Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
There were several editions of my group Earthworks, but few were as exciting to play in as this small 9-piece little big band. Led by British saxophonist and arranger Tim Garland and myself, we stuffed it with American A-list players, and headed to NYC to cut a live album. This is how we sounded.
I originally wrote the piece for a quartet edition of Earthworks, and it was first recorded in 1998 as an album track on the album ‘A Part, and Yet Apart’. There it was taken at a leisurely funk tempo. Here the tempo racks up, and I put on my big-band drummer hat to do service to Tim’s fresh arrangement for this nine piece ensemble. So this is the 11th and final video in our SOLO SPOTLIGHT series.
These drum solos of mine - some ancient, some modern – have been taken from different contexts and ensembles, together with any available footage, to get as wide a variety as possible. So there’ve been stand-alone solos, solos in duos, solos informed by a pre-existing piece of music, solos informed by no pre-existing music (i.e. from within an improvised piece), solos recorded live, and solos in the studio. Half the time it’s hard to believe it’s the same drummer. I’ve attached some thoughts about the creation of each SOLO SPOTLIGHT to its description, so if you are new to the series, do go back and check them out.
Most drummers will never play a solo. Some play the same solo night after night, while revolving and going upside down in a cage. For some performers it is the highlight of the evening; others dread it. I treated it as a space where I could lay out my cards on the table ….try to find something that fitted the mood of the music. Inevitably that said much - perhaps too much - about me and my attitude to contemporary drums and drumming.
Many will argue that drum solos have never progressed from the attention-seeking of the Vaudeville and Big Band eras. At one end we have stick-twirlers playing gongs with their teeth, or rock drummers performing while rotating through 360 degrees. Far from enhancing or expounding upon the music, these guys risk diverting attention away from it, which may be one aim.
At the other end lie the subtle, almost gentle, solos of Pete Erskine, or Paul Motian, emerging from the piece in which their solo sits, and sensitive to the musical setting. In between is a small army of brilliant players, mostly working in jazz, and building on the compositional approach of Max Roach and successors. Roy Haynes and Steve Gadd with Chick Corea; Tony Williams with Miles; Morello’s solos with Brubeck; Blakey with the Jazz Messengers, and now Mark Guiliana or Ari Hoenig with their own small groups; all have raised the bar of the musicality of the drum set.
Now it’s your turn! Coming up in a few days on this channel, we’ll run a Poll asking you to vote for some of my better efforts, and tell us in the comments why you like them. Stay tuned!
#drummer #kingcrimson #drums #yes #music #drumming #billbruford #livemusic #jazz #musicimprovisation #tamadrums #paiste
There were several editions of my group Earthworks, but few were as exciting to play in as this small 9-piece little big band. Led by British saxophonist and arranger Tim Garland and myself, we stuffed it with American A-list players, and headed to NYC to cut a live album. This is how we sounded.
I originally wrote the piece for a quartet edition of Earthworks, and it was first recorded in 1998 as an album track on the album ‘A Part, and Yet Apart’. There it was taken at a leisurely funk tempo. Here the tempo racks up, and I put on my big-band drummer hat to do service to Tim’s fresh arrangement for this nine piece ensemble. So this is the 11th and final video in our SOLO SPOTLIGHT series.
These drum solos of mine - some ancient, some modern – have been taken from different contexts and ensembles, together with any available footage, to get as wide a variety as possible. So there’ve been stand-alone solos, solos in duos, solos informed by a pre-existing piece of music, solos informed by no pre-existing music (i.e. from within an improvised piece), solos recorded live, and solos in the studio. Half the time it’s hard to believe it’s the same drummer. I’ve attached some thoughts about the creation of each SOLO SPOTLIGHT to its description, so if you are new to the series, do go back and check them out.
Most drummers will never play a solo. Some play the same solo night after night, while revolving and going upside down in a cage. For some performers it is the highlight of the evening; others dread it. I treated it as a space where I could lay out my cards on the table ….try to find something that fitted the mood of the music. Inevitably that said much - perhaps too much - about me and my attitude to contemporary drums and drumming.
Many will argue that drum solos have never progressed from the attention-seeking of the Vaudeville and Big Band eras. At one end we have stick-twirlers playing gongs with their teeth, or rock drummers performing while rotating through 360 degrees. Far from enhancing or expounding upon the music, these guys risk diverting attention away from it, which may be one aim.
At the other end lie the subtle, almost gentle, solos of Pete Erskine, or Paul Motian, emerging from the piece in which their solo sits, and sensitive to the musical setting. In between is a small army of brilliant players, mostly working in jazz, and building on the compositional approach of Max Roach and successors. Roy Haynes and Steve Gadd with Chick Corea; Tony Williams with Miles; Morello’s solos with Brubeck; Blakey with the Jazz Messengers, and now Mark Guiliana or Ari Hoenig with their own small groups; all have raised the bar of the musicality of the drum set.
Now it’s your turn! Coming up in a few days on this channel, we’ll run a Poll asking you to vote for some of my better efforts, and tell us in the comments why you like them. Stay tuned!
#drummer #kingcrimson #drums #yes #music #drumming #billbruford #livemusic #jazz #musicimprovisation #tamadrums #paiste
