Peter Magadini is a great drummer and instructor. Part of his lifetime of experience playing the Drumset in a Standard and Latin Jazz setting is passed along in his DVD 'Jazz Drums'. If you're a drummer, Jazz enthusiast or even just Jazz curious, this DVD will demonstrate how and why Jazz drumming sounds the distinct way that it does. You know that it doesn't feel the same as Funk/HipHop and it's not the same as most Rock/Pop, but what makes it what it is ? Knowing these things can greatly enhance the Jazz listening experience. (Peter, being a pro, *can* play all those other styles, of course, but this DVD is about Jazz).
In the DVD intro Peter demonstrates something with a concept that I've not heard anyone else do:
To show the roots and evolution of Jazz Drumming, he starts off playing a Traditional West African Rhythm 'Angbeko'. Without missing a beat, this gets morphed into 'Standard' Jazz timekeeping. From there he morphs into one of his specialities: Polyrhythms, that is, different time signatures being played simultaneously. Polyrhythms on the drumset give a nice tension and break from the normal 'thunka thunka pop' pulse. Dennis Chambers, one of my favorite (living) drummers is heavily into Polyrhythms.. It's great stuff, a 'spicy cuisine' that makes life more interesting..
Here (available at the time of writing this post) is a link to Opening Solo portion of the DVD, starting off with West African 'Angbeko' rhythm and morphing:
http://www.petermagadini.com/opening_solo.mov
Fascinating !
