Jazz Drums Now! is essential for players of ALL levels
930365
Jazz Drums Now! is an exceptional book!! Useful to the teacher as well as the student, the book thoroughly gives a crash course in beginning jazz. It is great for the more experienced player to revisit as well. The mp3 cd is very helpful, especially for those students who are without teachers. I have used this book for many of my own students. The reading sections are just as informative as the exercises, and there are corresponding lists of tunes/players/records/charts that apply to each exercise/chapter.

Keith Hall is a renown master teacher and player; knowing the author personally and having studied with him for a number of years allows for the credibility of this high quality book. I wish there had been a book like this around when I started studying jazz!!! This book is essential for anyone who has even a small interest in jazz drumming; you don't want to be without it!!!
2432413
I have played drums by ear since I was 15, and now being 38 and seeing all that is out there, I can wholeheartedly recommend this video with Tommy Igoe to anyone wanting to learn or be a better drummer. Even if you don't read sheet music as I don't, and are visual, this is essential and good learning.
2627843
As a classically trained musician, jazz has been slow to reveal its secrets to me. I have enjoyed listening to it, but getting the hang of the jazz style in general and the art of improvisation in particular have been less enjoyable. However, the demands on musicians today makes it vital to have some understanding of all kinds of music, and this book is a great way to start your exploration of jazz. With a lot of short and well organized exercises, and a stress on learning to listen to what is happening, it tells the frustrated student how to master the mystery of making jazz happen. I know I have to work on the exercises to get where I want to, but the layout of this book makes it easy to organize my practice!
4344724
Bravo Mr. King!  As a professional musician for over forty years, I am happy to discover that we finally have a writer whose diction, voice and obvious passion for jazz are worthy of this great American art form. The  author's descriptions and analyses of the music, itself, and each component  of style and instrumentation are first-rate.  Mr. King delineates what  every jazz musician inherently knows, but may not have the ability to  articulate.  This is a great book for players, and an even more important  book for those wishing to understand this vibrant, dynamic musical genre.
4704647
This book is a invaluable material as Gavin explains in a clear concise and simple as running their different rhythms and fills in its two major albums "Drop" and "Circles." Obviously it is a book for more advanced drummers who get the tracks exactly as presented to us by Gavin I think we understand how the arm achieves its themes, such as works and creates a polyrhythm drum fill and odd times signatures. The play alongs are also a great contribution of this book because these can practice everything as studied in this book. The video quality is excellent and it shows in detail how to run their drums fills and rhythmic patterns.
1676537
As a disciple of the Wes/Grant Green/George Benson school of jazz guitar I have been dying to check out the new generation of guys playing in this school of hard bop/soul jazz. I bought this recording two days ago and I can't stop listening to it! Sure the sound quality is rough in some spots but in other spots it actually enhances the vibe and harkens back to some of the older mono-recorded jazz classics.

Broom proves a fantastic interpreter of the tunes on this album, the rhythmic interplay between and the drummer is fantastic and very post-modern without losing any of the old-school bebop vibe. This may be my new favorite jazz guitar recording!
273892
I first got one of these back in the late 70s when I was first learning alto; it's by far the best single jazz book I've ever had.  Even here 30 years later I can barely play most of this book, and I've worked on it for decades; Parker was a legendary musician.

What's most useful on this, in reflecting back, is that the book not only gets players to expand their playing ranges, but to learn all the nuanced chord progressions and fingerings for be-bop at it's best.  As a jazz alto player I always used this book to help me play 'up and down' the registers, to exercise my chops, and work on speed and technique.

Playing the songs from Parker's omnibook definitely helped me see and learn how pro sax playing's supposed to be done, and this is top notch, tough-to-play-but-worth-learning transcriptions from the best.  A must-get for all aspiring and even us old-timer jazz alto players.

It helped me learn how to run riffs across registers, use a lot of sharps/flats the right way in specific riffs, and build a reportoire of hundreds of small riffs that are instant jazz classics. I recently bought this again, both in Bflat for my soprano, and Eflat to get a clean copy for my alto.  Highly recommended, it's super to see how Bird did it.

-ken
344435
Great tool for developing players.  Saves your walls and no thumping sounds!
989996
Awesome Record! Sound and mastering is magnificent, it's as if you were right there in the studio.
Highly recommended for all Jazz heads. Essential stuff.
885797
Vol. 1 & 2 of Groove Essentials is a MUST HAVE for ANY drummer that wants to learn a lot of useful, basic, but most important ATHUNTIC grooves in a ton of styles.

These two collections are what kept me working for years in various bands over most other drummers in the area. NOT because is was better, there are a LOT of drummers that kick my butt in technique, but because I could play most any groove called upon, and play it with confidence.

