Modern Drum Solos Over Ostinatos

Abstract

Abstract Improvised drum solos by Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dave Weckl, Trilok Gurtu, and Jojo Mayer are examined in the context of interactive frameworks comprising three distinct rhythmic elements: meter, ostinato, and drums. Meter and background ostinato provide complementary recurring cycles—one implicit, the other explicit—that the drummer uses as referents to create shifting contrapuntal configurations. These configurations can be understood in terms of degrees of synchrony between the three elements in the drums/meter/ostinato network, from full three-way convergence to total divergence and including intermediary states where one of the three elements is distinct from the other two. The chapter pays special attention to polymetric phrasing, an effective way for drummers to not only affirm their independence from meter and ostinato but also infuse the solo with playfully complex qualities.

Cite this work

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 2 citations exist upstream.

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.