Morello says that the secret to technique is relaxation. Morello has won countless music polls over the years, and was elected to the Modern Drummer magazine Hall of Fame in 1988. He has written several drum books, including Master Studies, published by Modern Drummer Publications, and has done an instructional video for Hot Licks titled The Natural Approach to Technique. He has appeared on over 120 albums, the latest of which is his own Going Places, released last year (1993) on DMP. It was conspicuous by being so different.'Īfter leaving Brubeck in 1968 Morello became an in-demand clinician, teacher and bandleader. It was more about space and playing over the barline. 'But the ‘Take Five' solo had very little speed involved. 'When people use the word ‘technique,' they usually mean ‘speed,'' Morello says, commenting on the solo. His 12-year stint with Brubeck made Morello a household name in the jazz (and drumming) world, and on the quartet's recording of 'Take Five' he performed one of the most famous drum solos in jazz history. Morello would listen intently, then say, 'Is this what you're doing?' as he'd play their licks back at them twice as fast. Jim Chapin tells stories about unsuspecting drummers who would try to impress Morello by showing off their fancy licks. While working with Marian McPartland at the Hickory House, Morello's technical feats attracted the attention of a legion of drummers, who would crowd around him at a back table during intermissions to watch him work out with a pair of sticks on a folded napkin. Give them a knowledge of the instrument once they have that, they can use it the way they want to use it.'Īfter moving to New York City, Morello worked with an impressive list of jazz musicians including Johnny Smith, Tal Farlow, Phil Woods and Stan Kenton. Let the students be themselves and develop their talent. Some teachers insist that a student play a certain style.

The objective of a good teacher is to bring out the creativity of the pupil.

'My training was basically classical snare drum technique,' Morello says. Later, Morello studied with Radio City Music Hall percussionist Billy Gladstone, one of the most technically advanced drummers of all time. Stone was so impressed with Morello's ideas that he incorporated them into his next book, Accents & Rebounds, which is dedicated to Morello.

'I'd work out of his book, Stick Control, and after I could play the sticking patterns I'd start throwing in accents in various places,' Morello recalls. By age 15 he had switched to drums, first studying with a show drummer named Joe Sefcik and then studying with the legendary George Lawrence Stone. But the string world's loss was the drum community's gain, as Morello became one of the most technically accomplished drumset players to ever wield a pair of sticks, setting a new standard for mastery of odd-time signatures through his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet.īorn Jin Springfield, Massachusetts, Morello began studying violin at age six, and three years later was featured with the Boston Symphony Orchestra as soloist in the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. If he hadn't had eyesight problems at an early age, Morello would have pursued a career as a classical violinist. He always played for the music with beautiful, flowing time.' 'The thing that always impressed me about Morello,' Soph said afterwards, 'was that you would never know he had all those chops unless you heard him play a solo, because when he played behind people, he was never one to show off and grandstand. Soph, who presented Morello's award on behalf of the PAS, was equally delighted to spend some time with Morello during PASIC '93. 'It was especially nice being there with Bill Ludwig, who I became associated with in 1954, and it was great seeing guys like Ed Soph and Peter Erskine again.' 'I was very honored,' Joe Morello says of his induction into the PAS Hall of Fame.

Dave brubeck take five drummer