This is an excerpt from The Drummer’s Toolbox: The Ultimate Guide To Learning 101 Drumming Styles. The book goes into even more detail about jazz drumming!
Jazz music originated in New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 1800s. For African-Americans living in New Orleans during this time, jazz music was a way of responding to cultural issues like racism, segregation, and discrimination.
At that time, styles of music like blues and ragtime were major influences on the development of jazz music. Over the past century, many subgenres of jazz have emerged including Dixieland, big band, bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, free jazz, Latin jazz, jazz fusion, and many more!
Most styles of jazz music feature a rhythm section with upright bass (sometimes electric bass), drums, piano (sometimes keyboards), and one or more instruments responsible for playing the melody of the music – like trumpet, trombone, saxophone, or voice.
Jazz is an incredibly unique genre where musicians are constantly innovating and pushing musical boundaries. Jazz presents drummers with the opportunity to improvise and interact with other musicians in real time. This makes for the perfect creative opportunity to explore the drum set in brand new ways.
Jazz is triplet-based music that has a swing feel (yes, there are exceptions). In jazz music, rhythms are interpreted differently than they are in pop and rock music. When we see an eighth note rhythm it will be interpreted in eighth note triplets.
The most important element of jazz drumming is the ride cymbal pattern. As drummers, we need to establish the swing feel for the rest of the band by playing that consistent ride pattern. Here is what the standard jazz pattern looks like.
Another essential element is the hi-hat which is played on beats two and four (when playing in 4/4 time). Here’s what the ride cymbal pattern looks like accompanied by the hi-hat foot pattern.
Jazz music is interactive. Musicians accompany and react to other musicians based on the melodic and rhythmic motifs that they play. This act of accompaniment and reaction is known as comping. As drummers, we can comp for other musicians with all four of our limbs. Practicing comping is also an excellent way to develop independence in a jazz context. Here are some examples of comping ideas applied to each separate limb and to multiple limbs as well.
Whether you’re playing rock, pop, jazz, or any other style of music, it is important to have vocabulary that can be used in specific styles of music. One of the best ways to learn new vocabulary is by listening to your favorite drummers and trying to imitate them – we’ll look further into this in the next sections. In the meantime, here are a few phrases that can be played in a jazz context. You can orchestrate these patterns in different ways to develop your own unique vocabulary as well!
Playing with brushes is another essential part of jazz drumming. Brush playing can be heard on countless jazz recordings, from ballads to up-tempo swing tunes! You can learn more about brush playing in this lesson with Peter Erskine:
Today, “jazz drum sets” generally consist of a bass drum (16”-20”), a rack tom (10”-13”), a floor tom (14”), and a snare drum (14”). In the past, the sizes that jazz drummers chose to use depended significantly on what type of jazz music they were playing and the size of the ensemble they were playing with. For example, big band drummers would often use bass drums that were 22” or larger while drummers who were playing styles like bebop would often use 18” bass drums. Today, many drummers will look for a drum set that is versatile (one that can be used for a variety of musical styles) or they will have two separate drum sets: one with smaller shell sizes and one with larger shell sizes.
The majority of jazz drummers use one or two ride cymbals (20”-22”), one crash cymbal (18”-20”) and a pair of hi-hats (13”-15”). You will also see jazz drummers simply using two ride cymbals and a set of hi-hats (with no crash cymbal at all). In general, cymbals used in jazz music will be thinner than cymbals used in pop and rock music. Thinner cymbals are generally more responsive than thicker cymbals. They also “open up” much more easily than thicker cymbals which makes them ideal for brush playing. Ride cymbals and crash cymbals will often have cymbal rivets in them as well.
Jazz drummers almost always use coated drumheads. These produce a warmer sound with less attack than clear drumheads. While both single and double ply drumheads are available, single ply drumheads are most commonly used for jazz because of their sensitivity and their “open” sound. Coated drumheads are also necessary for playing with brushes.
Here is a list of ten legendary jazz drummers that you can check out. You can click on each name to see a performance by each person. During their career, each one of these drummers made a significant impact on the development of jazz drumming.
Buddy Rich
Tony Williams
Max Roach
Elvin Jones
Papa Jo Jones
Art Blakey
Gene Krupa
Joe Morello
Roy Haynes
Philly Joe Jones
Listening to music is an important part of learning a new style. Here are fifteen essential jazz albums that every drummer should check out.
Clifford Brown & Max Roach
“Clifford Brown & Max Roach” (1954)
Drummer: Max Roach
Sonny Rollins
“Saxophone Colossus” (1956)
Drummer: Max Roach
Miles Davis
“Milestones” (1958)
Drummer: Philly Joe Jones
The Dave Brubeck Quartet
“Time Out” (1959)
Drummer: Joe Morello
Miles Davis
“Kind of Blue” (1959)
Drummer: Jimmy Cobb
Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
“A Night in Tunisia” (1960)
Drummer: Art Blakey
Hank Mobley
“Soul Station” (1960)
Drummer: Art Blakey
John Coltrane
“Coltrane” (1962)
Drummer: Elvin Jones
Thelonious Monk
“Monk’s Dream” (1963)
Drummer: Frankie Dunlop
Miles Davis
“Seven Steps to Heaven” (1963)
Drummer: Tony Williams
Herbie Hancock
“Maiden Voyage” (1965)
Drummer: Tony Williams
John Coltrane
“A Love Supreme” (1965)
Drummer: Elvin Jones
Joe Henderson
“Mode for Joe” (1966)
Drummer: Joe Chambers
Buddy Rich Big Band
“Big Swing Face” (1967)
Drummer: Buddy Rich
Bill Evans
“At the Montreux Jazz Festival” (1968)
Drummer: Jack DeJohnette
Here are 4 incredible jazz drum lessons from Drumeo.
Mark Guiliana (Avishai Cohen, Brad Mehldau)
Steve Lyman (Chase Baird, José James)
Peter Erskine (Weather Report, Steps Ahead)
Dave King (The Bad Plus, Happy Apple)
Here are some jazz tracks we think you’ll like:
Even though it’s the end of the article, it’s not the end of the great content we have available. If you want to become the best drummer you can be, check out Drumeo Edge.
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Brandon Toews is an author, educator, and performer based out of Vancouver, Canada. Brandon is the author of The Drummer's Toolbox, co-author of The Best Beginner Drum Book, and the Content Director at Musora, home to the award-winning online music education platforms Drumeo, Pianote, Guitareo and Singeo.
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