with Elvin when he would come to the Regatta Bar in Boston..Absolute magic on the drums, and such a great caring man...He was sent from Heaven to play and touch us all.
I've seen elvin play 4 times and every time I fall asleep. Its the weirdest phenomenon. Even 10 feet away,,, I just start saying "Oh my G-d" over and over in my mind, his playing is so spiritual and I have to use all of my energy just to listen.. Eventually, I just put my head down.
His explanation before the full solo really makes his heavy Gene Krupa influence more apparent. It's amazing to hear how him and Max all drew certain things from Gene (Elvin said his comping style was an attempt to incorporate Gene's rolling triplet phrases with the cymbal pattern) and how, later, Tony took Elvin and Max's interpretations of Gene's phrasing to an even more esoteric place. Really cool video.
i think elvin jones ushered in the "modern" era of jazz drumming- taking the frenetic force of people like buddy rich, from the big band stuff, and melding it with a sensibility akin to miles davis when bebop was passing out of fashion and the "cool" became the new mode of address -he was the right man at the right time for jazz and drumming in general. god bless him.
Musicians aren't concerned with comparing or being compared to other musicians... They leave all that shit to the blockhead "fans" who can only exercise creativity through a lens of critique and technical foundation. Pick up an instrument, learn the basics and EXPERIMENT. Every genre and form will eventually stagnate. Have fun with it.
To me, the best guys are the one's that can come up with something unique and stand out from the pack. Listen to Omar Hakim's drum part on Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" for instance. The groove is so simple, but it's a simple solution that works. Mick Fleetwood is another example of what I'm talking about. The way he utilizes his snare drum is so interesting and nothing like what you hear anyone else do. Musicians aren't athletes, so we shouldn't be comparing them by sheer means of quantification; but by sharing ideas and artforms.
I saw Elvin years ago with Coltrane and thought he was soling most of the time as they played in the quartet. He sat next to us after an hour and a half set and had steam coming off of him. Coltrane walked off the stage to the backroom of the Jazz Workshop doodling on his tenor. He kept this up all during the set break and then came back out, stomped his foot and did another long set. My Favorite Things was one of the tunes. Incredible!
As only Elvin can do it...Makes it look so simple, but then, all HELL breaks loose! What a totally original musician. Nobody played like that til Elvin hit the scene.
@marcmommaas -- wow, thanks for pointing that out. I didn't recognize Tony. Just saw Tony Moreno play here in NY a few months ago, playing great and super nice cat.
This is really something else! I have this video and every time I watch it I get something new and have more fun. Elvin us great and the interview reveals Elvin's personality and panache. I had a great time reviewing the part on the color of sounds, explained by Elvin while hitting his cymbals, for the interviewer's amazement and awe....
"If we understand the melody, then we can understand how that rhythmic phrase can be developed." That's what makes him so great. As Jimmy Chamberlin said in praise of guys like Elvin, Moon, Tony, "They were all great listeners."
he kinda sounds like morgan freeman i've been drumming for only about 5 months and I am just blown away by this guy, he is so impressive and knows everything about it, i wanna be like that some day
...every time i listen Elvin..everytime im always surprise...everytime him make me feel ever new sensation of music melody...i believe that this was incredible; like another drummer Roy and other fantastic...i believe that in this times so hard, his music open my mind to develope something, music or other... his approach doesn't kill my mind..id'liked live 30 yera ago for to see he..
hey dieyoung don't worry about it. Keep trying and you'll get it. And when you do, you'll be richer by far. There are many things in music that I don't and didn't understand. But every time my ears and mind opened up a little, many other things fell in place and I'm a child again. When you finally do get this - and you will! - you will hear music that was always there waiting for you.
I'be just begun to study jazz drumming, after a long introduction with swing rhythms and jazz technique, so this video will help me a lot! Thanx for uploading!
I just bought the duke ellington and john coltrane on vinyl and he’s on the album so I had to look him up, his drumming on the album is great I enjoy it every time.
Elvin, a true legend, plus, not sure if many noticed, but the interviewer is Tony Moreno, also an amazing drummer. Elvin took him under his wings in his younger years, and is on hundreds of recordings touring with the best of the best.
Elvin Jones, a Drum God. A Being of Darkness & Light playing with Light & Darkness... and the other way around... Infinitely Powerful, yet Loving, Caring, taking the time to Choose each one of his words... Then, in Cantillation, literally Calling, Phrasing the Rythms... Humble, Simple... True.
Elvin Jones was one of the best for sure bit what he did infuenced a complete generation of following drummers to my opinion. He was more powerfull and supported the music in a way that wasn't done before this way. By this, he sounds still quite modern.
Notice how Mr. Jones was humming the melody to himself throughout most, if not all, of the solo part. Hard to tell because the drums are so loud but during the quieter parts you can hear him humming the melody. This is probably the biggest "lesson" in this clip, when you're building something on drums for a song, make sure you have the song in mind. Sounds almost too common sense to mention, but you'd be surprised how often this concept is glossed over or overlooked altogether.
summer 1971 six nights straihght i worked the door at the colonial tavern in toronto, each night elvin jones took it to another level. He didn't play the drums, he created the drums.
basically, yeah. its like a horn solo before bepop. you loosely base what you play on the melody of the song, so you'll hear bits and pieces of it, but it may be re-phrased, and varied quite a bit but its still there. if you listen closely enough, you can still hear the basic rhythm of the melody elvin first played, when he starts really getting after it, but at that point, it exists more in phrasing and rhythmic cues.
to get this ......for those that dont....sing.....sing the tom and bass drum embellishments.....do da dummm..do da da....du du ...d' duuu....its beautiful ...like scat singing or in more contemporary terms like beat box .....whatever.....this makes one understand the melody that resides in the rhythms......like rhythm in melody as we are used to hearing.......Elvin added to the language of what was created on the drums.....an intellectual, a master, a monster, a Shaman...I miss u Elvin!!!! RIP
This is from "Different Drummer", had it on Beta!!! These great musicians came from an era when music wasn't as cientifically dissected as it is today. I remember watching this segment and understanding immediately the Jazz form and using your imagination to improvise, whereas a lot of today's DVDs leave me cold and confused with so much meaningless math stuff.
@dieyoung the form is AABA...learn the song and listen to him play a complete performance of the song (melody, solos, his solo, etc...) and you will find it. Elvin is a very melodious drummer. The melody is always inherent in his playing (in comping and soloing).
I used to think this stuff kind of sounded weird and out of time because all i knew was marching and concert where chops and time are the most important. i think i'm at a point where now i see this guy is making music and he clearly loves it enough to make the drums a very musical soloistic instrument.
Hard to believe he's been dead for eight years. I got to see him at the Blue Note in NYC the year before he died. I loved the way he grunted when he played.
this is the first video I have seen of EJ where I finally got some insight into him. Ive played drums for a long time, and could never understand EJ. I understood its improv-jazz, but I could NEVER hear any direction is his playing. just from hearing him in this video, I have alot better understanding of what EJ was all about.
