Ive been learning some jazz piano at school and its really been making me think about the drum set and its role in a new way.
So, when playing piano, your throwing these chord changes out but youre using voicings and voice leading. Your goal is to attempt to voice lead as smoothly as possibly while still maintaining the harmonic structure of the tune, yet interacting harmonically with the soloist. Youre searching for a way to have the guide tones (the tones you would sing as you heard the changes pass) blend as easily as possibly with one another.
Heres a way Ive been thinking about this as it pertains to the drums. So I have my voices that Im using in these harmonic structures (all the aspects of the drum set) and Im trying to pick the guide tone voices. So I might be thinking in a strictly straight ahead jazz situation that my ride is the third of the voicing, establishes the quality of mthe "voicing" my snare drum is then functioning as a guide tone and my bass drum as more of a color tone within a chord, so possibly a b9 of a chord or a #11 or #5 or whatever upper extension I wanna visulize for that situation, sometimes it is more colorful in the situation, sometimes it is establishing the true color of the "chord" im trying to convey. At this point I would try and think of the best way to use my guide tones (snare drum) to fill out a soloists phrase, or move from one idea to the next, with the solo, following their "changes." This is something like shell voicings on a piano I suppose, there is a solid idea of what the voices are going to be fulfilling within the voicings. SO the entire time Im listening to the soloist and instead of spitting back phrases to them, Im trying to fill them out and think not only in terms of their rhythm but the harmonic rhythm as well.
When time begins to break more, Im thinking of more instruments in regards to their role and function as guide tone, quality of what Im playing, dissonance of the voicing Im choosing to use, etc etc etc. But the entire time, trying to think of the smoothest voice leading I can use.
This might have been very confusing and I apologize if it is really far off from what you are looking for.
Heres a simple way to get into it. Just listen to the soloist, focus on them to the point where you could sing the solo back once they finished, thats the hardest part. But view yourself as something you would be hearing independently, like someone else playing and play what youre hearing as what would enhance the soloists solo.
Comping has a dual meaning though, acCOMPany and COMPose, think of youre role as not only accompaniast as co-composer of the music. Give ideas take ideas. It should sound like no one person is listening to the other, but that your are spontaneously composing this music that is syncing together perfectly. Just listen. Hard. And if the soloist and everyone else is listening hard things will work.
Keep running exercises, get it to the point where you can play what youre hearing (I dont know if anyone can get there actually because your ears progress so much faster than any other element of you playing), but strive for that. And sound COMFORTABLE. Thats where solidity is gonna come for. Dont sacrifice the groove in swing music for anything. And finally, play jazz with as many and the best jazz musicians you can. Playing with recordings is great, but I could sing you a lot solos and knowing whats about to happen is far different from reacting to it on the spot. Thats number one, play with people. Itll take time and more work than you can ever imagine (or at least than I ever could) but itll start ot become natural. Just shed shed shed, play play play.