Double Bass Swing feel and drummers (communication gap)

[Who da Ville]

Groove (or rut!)

I'm OK with calling it a rut. But the rut going on in my head is a well-worn rut that feels like home to me. It channels everything else toward where it's supposed to go.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

So you wanted a random person at an open mic to play a shuffle groove on djembe while you bowed the melody to Groove Merchant. If that is correct, communication is not your problem. However, your expectations for the level of skill and knowledge possessed by the type of people you find at open mics may be totally unrealistic.

Well, the head is a pretty standard swing tune. Pretty much anyone with a percussion instrument should be able to do something to match it.

 

[Wasnex]

Well, the head is a pretty standard swing tune. Pretty much anyone with a percussion instrument should be able to do something to match it.

A lot of professional musicians struggle with the subtlety of different swing styles. The big bands I played in were made up of about 40% jazzers and 60% legit players on average. I worked in military bands where concert band tended to be the top priority. Sometimes we would get a sax section with only one or two jazzers. In my experience professional legit musicians don't swing the same way as jazz musicians, so I don't think it is surprising to find an amateur who doesn't understand the concept of swing.

 

[Fredrik E. Nilsen]

A lot of professional musicians struggle with the subtlety of different swing styles. The big bands I played in were made up of about 40% jazzers and 60% legit players on average. I worked in military bands where concert band tended to be the top priority. Sometimes we would get a sax section with only one or two jazzers. In my experience professional legit musicians don't swing the same way as jazz musicians, so I don't think it is surprising to find an amateur who doesn't understand the concept of swing.

It was more like "Don't use this recording as a reference, that's the real sh*t".

 

[Huy Nguyen]

Me: Can you play a swing feel?
Drummer: what's that?
Me:.... Nevermind, what kinda rock do you play?

/End

Don't ask people to play with you if they don't even know the absolute basics. Even if they do, there's a risk that they can't do accents and can only beat out a simple ride cymbal and it gets old pretty quick. I don't torture myself like that anymore.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Folks simply can't play a style convincingly that they are not really familiar with, even if told what to do. Sometimes it's best just to meet someone in the middle, and as a bass players(ie, supportive instrument) i almost have a duty to try to jive with what OTHER people are good at.

More specific to the situation, hand drum playing in a jazz setting seems to be a rare skill. Trust me, those guys don't practice swing 99% of the time. Also, the stereotypical rhythm pattern on a drum like that for swing is more akin to what a kit player would do on his toms and not with the snare/ride/high hat. Ever heard Herb Ellis do that percussive pattern on his guitar in a drummerless trio? That is the pattern i am talking about. Generally when i have a percussionist sit in it feels safer to go to some latin standards instead of swing.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

BTW: Chet Baker may say what he does, but to me, no drummer is better than a terrible drummer. Last thing anyone needs is a player who doesn't understand is how their role fits in with everything else and becomes a big distraction.

Be careful of what you're asking for.