Drum Percussion

The "short" story.

I'm kind of regurgitating these old articles and things I did when I was more involved in the music scene but I'll have new stuff soon. I think these articles are pretty good and I wrote them when I was doing a lot of teaching. This article uses drumming as the instrument but the method works for vibe too.

Here's a lesson I wrote years ago on Misty. I had permission from the owner who was Erroll Garner's wife. Then it turned out that she sold it to Warner Brothers. I contacted Warner Bros. and I paid them and they issued me a license for the licensing giving me permission for this lesson and then I got a letter from Hal Leonard stating that they owned the rights to it so I just gave up. But I think it's okay to share with y'all.

Here is a blues article I wrote many years ago. It's a different approach than what I learned at Berklee which I believe caused me to overthink the blues. I taught it quite successfully to many students so if you're starting out or struggling to express in the blues form and style, give this method a go. Once this basic idea of the blues is in your ears and hands, it's much easier to add more sophisticated things on top of it.

Great interview with Mike Mainieri. I'm probably the only person who hasn't seen it already but I thought it was excellent.

https://youtu.be/2053-hgjve0

An improvisation with me on 4-mallet balafon and Rakalam Bob Moses playing drums and percussion. This is the opening track of our duet CD called "Mobeus" where we surrender to the wild ride and "flow without measure."

National Science Foundation contacted me at the fire house in McMurdo Station and asked if I would put something together for International Jazz Day from Antarctica. This was at the end of my shift on 4/25. They said they needed two-and-a-half minutes of recorded music by the afternoon of 4/26. I got off work the morning of 4/26, went straight to the Chapel Of The Snows (where I keep my vibraphone and practice), got four volunteers from the firehouse to hold camera phones while I played.

Eclipse, the final track from my first Cubist CD, began as a vibe improvisation/groove in 12/8. Layers of percussion — balafon, Marimba, African drums, tabla, gongs — were added to build a tune. It features Randy Roos on guitars and Noam Sender on duduk and vocals.

Cubist CD:
https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/jerryleake3

A little “Basin St. Blues” from a warmup session today at Berklee before classes. I love these classic old gems. Some great versions from Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson and Keith Jarrett.

I remember going to Dave Liebman's house for an all day private lesson. What a GREAT player and great human being. That was my take. At one point, I sat in a chair and he preached to me about his thoughts on music. Next, I pulled out my vibe and we played together. You can only learn so much in any lesson because 99 percent of doing anything well is all about the kind of heart you have and desire to achieve.... practice, driving 1000 miles for a lesson, risking everything to "say something" in your art and craft. That's what it's all about.