Ed Thigpen - C Jam Blues
















In advance of my gigs with pianist Oliver Jones this week as part of the National Jazz Summit here in Calgary, I'm shifting gears somewhat from having played pretty much only my own original music for the past four weeks. This is not a bad thing as I thrive on being a drummer that can go both directions, between being a bandleader and a sideman...and I consider myself very lucky to have that opportunity these days!!!

Oliver is a pianist coming out the Oscar Peterson school of Jazz piano playing so what better way to get into that zone as a drummer than to listen to lots of Ed Thigpen!

Here's the classic trio featuring Thigpen with Oscar Peterson and Ray Brown on Ellington's "C Jam Blues":



In terms of this particular stylistic approach to piano trio drumming I've also been checking out Jeff Hamilton's trio as well as Lewis Nash's work with Tommy Flanagan.