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October 2019 Issue – Volume 43 • Number 10

Santana Africa Speaks CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA and KARL PERAZZO shine on an exhilarating new release from one of music’s truly timeless bands. Drummer Cindy Blackman Santana’s call and response with conguero Karl Perazzo sets the tone for the heightened rhythmic interplay to follow on Africa Speaks. The versatile drummer gives her toms a workout on “Batonga,” leaning into the snare to craft a hybrid second-line groove as well, and, as “Oye Este Mi Canto” shifts from 6/8 to 4/4 funk-rock, she aggressively accents along with the leader’s searing guitar. With Perrazo keeping time on bongo, she fills the gaps with creativity and intent, capping the tune with crisp single strokes. The straight-up-and-swinging rock groove on “Yo Me Lo Merezco” bends into dancehall turf on an epic out-vamp, while the slamming pocket on “Los Invisibles” and jam on “Blue Skies” are as raw as Santana tracks recorded half a century earlier. […]
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Articles in October 2019

Louson Drums

The CajonTab is a small, flat, lightweight cajon you wear on a strap.

by Mark Parsons
Aug 26, 2019

Remembering Hal Blaine

He helped pave the way for every great studio musician who came out of L.A., and his influence extends to this very day.

Modern Drummer
Aug 26, 2019

1969: The Shock of the New

As artists developed increasingly ambitious musical concepts, the challenges for instrument designers, engineers, composers, and instrumentalists increased as well.

Modern Drummer
Aug 26, 2019

Woodland Percussion

Woodland Percussion originated as a summer project for company founder and mechanical engineer Allan Fausnaught. The goal was to build a snare entirely from scratch.

by Michael Dawson
Aug 26, 2019

George Way Drums

Ronn Dunnett acquired the rights to the brand and set out to revive the company by building and expanding upon the innovations that Way created many years ago.

Michael Dawson
Aug 26, 2019
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A Restored Gretsch Steal

This beautifully restored vintage project was from older Gretsch shells to create a road-worn-looking vintage kit that has that oft-referred-to “Great Gretsch Sound.”

Modern Drummer
Aug 26, 2019

Advanced Techniques for Jazz Soloing

For four years I’d been studying intensely with Dom Famularo, who suddenly said during one of my lessons, “Steph, you’re now ready for Jim.”

by Stephane Chamberland
Aug 26, 2019

Bruce Rowland

Bruce Rowland racked up numerous recording and touring credits through his extensive work in the pop, folk, blues-rock, and rock worlds.

by Will Romano
Aug 26, 2019

The Starr Festival Snare

Over the years, Gary Astridge has meticulously researched Ringo’s drumkits and assembled exact replicas of the ones used with the Beatles.

by Bob Campbell
Aug 26, 2019

Septuplet Linear Patterns

The most fun thing about linear concepts is that almost any pattern you play can be modified in multiple ways.

by Aaron Edgar
Aug 26, 2019

Led Zeppelin II

Led Zeppelin II was released on October 22, 1969. Although initially panned by some critics, the album became the band’s first number-one album.

by David Ciauro
Aug 26, 2019
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Robert Plant and the Sensational Space Shifters’ John Blease: Fearless with Intention

He’s played with likes of Seal, Ben Folds, the BBC Big Band, Sheryl Crow, and Ellie Goulding. But landing a gig with rock ’n’ roll legend Robert Plant nearly says it all.

by David Ciauro
Aug 26, 2019

Zimbabwean “Tuku” Music

Combining the traditional Jit, Tsotsa, and other rhythms of Zimbabwe, the late Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi’s style could only be defined as distinctly his own.

by Mark Powers
Aug 26, 2019

The 5/4 Half-Time Shuffle

For those of you who’ve never heard the coveted half-time shuffle, which is also commonly referred to as the Purdie shuffle,...

by Daniel Bédard
Aug 26, 2019

Tony Williams at a Jazz Crossroads

During his years with Miles Davis, beginning in 1963 at age seventeen, Tony Williams radically changed jazz drumming.

by Jeff Potter
Aug 26, 2019

What's Your Favorite Hal Blaine Track?

Readers weigh on their favorite Hal Blaine tracks.

Modern Drummer
Aug 26, 2019

JD Beck

Mentored by Dallas-area drummers like Robert “Sput” Searight, Mike Mitchell, and Cleon Edwards, JD Beck has crafted a style of crooked beats and patterns mixed with over-the-barline fluidity.

Story by Ilya Stemkovsky | Photos by Alex Solca
Aug 26, 2019

Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Doug Clifford

Given the breakneck pace at which CCR operated in 1969, it’s a wonder Clifford and Cook are still out on the road fifty years later.

by Patrick Berkery
Aug 26, 2019
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New Gear From 64 Audio, LP, Schagerl Drums, Tama, and More!

New Product Releases from 64 Audio, LP, Schagerl Drums, Tama, Air Throne, and Canopus

Modern Drummer
Aug 26, 2019

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