Jazz musicians aren’t known for getting up early in the morning— typically as nighttime performers, they’ve been plying their craft until the wee hours. But when a special event compels them, they rise to the occasion, as was the case on the morning of Saturday Feb. 11. A captivated audience comprised of drummers (music students, educators and professionals) and jazz fans enjoyed a 2-hour drum clinic at Emory Music Dept.’s rehearsal studio featuring renowned jazz drummer Carl Allen. Mr. Allen, who has more than 200 recordings to his credit over a three decade career, was scheduled to perform that evening with saxophonist Teodross Avery’s quartet as part of the annual Emory Jazz Fest, sponsored by the Jazz Studies program in conjunction with the EJA (Emory Jazz Alliance).
Mr. Allen started with a drum solo and then provided his comprehensive view of the drummer’s role within the jazz performance, which he summarized as “Owning The Music,”by which he means to take full responsibility for knowing the history of the music, practice and teamwork with the other members of the band to produce a consistently great performance each time the drummer plays.
Another section of his discussion highlighted 7 Elements of Great Drumming: Time, Feel/Pulse, Dynamics (the range of volume of playing), Reading (music charts), Concept/Style (the choice of how to play a music piece), Balance (playing appropriately with other musicians) and Musical Aptitude (Choices). He spoke in detail on each of these points and also provided a methodology of how to practice appropriately. Mr. Allen also invited up some drummers in the audience to play for him, providing helpful pointers on areas of improvement, and chastised those drummers in the audience who did not bring their stick bag, which is, as Mr. Allen called it, “your toolkit. If you consider yourself a dedicated drummer, you have to have your toolkit with you at all times—you never know when you will have to play during a given day.”
An excellent speaker and caring individual, Mr. Allen graciously gave his time and talents to “pay it forward” for all the instruction and assistance he has received over the years, from some of the greatest names in jazz drumming history whom Mr. Allen knew personally. Since jazz music is as much an oral tradition as it is written, Mr. Allen is acutely aware that current performers must cultivate and nurture the talent of tomorrow, otherwise the art form cannot thrive in the music continuum. Carl Allen does his part and takes his responsibility seriously; it is obvious why he is a top talent in today’s jazz world. Everyone in the audience at the Emory Jazz Rehearsal studio felt– and was inspired by– his deep commitment to jazz music.
–Henry Brent
[Originally from NYC, EJA member Henry is a lifelong jazz fan, recording collector, instructor and drummer on Atlanta’s jazz scene]