Here is an amazing article in Modern Drummer that George Marsh wrote detailing his experiences working with David Grisman and the Quartet when we first started to get together.<\/p>\n
It’s a fascinating read and shows George’s incredible attention to detail, musicality, and thoughtfulness.\u00a0 He talks about how changing the dynamic level on his drums created a far greater intensity and cohesion for the group.\u00a0 We used to rehearse completely acoustically and I learned how to project the sound from my steel string acoustic and classical guitars in this quartet.\u00a0 Learning how to project the sound from an acoustic is rapidly becoming a lost art.<\/p>\n
George is another Master who has had a tremendous impact on my musical sensibilities.<\/p>\n
MODERN DRUMMER <\/em><\/p>\n Acoustic Intensity First of all, I have listened to and been moved by David’s music for many years.\u00a0 Actually, I first saw him play at a friend’s wedding, and he just played wonderfully.\u00a0 It went right to my heart. \u00a0Of course, whenever I hear a musician like that I always say, “Boy, I want to play with him…. We did talk about it. but we never really did it, because at the back of both of our minds we’d say, “Well. the mandolin isn’t a match with the drums.” \u00a0This was maybe eight years ago. \u00a0But a couple of years ago, we met on an airplane and he played me a bit of his Acousticity album, which has Hal Blaine on it. \u00a0I realized that David really had an interest in using drums, and I saw how well Hal did it and how nice that sounded with David’s musical ideas. \u00a0So I decided that I was going to figure out a way to work my drums into David’s music. The process was one of gelling together in a real relaxed way just to play music-no designs on forming a group, but just seeing what would happen when we got together. \u00a0It started with just David and myself. \u00a0I explored conga drums with the mandolin and its beautiful sound. \u00a0I also tried various tuned woodblocks in a couple of octaves and they were interesting. \u00a0I tried RotoToms, and then the drumset itself. \u00a0\u00a0Of course, what I found was that the dynamic level that I was used to playing was a bit too loud for the mandolin, but I could control that.\u00a0 At first it was very hard, but the mandolin is a very piercing instrument. It cuts like a knife.<\/p>\n We played with many different musicians. The group kind of ended up to be Jim Kerwin on bass and Dimitri Vandellos on guitar – along with David and myself. \u00a0We got together and started to play, just on a casual basis. \u00a0Finally, it started to sound so good that we decided to make that a band.<\/p>\n The process of finding the right dynamic level was very interesting. \u00a0I had a studio with Steve Mitchell, who is a San Francisco studio drummer. \u00a0He does most of the work around here. \u00a0He’d be in the other room listening, and we’d be rehearsing. \u00a0One time, I got a note from him while we were rehearsing, and it said, “In my mix the drums are too loud.” \u00a0David, of course, would also tell me when it was too loud. \u00a0When I finally got to the right dynamic level, something very interesting happened. \u00a0It was almost magical. \u00a0There would be a sudden inclusion of me with the rest of the music. \u00a0When I was too loud, I wasn’t included in this way.\u00a0 When I played at exactly the right dynamic level, everything happened. \u00a0There was a power that I gained by playing at the right dynamic level. \u00a0That power comes from being part of a group of musicians and playing with them to complement the music in the right way. \u00a0So by playing softer, I got more power and the music fused into a unified sound of its own.\u00a0 As the months went on, I gained more facility at that dynamic level. \u00a0I found that I really enjoy it. \u00a0People have asked me, “Don’t you miss playing louder?” \u00a0I don’t, not even slightly.<\/p>\n As might be expected on an “acoustic'” gig I play a lot of brushes with David. However, this isn’t based entirely on volume requirements. \u00a0When I first rehearsed, I tried both sticks and brushes, and I’m able to control the sticks at that lower dynamic level. \u00a0But David likes the sound of the brush when he’s playing. \u00a0That probably has to do with the fact that the brushes produce a more legato sound. \u00a0The sound of the mandolin is so pointed that they make a good combination. \u00a0On the other hand, we’ve played several dates recently with the legendary jazz violinist Svend Asmussen. He likes sticks a lot, because his sound is more legato.\u00a0 When Dimitri’s playing his electric guitar. He likes me to play sticks quite often.<\/p>\n Getting intensity with the brushes was I very interesting, because I had to develop a way of really popping the sound out even if it’s very soft. \u00a0Once again, the key I element is that it’s appropriately soft.\u00a0 There’s a power that comes through that; the correctness of it gives it that added Feeling of intensity.<\/p>\n When I first started touring with David, one thing I had to get used to was playing on house drumsets. \u00a0The reason it’s not a problem is because I bring my own cymbals and pedals, and I can basically control any snare drum-whether it’s a deep one or a shallow one. \u00a0So I’ll use those as my dynamic norm and play the other drums softer or louder, depending on what types they are. \u00a0If the bass drum’s a little too loud, I’ll work on muffling that. \u00a0I work on the drum set, tuning it and muffling it , depending on what’s needed. \u00a0Then the miking has to be worked on. \u00a0Craig Miller, our tour manager and sound-man travels with us and is a great deal of help. \u00a0It just seems like after an hour everything’s fine.<\/p>\n When it comes to pulling a new piece together in a rehearsal situation. David is the first focus. \u00a0He’s like the switchboard that everything goes through. He has a very specific idea of what kind of sound he wants, and he’s been incredibly helpful to me. \u00a0When I joined the group, I basically wanted him to take the way I play and mold it anyway he felt like molding it. \u00a0I’ve played a lot of free music all my life, and I love playing free music-from mainstream jazz to free jazz to odd-time signatures and music of all kinds. \u00a0I could do that until the end of time. \u00a0But my thought here was, “I want to get in a group with someone who wants to mold some of this and change it.” \u00a0I really love it when he gives me little ideas and pointers about “Why don’t you do this on the drums here! Why don’t you dance on the cymbals there’?” \u00a0It helps him form the sound that he wants to get and it creates much stronger music for me. \u00a0No matter how many things he tells me to do, it’s still going to be me playing.