And the Beat Goes On

Meet Brian, the student drummer who turned us into a jazz quartet. The Bolling Suite was written for piano, flute, bass, and drums. Until now we have been missing the drums. But as of today we have a drummer.

Brian just finished his first year at Julliard and is a student in the summer program here at Chautauqua. I’m sure he was happy to make a little money in between his classes, practice sessions, and performances.

Brian joined us in cabin #13 for an hour or so this morning to run through the pieces that we will play tomorrow in the recital. I had never before played with drums. They add an incredibly strong beat which makes it much easier to stay together. Brian also helped us out with some tricky rhythms that are a piece of cake for a percussionist. There were moments when we sounded quite good. And a few moments when we didn’t, but that’s OK – we have until tomorrow to fix the mistakes and then who really cares, since our families will probably be the only ones who come to the recital anyway!

So now, having experienced playing with a drummer, I would like to find someone at home who can play with us. Got a friend who would like to play jazz with some amateur musicians? Not a paying gig, but a lot of fun…