Jerry Granelli - 1313

A while back I posted about legendary jazz drummer Jerry Granelli recording a solo drum record for Divorce Records right here in Halifax. It's finally been released and given the material on it and it's limited run of 500 copies, this will be a hot item for drummers, collectors and music enthusiasts alike. Granelli's skill as a drummer is matched only by his imagination as an artist, and unlike other solo drum records (Hal Blaine's for instance) you never get the feeling that he is showing off.

In Mallets - Notes, Granelli travels around his kit in free time, but there is always the hint of a theme in his playing. His toms swell and change pitch as he adjusts pressure on the head, bringing out some semblance of a melody and juggling time along with it.

Other tracks have obvious themes that Granelli represents perfectly with his drums. The track Metal - Hail - Non-Stop is exactly what you think it would be, the sonic representation of a hail storm hitting a full drum kit. Granelli peppers his drums with fast 32nd and 64th notes altering speed and volume as the storm swells and recedes. The interesting part of Granelli's playing is not only the complete independence of his limbs, but the ability to lock certain parts of his playing in time and detach the rest of himself. On Walking On A Road With Some Bells Around Your Neck, his feet play a steady latin rhythm on the kick an high hat and his hands travel around his set of bells and chimes freely.

This record is the perfect representation of old-school chops combined with years exploring the artistic and fringe elements of percussion, along with all the style and technological advancements that have happened throughout his career. Granelli incorporates electronic drum pads into his playing on Wait For The Machine, plays variations of a classic jazz shuffle on What Can I Say - Drums, and plays various electronic tones and swells on Love Song For U.

The different approaches to the drum kit keep things from getting repetitive and when everything culminates into the last track, A Nice Bunch Of Guys, Granelli pulls out all of his tricks playing multi layered patterns all over the place. It sounds like he has six arms. This is not so much an album as it is a demonstration of the endless sounds you are able to create with a well tuned drum kit and a little imagination. Granelli's talent as a player shines through without seeming pretentious, and as his ideas and themes come to life you get a sense that Granelli has the ability to not only strip music down to its core parts, but the talent to manipulate and re-shape them into something absolute and indestructible.

You can order 1313 while supplies last from the Divorce Records website. You should buy it, it might just end up being the most interesting thing you own.

Here is the beginning of an interesting documentary on Jerry, the rest of it is available on youtube.