One of my, and every other musician’s, biggest influences died last night. Elvin Jones was a magnificent drummer for his whole life. Lisa and I saw him a few years ago for the one and only time at Yoshi’s in Oakland. As sick as he was near the end of his life, it’s good that he doesn’t have to suffer anymore.
Elvin is one of the drummers that we only need one name to refer to. His playing approach was unique — you could almost hear the split when people first started hearing him. He was like a rhythmic tornado, but always very musical. He had complete command of the drums, and was a great accompanist and soloist.
Musicians love Elvin. When I go to sessions, it’s not often that I’m specifically told, by other musicians, to play like a particular drummer. But when I’m told to play like somebody specific, it’s always “play like Elvin”, or “this is like an Elvin-latin kinda thing”. I know what they mean, so I do what I can, but it’s impossible to play like Elvin.
The most famous group Elvin was in was John Coltrane’s “classic quartet” with McCoy Tyner and Jimmy Garrison. They recorded A Love Supreme, which is universally regarded as one of The Great Albums. I have a great box set that captures all of that group’s studio efforts, and it’s great.
I highly recommend picking up some recordings of Elvin. Here are a couple places to download his music. * iTunes * eMusic
Privet Kamradi.Mutobor
Posted by Mutobor at October 13, 2006 8:22 AM