<\/p>\n In a sense, I’m doing double duty in David’s group. \u00a0I’m handling the trapset and strictly timekeeping role on the drums, and I’m also serving as a full-on percussionist. \u00a0There are times when I’ll play little or no drumset at all. \u00a0We’ll do a Latin-tinged tune where I’ll play only a shaker, a cross-stick on the snare rim, and a hi-hat backbeat. \u00a0On other tunes, I add a bit of color with a triangle. \u00a0I play one tune using just a conga and my hi-hat, playing the hi-hat on the backbeat. \u00a0On other songs, I add a few little touches on the cymbals and toms with both mallets and brushes, and I perform melodic solos on the kalimba (or thumb piano). \u00a0The triangle and the kalimba pieces were my idea; the conga drum with the hi-hat on the backbeat was David’s idea. \u00a0He wanted that on a particular bluegrass tune. What it generally ends up being is that I get a sense of the kinds of voicing things that he likes. It gets to a point where it’s no longer a matter of a sound being my idea or his. The music itself very often will call for a certain shading. The kalimba is really nice because playing a small instrument like that tuned to a pentatonic scale with a band like this can really imply quite a bit. The chord changes that the band plays behind it create the very strong implication that there are more notes than I actually have.<\/p>\n Getting back to the bluegrass tune I mentioned earlier, I’ll admit that if someone were to say. “Name me the appropriate rhythmic instrument for a bluegrass tune,” conga drum would not come tripping off most people’s tongues. Most folks would think of a washboard. or jug, or something like that. \u00a0But in this band (and in a lot of bluegrass bands) the mandolin or guitar is almost acting as a drum when it’s comping. \u00a0The conga drum seems to blend well tonally with those high-pitched instruments. \u00a0It’s down in the fundamental lower mid-range, without being boomy and bottomy like a bass drum would be. \u00a0I’ve done some jamming with a band called the New Grass Revival and some other really fine players. \u00a0I played conga drum, and they really liked it. \u00a0So I’m going to take that and do as much as I can with it. \u00a0There are a lot of really incredible African and Latin conga drum players, but there aren’t many bluegrass conga players.<\/p>\n Another somewhat unique aspect of putting our music together is the “ride” work involved. \u00a0I use cymbals sparingly, and a lot of my “ride” work is done on snare drum with brushes. \u00a0I also play a \u00a0few tunes in which I use a cross stick on the snare rim and actually do little patterns with my fingers on the drumhead. \u00a0I guess that type of coloration is almost getting esoteric, because the amount of the audience that can hear it is probably fairly small. \u00a0Yet the implied rhythm-although subtle-is definitely projected.<\/p>\n In order to obtain the proper level of intensity, while keeping the appropriateness for the music, I like to experiment with very subtle changes. \u00a0It’s one thing to say, “I’ll play brushes or I’ll play sticks.” \u00a0It’s another thing to say, ”I’ll play only a rim click here with my left hand while I play the ride pattern with the brush on the snare drum at the same time and I’ll vary the size of the stick in order to get just the right timbre out of the rim.” \u00a0I think it’s important to realize that subtle things are often what are called for in order to achieve very unsubtle end results.<\/p>\n For a drummer playing in acoustic situations as varied as mine, the choice of stick. brush, mallet, or other equipment in your hand at any given moment is a key element. \u00a0I’ve already mentioned that I use brushes a lot with David. \u00a0I also play with a pair of very thin jazz-type sticks, a model that would generally be considered appropriate for a very light gig. \u00a0However, for cross-stick playing, I use a double butt-ended Rock Knocker. \u00a0That stick gives a full-bodied, lower-pitched rim click sound that does not conflict with the high strings of the mandolin. \u00a0A thin jazz stick would give a very thin, high-pitched rim click sound. \u00a0This was something that was derived from rehearsing with David. I tried a bunch of sounds, and the group consensus was that the big stick sounded best.<\/p>\n I recommend that drummers who have a band that they really appreciate working with say, “Hey guys (or girls), tell me what you think\u201d.\u00a0 What happens is, instead of just your one brain, you have two, three, or four brains helping you out. \u00a0It’s also important to remember that working for the music itself is the key. \u00a0At first, when someone would say, “Why don’t you do this”” my response would automatically be slightly defensive. \u00a0But that’s pretty much gone now. \u00a0This has been said many times by drummers, but it still remains very important: It’s the music itself that you’re working on. \u00a0Rather than the individual greatness of players, I think that working on the music together will create the greatness that everyone’s looking for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s a fascinating read and shows George’s incredible attention to detail, musicality, and thoughtfulness. He talks about how changing the dynamic level on his drums created a far greater intensity and cohesion for the group. We used to rehearse completely acoustically and I learned how to project the sound from my steel string acoustic and classical guitars in this quartet. Learning how to project the sound from an acoustic is rapidly becoming a lost art. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/vandellos.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>To see and hear George Marsh play with jazz mandolinist David Grisman’s quartet is to be impressed with the kind of intensity that a drummer can achieve while playing in an acoustic situation – acoustic not only in the sense of something like a traditional jazz trio, but with historically acoustic string instruments. \u00a0The whole concept of putting drumset into what is basically a string ensemble is unusual. \u00a0But George is an unusually creative and talented drummer\/percussionist. \u00a0In this article, he explains how he got involved with Grisman and then talks about the rehearsal process and how he came to understand the music and determine what type of drumming it called for.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>by George Marsh<\/p>\n