Good jazz/bop for drums

Talismanis

Senior Member
Heya,
I'm a jazz fan and I just bought The Art of Bop Drumming, and it's reignited my passion for jaaaaazzz baby.

I'm looking for artists and CDs that are good to drum along to.
I own a lot of big band jazz already, but not much bop. I have plenty of what I'd call piano jazz too, eg Bill Evans, Diana Krall, so I'm not after much of that. Infact, I have a lot of jazz that isn't bop. But hey ho.

I have Max Roach's "Deeds, Not Words" CD but aside from that I don't really own much of this kind of jazz aside from a few tracks on jazz compilation CDs, eg a bit of Sonny Rollins or Thelonius Monk.

Any suggestions people? I'm looking for stuff with interesting drums as I'm sure you may have guessed.

Thanks!
 
Most jazz from the 50s and 60s will be bop. The Miles Davis Quintet from the 60s is one of the best jazz bands ever. The drumming of Tony Williams is about as good as it gets. Good luck in your quest.
 
If you already have the six CD's in the Recommended Listening section on Pg. 71, start with the dozens of recordings recommended on Pg. 78-79.

I personally like finding an ensemble such as Clifford Brown/Max Roach and really delving into the music. The Brown/Roach recordings are good to start with for a study of Max's drumming.

Jeff
 
Along with the above recommendations add Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers many sides, especially the 1960 recordings. I also love many sides from the 1950's with Philly Joe Jones on drums.
 
Charles Mingus, Miles Davis, Hank Mobley, John Coltrane, ...

Go on spotify and look up those artists and similar ones.
 
I'm no expert but I also just bought the same book- it is great and am pouring through it. I just got seriously into trying to play jazz after listening to Miles Davis' Kind of Blue and Herbie Hancock's Maiden Voyage. Great albums that I highly recommend.

After listening to a lot of jazz albums on youtube I realized I like the "hard bop" sound (and drumming) the best. After much research, I bought the following, which I also recommend:

Lee Morgan: The Sidewinder
Jimmy Smith: Back at the Chickenshack
John Coltrane: A Love Supreme
The Quintet: Jazz At Massey Hall- The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever
Cannonball Aderly: Somethin' Else
Clifford Brown: Study in Brown

I also tried some of the hard bop albums by drummers, such as Art Blakey, Max Roach and Elvin Jones, but I did not like them as much as the albums above for some reason.

Hope this helps get you started. There certainly is a lot to listen to out there.
 
You could start with:
Any Sonny Rollins record with Max Roach.
Any Thelonious Monk record with Ben Riley, Frankie Dunlop, or Art Blakey.
Any Miles Davis record with Philly Joe Jones.
Any Art Blakey & the Jazz Messengers record.
 
I second what ggmerino said. Anything with Elvin Jones or Art Blakey should blow your sucks off.

As far as a modern recording. Kenny Garret's album "Pursuance: The Music of John Coltrane" is an absolutely phenomenal record. Brian Blade and Pat Metheny kill on this record. It also has the best (read: most "listenable" (read: melodic/catchy)) upright bass solo I've ever heard.
 
I'm studying that book also, and from all the albums he recommends, the one I'm enjoying the most is Moanin' by Art Blakey.

Yeah sure it may be very simple for those who've been playing jazz for a long time, but for a rock drummer getting into jazz (like me) I find it the perfect way to start.

Cheers.
 
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