It seems that almost all modern jazz drummers now make use of cymbal phrasing, and it is now regarded as an integral part of the basic concept of jazz drumming by all but a few players. This has taken some time to develop since the 1960s. For many years, following his work with Coltrane, Jones’s approach was considered a separate style, a departure from the norm. At present, while many players still use the ‘bop’ style that preceded Jones’s approach, the earlier style is now regarded as just that: an ‘earlier style’, usually reserved for specific music from the pre-Coltrane era. In other words, to varying degrees the use of Elvin Jones’s phrasing has become part of the ‘mainstream’ approach to jazz drumming, while earlier approaches have been categorized and added to the
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growing list of specific styles.69 This list includes: ‘Dixieland’, ‘swing’, ‘bop’, ‘hard bop’, ‘Afro-Cuban’, ‘Brazilian’, ‘fusion’, ‘funk’, ‘free’, ‘acid jazz’ and others.
The introduction of ride cymbal phrases into performance as a concept for expressing time immediately changes the nature of rhythmic ‘feel’ from a somewhat vertical pulse to a more horizontal one. These are not necessarily abstract notions. They are certainly better understood through comparative listening to the source recordings rather than just visual inspection of the transcriptions. Furthermore, ‘vertical feel’ and ‘horizontal feel’ are not absolute conditions in either style. In the more conventional approach (i.e., playing the ride cymbal pattern constantly) there is certainly some degree of forward momentum or horizontal flow generated both by the structure of the pattern itself (which employs the moving, unstable upbeats of two and four) and by the steady repetition of this pattern while other aspects of the music are changing around it. However, there is much more horizontal flow in the time using cymbal phrases and the fills that support them. One of the features of Jones’s phrasing is his ability to re-work one rhythmic idea by using accents and tied notes, producing many new phrases.
Example 10 demonstrates how one phrase can be varied, using Jones’s system of ties and
accents, to produce a broad range of rhythms and sounds. The list of variations is by no means exhaustive.
69 For some individuals (see page one), Jones’s style still occupies a sort of ‘no-man’s
land’, situated between ‘post-bop’ and ‘free’ playing, viewed as a unique way of drumming that stands apart from the mainstream development. I regard this view as a misunderstanding.
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Example 43. “Bessie’s Blues” bars 109-110: Sample variations on a two-bar cymbal
phrase
Wider dynamics, both on the cymbal itself and on the drum set, together with a seemingly endless list of possible variations of rhythmic phrases all help to achieve increased variety and flexibility. Certainly, the jazz drummer’s ‘vocabulary’ has been greatly expanded by Jones. Playing through the various two-bar phrases that Jones uses
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on “Bessie’s Blues” also reveals that each unique phrase has a slightly different feel from the others. This points to a need for an examination of the effects of various phrases on the soloist who is being accompanied. Questions arise regarding the extent of impact these phrases have on mood, or energy, and to what extent the soloist can be (or is willing to be) affected.70
I stated earlier that the second main contribution Elvin Jones made to jazz was that he expanded the role of the drummer with regard to ensemble work. He not only changed the relationship between soloist and drummer, but also the relationship between each band member and drummer. With a more prominent position in the shaping of music (as it is being improvised and performed) the drummer now has increased responsibilities. Steady timekeeping is no longer a goal, but an assumed skill that is the starting point upon which additional activities can be built. These may include entering into dialogue with the soloist and other comping instruments, leading the performance into new directions rhythmically and dynamically, or even ‘laying out’. All modern jazz drummers should feel indebted to Elvin Jones for these things. However, not all
musicians embrace the idea, or enjoy the concept of having loud, prominent drums in jazz performance. In this regard, Jones’s work with the Coltrane band added another model to the list of options for how drums can operate in a small ensemble. His approach is now an established, accepted one that bands may or may not adopt. The further a drummer goes towards emulating Jones (with cymbal phrasing, louder drums in relation to ride cymbal,
70 Finding the answers to these kinds of questions is beyond the scope of this thesis, but
certainly more research of this type needs to be done if we are to fully understand the contextual dynamics of ensemble jazz performance.
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increased dynamics, and so on) the stronger the other musicians in the band have to be in order to play effectively. Jones’s style has also become synonymous with certain
repertoire and there is now an expectation that all freelance jazz drummers will be capable of playing in that style as a jumping-off point for the performance of certain compositions. Some jazz artists want their drummers to copy Elvin Jones as much as possible. Guitarist Sonny Greenwich is an example of an artist who expects the
percussionist in his band to emulate Jones’s style as a standard approach from which the performance will develop (Greenwich 2001). While this outlook is not shared by a majority of players and does not represent the broader impact that Jones’s contributions have had on jazz playing, Greenwich is not alone in this view.
Elvin Jones’s work with Coltrane opened the door for other drummers to further develop Jones’s ideas and expand their applications. Jack DeJohnette, by way of
example, has taken Jones’s phrasing system and gone further in the direction of opening up time-keeping by adding much more space between the phrases, giving the illusion to some listeners that the pulse has occasionally been entirely abandoned. This approach is well documented on several Keith Jarrett trio recordings. Many drummers, including myself, have applied Jones’s phrasing system to jazz ‘feels’ other than swing, particularly even-eighths music (Elmes, 2001). The result is a much more open, spacious feel in the time. It seems that most modern jazz drumming styles are directly related to the work of Jones.
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