The Memphis Drum Shop recently had John Riley in to show off his cymbal collection and while he was there he also talked about the great Philly Joe Jones solo book by Joerg Eckel. It’s always great to hear John play and he does a good job here demonstrating some of the stickings used in the book.
The new and updated version of the book is now officially available. Just to be clear, the black cover is the new version.
Update August 2021 – There is a new post with updated photos and a full table of contents that lists every solo included in the book.
Updated July 2019 – This post was originally posted in 2017. Two years later there’s a new version of The Philly Joe Jones Solo Book available with an additional 32 transcribed drum solos! I’ll list them at the bottom of this post.
The Philly Joe Jones Solo Book is well worth the $50 – $60 price tag. It was transcribed over the course of 10 years by Joerg Eckel, a student of John Riley’s.
There are over 320380 pages of Philly Joe Jones drum solo transcriptions in the book. Each one includes stickings and lists the album that each solo is on.
As part of the Louis Armstrong Jazz Oral History Project, Warren Smith interviewed Art Taylor for 1 hour and 50 minutes! He sits at the drums briefly during the interview and tells a funny story. Be sure to catch that.
The entire interview is full of wonderful insights and he talks at length about the process of writing his book, Notes and Tones.
Notes and Tones
Notes and Tones is one of the most controversial, honest, and insightful books ever written about jazz.
It consists of 29 conversations which drummer Arthur Taylor held with the most influential jazz musicians of the ’60s and ’70s
Interviews include Art Blakey, Betty Carter, Don Cherry, Kenny Clarke, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Kenny Dorham, Dizzy Gillespie, Hampton Hawes, Freddie Hubbard, Elvin Jones, Carmen McRae, Max Roach, Sonny Rollins, Nina Simone and Randy Weston.
I highly recommend buying a copy if you don’t have it.
When I was attending Berklee in Boston I was fortunate see Art Taylor play at the Regatta Bar and asked him to autograph my copy.
The expanded edition of Notes and Tones is supplemented with previously unpublished interviews with Dexter Gordon and Thelonious Monk, a new introduction by the author, and new photographs.
Here’s a bonus radio interview with Art Taylor on Eric in the Evening (WGBH Boston) from 1994.
When he told me to get the book, I did not take the recommendation lightly. That said, if you’re like me you might be thinking something like “I already know how to practice” or “I’ve got my own system that works.” I get it and I put off picking up this book for a long time, which I regret.
Some of the topics might lead you to believe that this isn’t a book for drummers. While it’s true that not every chapter will be as valuable for some, the book as a whole is wonderful. It’s filled with hundreds and hundreds of concrete things to work on, along with anecdotes illustrating the ideas presented.
