drumFantasy.09 August 23-27
Hyatt Regency Hotel
Cleveland, OH
2009 saw campers coming
from all over the United States and 10 countries,
including: the U.K., Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Sweden, Australia, Taiwan, the
Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Turkey!
Instructors include: Dave Weckl,
Steve Smith,
Peter Erskine, Tommy Igoe, and
Dafnis Prieto. Other
world-class musicians who took part included:
Vinny
Valentino, Baron Browne,
Chrissi Poland, Mark
Soskin, Andy Fusco, and
Gary Keller.
The camp started at Noon on Saturday with an opening
clinic that featured Steve, Dave, Peter, Tommy, and
Dafnis on the same stage. The instructors casually
walked onto the stage, and Dafnis started cool
rhythm that the other instructors picked up on and
joined.
Each drummer listened carefully, feeding off each
other and complementing one another. The rhythm
built and built until, finally, the instructors
began trading solos. The solos went stage left to
right and provided some exciting moments!
After a big ending, the instructors came to the
front of the stage, sat down, and began a
"roundtable" discussion about drumming and music.
They discussed everything from broad technical
concepts to the bigger picture of creating rhythm
and, ultimately, contributing to the integrity of
great music. They also discussed music education,
the general state of the music industry, and
professionalism.
The audience asked questions and, at the end, was
treated to a closing piece performed by the entire
group!
After the clinic, the instructors rehearsed with
Steve Smith's Jazz Legacy for their 8pm concert.
Tommy Igoe, who had played his Friday night Birdland
gig the night before and flown in at 6 a.m., went
through his songs and nail everything immediately.
During the rehearsal, a brief photo shoot for the
Zoom Q3 took place. Peter, Dave, and Steve
filmed each other with this great new video camera
while the photo crew caught all the fun moments! Of
course, the entire concert was recorded with the
Zoom H4N audio recorder. Amazing sound!
At 8:00 p.m., the lights went down to a rousing
applause. Each instructor sat in with Steve Smith's
Jazz Legacy for three songs and took an extended
solo. After the show, the instructors signed
autographs, posed for photos, and mingled with
attendees.
Saturday was a long day - but attendees
energetically made their way down from hotel rooms
to the conference area for morning classes. The
morning class went from 9:00 a.m. to Noon and the
afternoon class went from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
As always, Steve Smith's classes were as much about
music history as they were about drumming. Steve
traced the history of the swing pulse and showed how
it has been applied to each generation and genre of
music. Many of Steve's campers got up and played in
Steve's class - executing various significant
rhythms used in modern music.
Dave Weckl's classes focused heavily on elements of
groove. Many of Dave's campers got up to play, as
well. Dave offered words of encouragement to each
camper in terms of achieving the right feel -
something Dave is well-known for. The lessons were
invaluable.
Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials DVDs/books are some
of the most widely used instructional products
around. In Tommy's classes, he played music through
a speaker and chose key grooves for campers play
along with.
Reading charts is an area in which many drummers can
use help. Peter Erskine provided that help by
passing out charts and encouraging campers to follow
along - tapping out the rhythms together.
Peter's great sense of humility pervaded the classes
as he shared stories about being a student who was
afraid to make mistakes. He also shared wisdom about
how to play freely and naturally; achieving a smooth
swing pulse, and being musical. Few drummers have
made as much music as Peter. His lessons were
priceless.
Dafnis Prieto's dynamic playing and friendly and
refreshing attitude impressed everyone. A composer,
bandleader, and incredible drummer, Dafnis' classes
broke down barriers of playing Latin jazz. Dafnis
explained his complex compositions and his approach
to the drum parts. He also shared practice
techniques to achieve a high level of mental and
physical independence.
This year, the Jam Nights featured some extra-special moments. Two
ten-year-old campers brought down the house with
their solid grooves. Also, there were some great
duets between the instructors. As in years past,
Dave Weckl spent most of each of the three nights
accompanying campers on timbales. Each instructor
took turns doing this. Peter Erskine treated
everyone to some serious funk, and we also
celebrated Steve Smith's birthday on the final Jam
Night.
