John Riley's Advice for Your First Jazz Jam

Sometimes we get caught up in learning how to play drums and forget that we need to learn how to play MUSIC. Finding ways to practice both at the same time is a game changer. For example, I was taught to sing a blues and play a different rudiment every 4 bars, forcing me to always put the drumming in service of the music. Great videos! Thanks!

DONT OVERTHINK IT 🎶

I went to a high profile one one night and it turned out I was the only person there to sit in. Typically there will be a half dozen horn players, anywhere from 3-8 other drummers and several other rhythm section players and vocalists. It was fabulous. I played well and got plenty of respect and compliments from non-musicians as well as the guys in the band. I didn't call any tunes, BTW. I wanted to be challenged. The last five years or so have been a bit strange though, with sessions for me. I've been playing now for 65 years and have never once had a case of performance anxiety. One night, back in 2019, I suddenly just got a weird case of severe nerves at a session. I've pinpointed it over time as a loss of confidence due to undue self criticism and a very unhealthy thought that some are there to see others (me in particular) crash and burn. I know that's complete BS but I still have occasions where I simply can't function. There have also been several times when I've had to play with a lot of newbies and older guys whose best days are behind them, and when things went south, looks went in my direction. I've never had to be a "dictatorial" type of timekeeper in my career because, since I was a kid I've played with pros, and even in school and college was fortunate to always play with people at a high level. This never happens to me on a gig. I'm very relaxed and confident as I've always been. Just jam sessions. But I continue to go to several on as regular a basis as I can. Summer has been very busy so one I attended this week was the first in about five months. It went pretty well and I seemed to have been able to control the beast.

Stablemates! It's a regular with a rehearsal band I play with. As with any tune, I've learned to keep the melody in mind. Chick Corea once said in one of his piano improv videos that everything you play should in some way revolve around the melody of the tune. It certainly does help with keeping the form of an odd tune like that and it really helps to mark the form as you play so that the other players can be confident knowing that each section is being delineated. With more experienced players you can still play across these lines but setting them up helps create cohesion.

Great advices! They are spot on!

Wise advice.

Ha ha! I have had several experiences where no one tells me what song were going to play beforehand. The sax player counts it off and BAM... oh, we're playing Solar, ok, I'm happy I know that one! But sometimes I don't and I will ask what the tune was and learn it for next time. Great advice from a great teacher!

Whenever I sit in I always ask the band "OK, do you want me to play this one too fast or too slow?"

Thanks for this!