King Crimson - One Time (Live At The Warfield Theatre, 1995)

I love the dark, sad mood of this, one of my favourite tracks from the Thrak album from King Crimson. The meter of the piece is subtly ambiguous; there is something funky going on. Is it a slow 3/4, or 6/4, or 12/8? I don’t know, and I never asked Pat Mastelotto, who plays kit drums on this. Not even sure that the singer is feeling it in the same meter as Pat. My immediate instinct was to construe this as a group problem, and try to understand what was going on. Happily, I overcame that instinct for fear we might destroy the vibe by ‘cleaning it’ up. We never discussed it internally; I just played light percussion to what I heard. On a different note, a guy at a recent party became very insistent that I should supply him with a list of my ‘favourite’ drummers. I’m often asked for this. My mind went blank. I’m not one for lists of names; they tell you very little. Anyway, favourite for doing what? Gene Krupa, Ringo Starr, John Bonham and Karen Carpenter popularised the drum set. In some respects, they are therefore my favourites. Nate Smith, Marcus Gilmore, Bill Stewart, Dan Weiss, and Eric Harland are all pointing to the future, so definitely among my favourites. Perhaps more helpful is to look at the qualities of those who might make the cut. Any contender: • will be about something, i.e., have a strong personality on the drums, with distinguishing characteristics that demonstrate a fresh approach. • will have the technical ability to manipulate the four levers under her control – the temporal, the metrical, the dynamical, and the timbral – to provide herself with a different sounding voice and an identifiable style. • will show evidence of the results of choices. What has she chosen not to do? What does she omit? What has she selected to do? • will be a good communicator on and off the instrument. This person plays in a friendly, unhurried style. He’s aware of his listener. The ability of a performer to communicate a sense of on-the-spot invention is big plus: “I’m not sure about this, but I’ll give it a shot”. • will be unafraid to make the occasional mistake. It might be evidence of a hidden intention, as Brian Eno might say, and is the occasional result of risk-taking (see above). • will be a good collaborator – a team player – who can listen ‘beyond the cymbals’ and support others. There are probably other things, but if you can demonstrate those qualities, you’re on my list, which I don’t have! Hope you enjoy the video. #billbruford #jazzdrummer #kingcrimson #drummer #electronicdrumkit #paistecymbals #improvisationmusic #drumsolos #yes