The Miles Davis Quintet
Miles Davis' first great band with Philly Joe on drums has become the standard for hard bop drumming. Given the central role that this band plays in the history of jazz, it is important for every drummer to spend time listening and learning from the great Philly Joe. If you haven't checked this group already, the epochal prestige recordings and the album "Milestones" are the best place to start.
The Philly Joe Beat
In today's post we are going to be exploring one particular element of Philly Joe's playing that he popularized during his tenure with Miles, the Philly Joe beat. This beat is a thick sounding cross-stick played on beat four that replaces the usual snare drum chatter, typically used during a piano solo. In the example below from "Billy Boy" on the album "Milestones", Philly Joe starts playing the beat around 2:00.
