The O'Zone | Jack DeJohnette: His Ubiquitous Drumsticks
The sound of his ride cymbals and precise sticks on those rides runs through my musical memory like a river of rhythm. In the wake of his recent death, I’m reminded of how much Jack DeJohnette contributed to so many combos.
As I think of my favorite albums, he turns out to be the drummer on most of them. Jack had power to spare, but much of his power was due to his quiet game: his subtle ride cymbals with under pinned accents of the boom of a bass drum and a cymbal crash/grab.
No power drummer ever had a more chill soft style. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he was a pianist. He could also play bass, and his skills as a composer were wonderful. I only met Jack in the sort of meet and greet way that radio people meet musicians, and in his case, he treated everyone like an old friend. He did that because he wanted to, not because he had to. He engaged in conversations, asking questions like, “What was the song that stood out for you?”
Here’s my answer to that question, from one of my top albums of all time.
Let’s dig more into his contributions to other bandleaders' recordings, beginning with his work on Pat Metheny’s 80/81.
80/81: FOUR DAYS IN MAY
The sessions were “Magical and life changing,” Pat Metheny said about recording the album 80/81, an album that opened many jazz fans and musicians' eyes towards the then-26-year-old Metheny.
This was Metheny’s “dream band” with an outstanding lineup:
Jack DeJohnette: Drums
Charlie Haden: Bass
Dewey Redman and Michael Brecker: Tenor Saxophones
Pat Metheny: Guitar
It was the first recording date that Charlie Haden and Jack DeJohnette ever played together.
The interplay between Haden and DeJohnette was characterized by a resilient, perceptive connection verging on telepathy blending Haden’s deep, melodic foundation with Jack’s flowing, abstract and interactive drumming.
This intuitive and dynamic partnership was shaped by their deep roots in complimentary yet different areas of jazz: Haden hailed from the free jazz tradition of Ornette Coleman and DeJohnette from his work with Charles Lloyd (both similar saxophonists/bandleaders). Meanwhile, DeJohnette also had a more expansive textural approach of drumming he may have developed while working with Miles Davis on Bitches Brew.
The recording took place in Oslo, Norway at Talent Studios (a regular ECM recording space). Though the musicians arrived jet-lagged for the May 1980 sessions, their combined chemistry was immediately evident.
The group’s collective sound and fluid interplay allowed the prolific creation of a double album of sound in just 4 days. Michael Brecker was reportedly in “physical and spiritual pain” at the time, but the sessions proved to be both pivotal and career defining for him. Brecker divides his career as before 80/81 and after 80/81.
Jack called it “an unbelievable experience and a really magical recording session. Some of my best work!”
Here is their recording of Ornette Coleman’s iconic composition “Turnaround”. Listen for the exuberant Charlie Haden shouting out praise for Jack at the end of the piece.
Dream Weaving: Charles Lloyd Quartet 1966-1968
Another important period of Jack DeJonette’s career was his stint in the Charles Lloyd Quartet, which consisted at the time of:
Charles Lloyd - tenor saxophone, flute
Keith Jarrett - piano
Cecil McBee - bass
Jack DeJohnette - drums
Some significant recordings include:
Dream Weaver (1966)
Forest Flower: Live at Monterey (1966), a major commercial hit as one of the first jazz albums to sell over a million copies.
The Journey Within (1967)
Love-In (1967)
Soundtrack (1968)
Charles Lloyd had been warned about hiring Jack DeJohnette.
Charles once said, “Out of the blue in ‘65, Jack called and said he wanted to play with me”. He was warned by other musicians that “He’s from the street,” and “He’ll play too loud”.
Eventually, Charles, Jack, Cecil McBee, and Keith Jarrett played at the Left Bank Jazz Society in Baltimore.
“A spectacular galaxy opened up,” continued Charles, “Jack was a natural intuitive musician and a great, great drummer. I’ll take the street he came from any day of the year! Jack brought the street and his own inner, very personal, purposeful vision to every sound he made. Always for the greater good of the Universe. He was a master.”
Jack said that “playing with Charles was rewarding and enlightening, it opened me up as a musician. He respected me and what I was doing enough to leave me a lot of room to develop, to experiment, and never restricted me.”
THE NEW STANDARD: The Standards Trio
Jack DeJohnette had played with Keith Jarrett while part of Charles Lloyd’s Quartet and Miles’ Bands. He also played with Gary Peacock for a time in Lloyd’s band when Cecil McBee left.
They first worked as a trio in 1977 on Gary Peacock's album, Tales of Another, but formed the trio officially in 1983 with the ECM classic Standards vol.1 & vol. 2 and Changes.
A primary aspect for DeJohnette in playing in the Standards Trio was the freedom all three musicians enjoyed, along with a familial vibe from years and years of working together as well as an intimate knowledge of all the material. Of course, this was largely due to a shared Standard Book, but also because of a sort of telepathic understanding of what each musician was not only capable of but also knowing what they would do given the song and circumstance.
Jack remarked, “I was allowed to be an abstract thinker and I could be more into the flow, plugging into the cosmic library of ideas rather than be concerned about specific bars or techniques.” He continued, “In 30 years, we never had an arrangement to play, we never had an argument or disagreement.”
It was non-possessive music making, and while Gary Peacock questioned the idea of an all-standards group, the success was immediate.
Next week, I’ll delve more into Part II to discuss Jack DeJohnette, the Bandleader.
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