Elvin Jones

Yeah he's a great drummer, but he sounds just like any other great Jazz drummer.

sounds JUST like any other great jazz drummer?!

man, ron carter said it best when interviewed on elvins jones' video "different drummer: elvin jones"

"in order to understand elvin's contribution to the drums as an intstrument, first you have to listen to a record of a pre-elvin jones drummer, listen to an elvin jones record, and then listen to a record of a post elvin jones drummer."

to say that he sounds just like any other great jazz drummer shows a lack of understanding of the history of drums as an instrument.
 
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my first experience w/ elvin was in the library media center @ VCU. i grabbed a copy of live @ birdland and proceeded to check out afro blue. OMG, i had NO clue what i was in for. prior to that my jazz listening included max, art, buddy, gene, and philly joe. but elvin, elvin was a whole different thing all together. i dont think my head was right for quite a few days after i heard that recording. coming out of mccoys piano solo, elvin kept the intensity high, and i really thought to myself that the music could not get any more intense @ that moment. then, john coltrane started his solo and the intensity jumped about 20 knotches. my jaw literaly hit the floor. loved elvin, and that band, ever since. i didnt know jazz could be played that way. man i heard that band had the white collar business men standing on the tables going nuts in the club during their shows.

the drumming world lost a treasure when elvin passed.
 
I definitely agree with almost all of the above choices. I love all of Elvin's work to death, but my top three are most definitely the following:

Resolution from A Love Supreme, Afro-blue from Live at Birdland, and almost more than any others Contemplation from The Real McCoy. You never hear mid-tempo's played like that.
-aj
 
no other drummer sounds like elvin...i saw him in 1990 with the jazz machine at a college where i was in the 6 o'clock big band.absolutely tremendous.from the rumbling triplets and loose feel down to a whisper with brushes...and quite the comedian too. he actually came on stage before the band and was cracking jokes! you can almost always recognize elvin when you hear him even if youv'e never heard the record before.that is STYLE and very few great drummers have that recognizability.
 
I definitely agree with almost all of the above choices. I love all of Elvin's work to death, but my top three are most definitely the following:

Resolution from A Love Supreme, Afro-blue from Live at Birdland, and almost more than any others Contemplation from The Real McCoy. You never hear mid-tempo's played like that.
-aj

That album is unbelievable! Elvin was something than a great drummer, he was also a very good guitarist. Surprising that he had time to become the drummer he was and still have time to be able to play a mean guitar.
 
Elvin is without a doubt one of the greats. The most important thing about him is his style: you could come into a recording of Elvin and know within three seconds that it's Elvin Jones on the drums. There are only a few instrumentalists, let alone drummers, that one can say that of. One record that I don't think anyone has mentioned is the Elvin Jones: Live At The Village Vanguard album. They play a 15 minute version of "Mister Jones" on there with Hannibal on trumpet, George Coleman on sax and WIlbur Little on bass and they're just burning!

Oh, as for his gear, here's how his sound progressed: In his earlier days, he had a loosely tuned wooden snare, larger bass drum (20"), and older zildjians. The main things that changed in his sound in his later days were his cymbals (in which he commonly used Istanbul cymbals or newer K's), metal snare instead of wood, an 18" bass drum and tuned it tightly instead of the relatively loosely tuned bass drum of before, and he added more toms and cymbals in general.
 
Yeah he's a great drummer, but he sounds just like any other great Jazz drummer.

That's the weirdest thing I've ever read, how exactly does Elvin sound like Buddy, Gene, Max Roach, Philly Joe, Billy Cobham or Tony Williams (the list is endless), he sounds nothing like any of them but still probably influenced them all at one time or another. To quote Miles Davis "That cat could light a fire under the music like no other motherf*cker!".
 
I'm surprised no-ones mentioned 'Inception' by McCoy Tyner. (unless I missed it and someone has already). A must have album.

The space that he would create throughout his playing, even if relatively busy or complex was simply astounding. Of course it goes without saying that his ride playing and use of the second note of the triplet was a large part of his brilliant sound.

More later when I've got more time.
 
I would recommend Tribute To John Coltrane "A Love Supreme" by Elvin's special quartet featuring Wynton Marsalis (Sony). It was recorded live at PIT INN in Tokyo in 1992 and maybe released only in Japan, but this is the must for Elvin fans! I think this is one of his best performances recorded in his career. I guess you can get it at amazon.com or GEMM.

I saw his performance at the same Jazz club in Tokyo, PIT INN, in January 2004, just 5 months before his death. To tell the truth, it was one of my saddest moment in my life. He became very small and thin. He couldn't walk without assistance, even looked like he needed a great effort just to move his fingers. He managed to sit behind the drum set, helped by his wife Keiko, and started to play. But he couldn't keep the tempo with his high-hat and ride cymbal. I couldn't hear his "roar" at all during his play. When he hit the crash cymbal, the cymbal didn't move at all and instead the stick was almost dropped from his hand. Apparently he was feeling great pain in playing drums. I wanted to shout out "No, Elvin, just go to the hospital right NOW!" He was supposed to perform 2 sets a night, but he could only play one set. Keiko told us that he suffered a serious stroke and fell into critical condition just before his visit to Tokyo, but he insisted to play at PIT INN, where he has been playing in winter every year, so he came over to Tokyo. And after that week's performances (he was to play there for a week) he was going to make more thorough physical examination at a hospital somewhere (she didn't identify it, but probably Kyushu Island, Japan, which is Keiko's birthplace) and spend there for a couple of months. So, after that, he made his last performance at Yoshi's in April.
After his death I heard that Elvin played in London in October 2003 and he was all right then. So I guess he suffered the stroke right after that, probably in November.

I've talked with Elvin a couple of times. He was powerful (I still remember his handshake!), and at the same time very gentle, with a big smile all the time. I miss him very much.
 
Great story - thanks for sharing it.
 
I think only one person has mentioned arguably one of, if not his best, Elvin's great playing on Larry Young's album Unity. I feel he hit a peak with his rolling triplet and time shifting phrases on this amazing record!
Truly a classic!
I must agree with Duke though as well, Afro Blue on After the Rain is painful it's so good.
 
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I think only one person has mentioned arguably one of, if not his best, Elvin's great playing on Larry Young's album Unity. I feel he hit a peak with his rolling triplet and time shifting phrases on this amazing record!
Truly a classic!
I must agree with Duke though as well, Afro Blue on After the Rain is painful it's so good.

I dont know man what about ALLLLL the Coltrane stuff? A Love Supreme? Innerstellar Space?
 
Arguing about what Elvin recording is the best is like arguing about what food is the best at a gourmet meal.

G

Haha very true! It is foolish to say the least to try and pick his best. He tears it up from his Sonny Rollins recordings to his very last recordings! Amazing.


Bball, you're right, to say that one is the best is a bit crazy. Theres just too many to choose from. All his stuff with Coltrane is incredible. 'Coltrane Plays the Blues', 'Crescent', 'Ballads' theres simply too many. 'Unity' just happens to be one of my favourites. Monks Dream is Elvin heaven.
 
Did and any of you know that Elvin feathered on the up beats, more so than the downbeats? Try it sometime if you haven't it may open up your playing a bit more. And as far as learning the rolling triplet feel, i think it's necessary.
 
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