Why is jazz drumming still so dominant?

wizard sticks

Senior Member
Hi,

I am not trolling, honest gov. My Dad used to be a professional jazz musician and I have played in big bands. But recently I have wondered: why is jazz so dominant in the drumming world?

It peaked prior to the Beatles explosion that was nearly 60 years ago. Fusion was (sort of) popular for a while in the 70s. There isn't a huge demand for it. It is the least popular selling music in the US.

Some theories:

1) It could be that the best drummers are simply jazz ones, so players get sucked into it.
2) Jazz is considered the "classical music" of the USA. It is taught at the major music schools and places like Berklee have pushed this since the 70s. Berklee is seen as the Gold Standard of drumming technique theory (perhaps correctly - it produced Vinnie and Steve Smith after all).
3) It is simply more interesting than pop/rock/ etc for the drummer. Technique is fun, and it is an opportunity to express this.
4) Even more so, it is very musician-centric, as it can be accused as alienating for the audience with its focus on the technical and melodic complexity.
5) Drummers think they are cool playing it.

Thoughts ............ !
 
Well, it's not dominant in my world, not at all, but it's where mature musicians of any instrument go for fun and exploration. This is true specially when people get older and want musical excitement in other ways than LOUD and AGGRESSIVE.

The "drum set", "trap kit", whatever you wanna call it is a jazz instrument.
 
Well, for all drum set playing.

Ha yes, the rudiments!

I suppose Steve Smith is getting at understanding the overall art. It might be Berklee propaganda but all serious chop players would be kinda foolish to ignore it i.e. all the chops players built on ideas from the other.
 
How is it dominate?

I wouldn't say it's dominate.

Yeah, I'm not sure what he means either. Of course there are some fantastic players out there playing jazz, but all the people I teach want to learn rock. I can't think of any jazz clubs in town. Not sure there are any jazz stations on the radio around here.
Of course we do have the Utah Jazz, and they're a pretty big deal around here, lol
 
Jazz drumming dominates formal music education, but I do not think it does at all outside of that. I think the prevalence of jazz drumming in education has a lot of underlying reasons but if anything because a lot of educators are coming from that kind of background, so they just teach what they know. Also, in terms of modern styles of music, jazz is the only one that is even remotely respected in the "legit" music world, and sometimes not even that.

Outside of education, I think what we see populated on places like YouTube is just "chops." This shows itself in many various forms of drumming, gospel, jazz, hard rock/metal, etc.

What do you see in the "real" world, out on gigs and whatever? I don't think you see either of these for the most part actually.
 
I see it as where the drum kit was born and is made for. The majority of theory books we all have are written by jazz drummers.

I may be wrong but to my knowledge first rock drumming book was written by Carmine Appice but it still derives from jazz.

Obviously for people who are self taught and have never heard of jazz this argument is null and void.

I can't think of any that haven't seen Buddy play and gone, 'he's half decent!'
 
Jazz is the least popular music in US. But I've noted numerous rock drummers talk about Tony Williams or some other jazz cat as being inspirational. I don't know how universal but it seems most music shops who offer "drum lessons" it's basically rock drumming, and you can tell all their students when you listen to them play. More interesting is the evolution of modern drumming-and lots of jazz drummers have really contributed a lot.
 
In most other styles of music, the drums are in a support role and are not the main focus of the music.

In jazz, the drummer is just as crucial as any other player. In many groups, the drummer is arguably the most important component to the overall sound.

I think this is why so many drummers gravitate to jazz - because it's one of the few styles where they are really appreciated as first-class, and not just as a backup musician.
 
Definitely not dominant here in the UK. But, is something I am becoming more curious about each day.........
 
Jazz drumming is the most interesting due to how different it is from other genres. Also, the improvisational element of jazz adds to that interest. The drum sounds are usually a bit different from other drum sounds. Peace and goodwill.
 
Perhaps the same reason why classical piano is so dominant despite piano being in so many other genres: it's what the instrument was originally made for.
 
Personally I think it's the freedom. Some of us just get bored playing 4/4 all the time. Sort of the same reason some of us play metal. No one is gonna tell you that you are being too busy. Don't get me wrong, 4/4 is still fun in the right context. But not all the time. It's like I read on here once, nobody wants to just eat pizza everyday. I like that analogy.
 
Someone should start a thread about Buddy Rich being the best drummer out there...
 
I recall someone saying years ago that a jazz player could pretty much play whatever you needed, but not so if you hired a predominant rock only drummer. When you look at the LA and NY recording studios cranking out the hits in the 50s-70s, guys like Earl Palmer, and Gary Chester, were well-rooted in jazz. And in a lot of instances it's still that way - the best players and educators can play jazz. I myself have seen this to be true too - take a jazz guy and throw music at him and tell him to play any style, he/she will most likely be able to do it. Whenever I've seen someone do this with a hard rocking' drummer (only), the results aren't quite as satisfying.

Perhaps it's a difference in gig perception too. The jazz player is happy to play anything, and will learn how to play anything, in order to keep playing. My jazz background prepared me for playing for ballroom dances, churches, Broadway shows, etc.,.. and it gave me an appreciation for a lot of different genres. Most people I meet who are only into straight-8th rock n roll, are only good at that genre, limiting their exposure to playing other genres. Which is probably why those people ask "why is jazz dominant?"
 
Perhaps it's a difference in gig perception too. The jazz player is happy to play anything, and will learn how to play anything, in order to keep playing.

I don't know if I think that is true anymore. There seems to have been a bit of a rise in the jazz snobbery in at least my generation (I'm 35) and perhaps those slightly older and younger than I am. Where jazz is the be all and end all, and anyone who plays anything not jazz is just wrong and playing anything other than jazz is just beneath them.
 
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