Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
In Memoriam: Jack DeJohnette, 1942–2025
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
PlayJazzNow.com, a web site featuring downloadable play-along tracks for instrumentalists and vocalists, has announced the addition of play-along tracks for jazz drummers and percussionists.
Sets of tracks geared to beginning, intermediate and advanced percussionists have been created, allowing drummers to now play along with the rhythm team of piano and bass without the clutter of a pre-existing drum track.
Students can practice a wide range of rhythmic styles, including swing, jazz waltz, bossa, samba, 6/8, 5/4 and ballad. Each style is available in a variety of tempos, which employ standard forms such as 12-bar blues, 32-bar AABA form, plus the less common 16- and 24-bar forms.
“These tracks are just what aspiring jazz drummers need to help them get to the next level,” said Bill Harrison of PlayJazzNow.com. “I haven’t seen or heard tracks of this kind offered anywhere else.”
The new addition aims to reach out specifically to drummers and percussionists who want to master the rhythmic, stylistic and formal elements of jazz, whereas the web site previously only offered play-along tracks for jazz musicians who want to hone their improvisation skills by working out with a live trio.
For more information, visit: www.playjazznow.com
Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.
Oct 28, 2025 10:47 AM
Jack DeJohnette, a bold and resourceful drummer and NEA Jazz Master who forged a unique vocabulary on the kit over his…
D’Angelo achieved commercial and critical success experimenting with a fusion of jazz, funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop.
Oct 14, 2025 1:47 PM
D’Angelo, a Grammy-winning R&B and neo-soul singer, guitarist and pianist who exerted a profound influence on 21st…
Kandace Springs channeled Shirley Horn’s deliberate phrasing and sublime self-accompaniment during her set at this year’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival.
Sep 30, 2025 12:28 PM
Janis Burley, the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival’s founder and artistic director, did not, as might be…
Jim McNeely’s singular body of work had a profound and lasting influence on many of today’s top jazz composers in the U.S. and in Europe.
Oct 7, 2025 3:40 PM
Pianist Jim McNeely, one of the most distinguished large ensemble jazz composers of his generation, died Sept. 26 at…
Drummond was cherished by generations of mainstream jazz listeners and bandleaders for his authoritative tonal presence, a defining quality of his style most apparent when he played his instrument unamplified.
Nov 4, 2025 11:39 AM
Ray Drummond, a first-call bassist who appeared on hundreds of albums as a sideman for some of the top names in jazz…
