Transcription - Sergio Machado, "Horizonte"

One of my favorite Brazilian musicians, harmonica player Gabriel Grossi, released a trio album a few years back with just harmonica, keys and drums.  The drummer, Sergio Machado (I don't think there's any relation to Edison), is phenomenal; chops for days and supreme subtlety.  There's very little information on the web about him, at least that I've been able to find, but I'm a big fan of his playing. You can find quite a few good quality videos of the group playing on YouTube.

Transcribing some of his really creative samba grooves will be a future project, but to get started with his work I've done part of the title track, Horizonte.  The majority of the tune is played with brushes, but during the keys solo Sergio switches to Hot Rods or something similar and plays a very nice modern sounding bossa/ECM feel.

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The video below is a live version, so the transcription won't line up, but you can get a feel for the tune.  The album version of the song isn't available on YouTube, but you should  absolutely drop a few dollars/pounds/whatever to get the album.  It's worth every penny.  Gabriel Grossi does, however, give away two of his other albums completely free on his website, so go snatch them up. www.gabrielgrossi.com/download Diz Que Fui Por Aí features Marcio Bahia, and Arapuca has no drum set, but some great percussion played by Amoy Ribas and Durval Pereira.

Transcription - Jarle Vespestad, "Blessed Feet"

I've become a pretty big fan of the drumming of Norway's Jarle Vespestad.  Unfortunately, short of his work with Tord Gustavsen and a couple of other projects, I really don't know anything about him, and his internet presence is lacking.

But I've been wanting to post this intro to the Tord Gustavsen piece "Blessed Feet" as it is a perfect example of the ECM sound.

You'll notice in measures 1, 3, and 7 that there are x note heads on the snare drum line where a rim click is usually notated.  I'm pretty sure these aren't rim clicks, but I can't really tell you what they are.  Vespestad is a master of the extremely delicate, and these notes are so light that unless you're paying close attention you might not even notice them.  It sounds to me like it could be the rod of his hi-hat, or maybe the snare drum rim with the tip of the stick.

Leave me a comment below if you think you know what that sound might be.

Developing the "ECM Feel" - Part I

The “ECM Feel” first developed in the early 1970s on Manfred Eicher’s ECM label.  The label has a characteristic sound that has become a staple of modern jazz.  While certainly not every ECM release features this drum sound, the “broken”, straight 8th note feel that can be heard on so many of those records in the 70s has become a style as important to know and understand as swing, mambo, and bossa nova; so much so that many charts now say “ECM Feel” in the style marking, and band leaders/composers will often expect their drummer to know how to play it.

For as common as the style has become, there’s surprisingly little material on the subject.  Todd Bishop wrote a cool post about it over at Cruise Ship Drummer!  As Todd points out, the early pioneers of this style, such as Bob Moses, Jack DeJohnette, Jon Christensen, and Airto were likely inspired by pre-ECM greats like Roy Haynes, Paul Motian, and Tony Williams.

Throughout the 80s and 90s drummers like Peter Erskine, Danny Gottlieb, and Joey Baron continued to use and further develop the style and today there are many great drummers who are masters of the ECM Feel, like Michael Miskiewicz, Jarle Vespestad, Magnus Öström, and Jon Fält.

Groove Transcription - Manu Katché, "Running After Years"

I came across Manu Katché's self-titled album a couple years back while in Malaysia with my good friend, and pianist, Tay Cher Siang.  Many years ago he introduced me to ECM, and I've been hooked ever since.  And every time I see him, I know there's going to be some new ECM goodies that I haven't yet discovered.  This was one of those albums that from the moment I pressed play I knew I was going to love.  And this intro was why:

   

I often have a hard time deciding how deeply to dig into these recordings.  Sometimes I feel it's best to just play it at full speed, and write out what you can hear - the meat of it, essentially.  Other times I try to grab every last little beep and fart.  It's always a tough decision, because when those beeps and farts are there and you take them too literally, it can make it difficult to feel the groove properly.  On the other hand, it's those beeps and farts that really give the groove character.

In this case, I went with every beep and fart.  I slowed it down, EQ'ed it, and pulled it apart at the seams.  And I'm really glad I did.  Consider playing just the basic groove first to find the pocket.  Then try to play it note for note.  It's like adding the perfect spice.  An already cool groove made even hipper.

Important to note is the hi-hat feel.  I didn't want to clutter up the score with loads of accents, but there is definitely emphasis place on all of the downbeats, while the upbeats are a little more gentle.

Don't just stop at the intro either.  Listen to the whole tune.  It's killer.