Re: How Many Stick players actually play with a drummer?
I've played with dozens of different drummers over the years. Most had a truly distinctive personality, so it's hard to be general in describing what this does for your playing and how you can adjust your playing to make things work better.
I want to mention two of them, in the context of improvisation, which can be groove oriented or abstract.
The most recent I've spent a lot of time with is Brian Caputo (AZUL). Brian has an amazing groove but it's very "loose" in terms of what he plays around it. I find with Brian the best thing I can be is "super clear" in the bass and rhythm parts I come up with, so that he can relate to what I'm doing. If I try to relate to what he's doing too much, he's already changed it by the time I figure it out. It's better to be "feeling it" with Brian than "thinking it".
I like how this piece developed in this regard. You cans hear the interaction I'm talking about.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBhdeP0ntM4[/youtube]
Jan Wolfkamp, in the Greg Howard Band was the opposite. He really builds his grooves up, literally, using loops, but also just layering his own parts. So it's quite easy to hear what he's doing, and to play along with him. He likes to have lots of things going on, and they all work really well, so I tend to do better when I "do less" playing with him.
A good "bad example"Here's a version of "Blues for Ayman" with the band, from our first gig, so we didn't really know each other yet. It starts after the first head because when I originally posted this YouTube limited videos to 10 minutes. When we start out, I'm probably doing too much considering what's going on. Eventually things settle down. Check out the way it develops and how everyone is listening to each other. I'm really happy with the way the improv works out on this:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t94HouPl2Dc[/youtube]
This last point is the general rule of thumb for playing with a drummer. do less. less than you would when playing solo, because when you play solo, you
are the drummer.
Think about how the Stick sounds. percussive attack, followed by a long sustain. It's basically doing what the bass and bass drum are doing all by itself. So you have to be really precise in your timing so as not to muddy the low end too much with flammy attacks.
I also suggest trimming your treble way back on your accompaniment hand, since that's where the clicky sounds of tapping come from. and perhaps some fast attack compression, as well.
Uber drummersI've also played quite a bit with Carter Beauford over the years. You can do anything and Carter makes it sound great... seriously... anything at all, and Carter just makes it amazing...
Johnny Gilmore was probably the easiest to "play with". He could hear everything instantly and clarify the groove on the spot. sorry I don't have any video of Johnny. He died in a fire a few years ago...
http://greghoward.bandcamp.com/track/in-your-faceLast wordListen for the bass drum. Become one with the bass drum...