One of the BEST investments a drummer can make besides a great throne!
3608558
The thing that really impresses me about this book is that is a great book for players of all levels.  I know that sounds impossible but it is true. While not being a beginners book, I highly recommend it for beginners. The beginning chapters will be invaluable as you learn to play your instrument. For advanced level players, this book is excellent if you have not concentrated on notation and analysis of melodic rhythms. I have gone through the whole book and there are chapters I have no interest in studying. Other chapters are extremely useful for my particular needs. When I first starting with the beginning chapters, I thought this book might be too easy for me and show me nothing new. As I preceded, I found that different aspects of rhythm and time were approached and extremely valuable for my playing. Later chapters, while well presented, had aspects suited to players seeking to delve into aspects of time I am not interested in, such as polyrhythms, but even those chapters are interesting, if for nothing else, to understand what they are and how they work. I would not take the time to actually learn them however. It also had some interesting pages in the appendix section dedicated to scales, arpeggios, and modes. It is a very well written book with excellent audio examples. The one criticism is that sometimes the CD might say 37b, but the book says 37 cont'd. I had no problem with this small inconsistency and I am sure nobody else will either. I really well written book in an area that is not often covered.
278245
I'm truly surprised.  I purchased this gem almost a year ago...yet there are no reviews.  Steve Smith is the Gene Hackman of drumming.  I can think of better jazz players as well as rock players...but NOBODY who does both as well as Steve Smith!  He is a veritable chameleon, adapting to whatever the musical situation calls for.  The man has a groove two miles wide, yet augmented with chops that put him in the ballpark with Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Simon Phillips and Gregg Bissonette.  Smith is also the consummate student of drumming:  the man never ceases to grow!

These selections are but the tip of the proverbial iceberg.  There's SO, so much more available, beginning with the albums from which these were culled.
4544566
I have come late to studying the art of improvisation. I do have a music degree and have studied my main instrument (alto saxophone), and music for many years, along with being pretty knowledgeable about music theory and functional and basic jazz harmony. I feel Sound Origins by Jim Robitaille is a truly masterful book that can be used by musicians on many different levels as the author states.
Some parts of the book, depending on ones knowledge of harmony and exposure to the various forms of jazz and improvisation, will be for more intermediate or advanced players. However, I have found that most of the book and the very helpful insights offered, is a very worthwhile purchase for the less experienced musicians as well. One can start working on the more advanced areas of study within that can be achieved over the course of time at their own pace, either by teaching themselves and or with the aid of a teacher. With that said, all of this material will be here to inspire and help you with many specific fundamentals for now, before you start the real meat of the book and are ready to begin to work on your own developing your own musical identity.
1870033
Very good instructional dvd for anyone who wants to see a great drummer play and explain how to play to many different styles of contemporary music.  With the addition of other musicians to play along with, Anton demonstrates how to play the drums with the correct feeling as well as the correct beat for the music being performed.  A step above the usual "I will show you how to play this beat" dvds.  For beginners to the advanced drummers, there is something for everyone to learn from this dvd.  Highly recomended.
3153068
This is a great jazz guitar sampler. It features performances by Kenny Burrell, Les Paul, Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Bucky Pizzarelli, Charlie Byrd, Barney Kessel, Joe Pass, Herb Ellis & Grant Green. Clearly all players deserving of the moniker "Jazz Guitar Great". The only knock against the cd might be that a few of the older tracks sound scratchy (no doubt due to the source material) but the dynamic playing more than compensates for that. My favorite track is Charlie Byrd's version of "Moonlight Serenade" in which he gives it a whole new flavor by playing it with a latin beat. The price for this high quality cd can't be beat. My advice is to grab it while you can!
2399083
The sound library alone is massive. With all the different drum and cymbal options, you can really customize your kit. One of the biggest selling points for me was that you have 6 different snare options, including a Ludwig Black Beauty. I must say, that's probably my favorite snare to use.

The groove library isn't a big as I thought it would be, but it certainly provides some great grooves to build off of and customize. It categorizes the grooves under 3 different labels; Straight, Heavy, and Fast. From there it breaks down the grooves into songs and song sections, and most grooves have multiple variations. For making a simple demo, this system makes it super easy to assemble a working drum track for the right feel. With the midi editor in your DAW, you can manipulate the sounds however you want to create an awesome drum track for a fully produced song. Of course nothing beats having a real drummer in a nice studio, this is a fair substitute if that option isn't available to you.

I know of people using the kit sound library in conjunction with electronic drum kits via midi cable. I haven't been able to try that myself, but I imagine that must be lots of fun.

If you are a fan of using Toontrack's Drummer programs and want a good metal library on the cheap side, this one is by far my recommended choice. I like the sounds much better than anything in DKFH, which is highly recognizable these days.
3352130
This compilation of recordings by ECM is amazing. Now I am able to further broaden my horizons by looking up what else an artist has recorded. I am very thankful to the author for putting this together. Excellent resource for both new and old Jazz fans.