Andrew thanks -could imagine some photos to go with them more would be
fun for this old codger who only was a tea chest drummer -briefly
skiffling!!
On 24/05/2017 08:59, Andrew Burke wrote:
> *JAZZ PROSE POEM *
>
>
>
> My earliest memories are sprocketed by jazz …
>
> ~
>
> Back in the Fifties my big brother would go to *KP for Dancing* at the
> Kings Park Tennis Club, driving his red MG TC with the top down. I’d
> smuggle myself under the canvas as he got ready and then sneak out when he
> went inside the hall. I couldn’t see through the window but I could hear
> the band playing full blast the swing numbers of the day. I crouched among
> the bushes. A female vocalist sang *St Louis Blues* and the drummer soloed
> with the subtlety of a blacksmith. The crowd roared out for more. There
> were boring spaces between sets until the final dance of the night with the
> clarinet aimed at the ceiling and wailing above the pounding drums in Woody
> Herman’s *Golden Wedding.* In the great excitement and applause I would
> sneak back under cover to brave our speedy trip home.
>
> ~
>
> My first car was a 1948 Morris – complete with optional crank handle start.
> My first drum kit was a hotch-potch reject kit assembled from my aged
> teacher’s early days of modern waltz and pride-of-erin. The bass drum was a
> monster that took up all the back seat. And to make the cymbal sizzle I
> hung my keys across its dull surface. The young female sax player nursed
> the snare on the passenger on our way to rehearsals. We dragged Fred in for
> the reed solos because he couldn’t read but he could swing! Without a bass
> player, the pianist had a busy time playing rhythm with his left hand … and
> I played bass drum and high-hat on the beat – thump/tish, thump/tish – more
> marching band than jazz.
>
> We had the charts for *The Theme from Peter Gunn* with our pianist playing
> the bass part. We never did find a bass player before our enthusiasm … ran
> out.
>
> ~
>
> With the sun shining in the garage doors, I set the bass drum front skin up
> on the cold floor. I’d seen photos of Gene Krupa’s kit and knew the badge
> his bass drum proudly displayed. With a thick black marking pen and an old
> school ruler, I drew the outline with great care, and filled in the badge
> with my initials – AB. Laboriously I filled in all the thick band up and
> down with black. Dramatic. I stood the bass drum up and placed the pedal on
> its back rim, dragged my three-legged kitchen stool up, sat and tried it
> out. It definitely sounded fatter. I thumped it heavily and tried to lean
> over far enough to see if the badge was vibrating. It always stopped before
> I could see it, but I could hear it – just like Krupa’s *Jungle Drums* on a
> Clef music 10” LP, with a David Stone Martin cover.
>
>
>
> ~
> Should I continue - maybe two more?
>
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