Stephen Davis

The Ultimate Play Along for Jazz Drummers

The goal of this play along series is to provide the jazz drummer with play along and practice material that will be challenging, informative, and musical.

The series contains important jazz tunes based on the standard jazz repertoire. While there is no written melody, there are a number of melodies that one can sing over the existing chord changes.

I have been giving similar recordings to students through the years and this is the result of the feedback about their wants and needs as players. It always seemed to make sense to me to practice in the context of a tune adhering to the form and melody.

These play along tunes provide you with a musical backdrop to hone your own skills. I certainly encourage you to explore your musical boundaries. These tunes give you a place to practice comping, soloing, trading fourths and eighths, working on your ride cymbal sound, etc. As you can see your development is limited only by your imagination!

The tempos range from quarter note equals 100 to quarter note equals 320. You can work on these in any given order but we suggest the slower tempos first. I also give you a suggested listening list of essential jazz standards and drummers that exemplify this kind of musical drumming.