Time Question

J

jorijens

Junior Member
This may be stupid and showing my ignorance/incompetence, but here goes:
While listening to and playing along with recordings of some jazz greats, I can't help but sense that sometimes when the drummer comes back from a fill or a short solo, the hi-hat time on 2 & 4 has been displaced. In other words, they don't come back timewise where they "left off." So, my questions are, is that common and accepted? Has anyone else come across this? I keep thinking that I must be the one who is off, but when I listen and make sure I keep time, it does seem that it is they who come back off time. I hope my questions makes sense. If not, please let me know and I will rephrase them.

JJ
 
That's a stupid question and doesn't make sense. Jazz drummers get so sick of playing 2 & 4 all day with those hats, that they sometimes start feeling like moronic rock drummers with their backbeats- so to alleviate that barbarism, they will occasionally just stop with the hats in order to reflect on their superiority of all things drums/women/success/women.
Also, the repetition gets monotonous to a jazz drummer...We're bored by it. I can't tell you how many times I've said out loud "If I play another 2 & 4 on these f*#@&^$ hats, I will S@#*%(#@ and @* **&^$$#% myself to death".


Just kidding. I'm not totally positive we're talking about the same thing but coming out of a fill, sometimes it's better to let the music "breathe" a bit more - rather than go right back into some strict time-keeping...done either by something like not coming back immediately with the hats on 2 & 4 (and just for the record, jazz doesn't need the hats on 2 & 4 all the time) or by allowing the cymbal to maybe sustain by itself after a big fill/crash and coming back in the 2nd bar....
 
Thanks for the response. I think you answered my question by stating that they let the music breathe. Maybe I should not have written that the hi-hat was on 2 & 4 ( I was just using it as an example). I just noticed that sometimes the steady pulse of the hi-hat they were keeping would not be "right on" after a fill. The time would be shifted a little but the band all seemed to stay together and I guess that is what counts.

JJ
 
It may also be that the drummer may simply have made a tiny mistake somewhere. But really, in jazz it doesn't matter so long as the feel and intensity are preserved.
 
One of the things that I like most about listening to jazz is the way that an accomplished drummer does things like this. He lets the other musicians Find the song again and magic happens! The relationship that the drummer has with the bass player seems to direct this phenomenon.
 
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