The alternate title for this post was, "Now watch Greg Hutchinson do everything better than I ever will". Loyal readers of my blog know that I have a particular fondness for both Ray Brown and Greg Hutchinson's playing, so it should come as no surprise that I am bringing up this particular concert footage:
Hutch's solo in the first tune (starting around :57) is a tour-de-force. A couple of elements that make this solo so great:
1. Use of the melody
You can hear Hutch reference the melody throughout, but he really spells it out around 2:01 on the bass drum. Besides these references to the melody, Hutch is also following the larger structure of the form, making this a melodic solo in every sense of the word.
2. Uptempo brushes
Hutch is one of the contemporary masters of uptempo brushes, listen to the clarity of his articulation and his really slick vocabulary throughout.
3. Dynamics
This solo has real dynamic variation, not always an easy thing to do when you are playing with brushes. Listen to how far down Hutch comes around 2:42, I felt myself leaning in towards my speaker to hear more!
4. Band interaction
Not only does Hutch catch all the hits in the beginning of his solo, he also does a beautiful job transitioning to the half time feel at the end. You may have also noticed how smooth his transition from brushes to sticks is at 3:10.
Hope you are enjoying this footage as much as I am, and long live Greg Hutchinson!
