An Interview with Rich Thompson

Rich Thompson is an Associate Professor of jazz studies and contemporary media (pt) at the Eastman School of Music. In addition to his duties as artist/teacher of drum set, he also teaches fundamentals of jazz drum set, assists in coaching the rhythm sections of small groups and big bands, and is a member of the Eastman Jazz Trio/Quartet with Harold Danko, Clay Jenkins and Jeff Campbell.

Mr. Thompson received a bachelor's degree in music education and in percussion from the University of Oklahoma, and a master's degree in jazz studies and contemporary media (performance) from the Eastman School of Music. In the spring of 1996, while on tour with the Count Basie Orchestra, he was asked to join the Eastman faculty. Continuing to tour with the Basie Orchestra, Rich joined the Eastman faculty in the fall of 1996. His association with the Rochester Philharmonic began in the fall of 1994 and continued through January of 2005. Under the direction of pops conductor Jeff Tyzik, Rich has been a featured soloist with the RPO, as well as with many major orchestras in the United States and Canada. He has also toured with the Glenn Miller Orchestra and the Nelson Riddle Orchestra.

Rich "freelances" out of Rochester and New York City. He performed at the IAJE 2000 convention in New Orleans with the Eastman Jazz Trio, IAJE 2002 convention in Long Beach California with Bill Dobbins and Jeff Campbell, and a performance at the 2004 IAJE in NYC with the Eastman Jazz Quartet featuring guest artist Rich Perry. Thompson's recording bio is extensive and can be accessed at www.richthompson.net.

He appeared with the Count Basie Orchestra at the President's Inaugural Ball (Jan. 19 1997), and spent January through July of 1996 touring with the Basie Orchestra. He was a frequent call back in '97 and recorded a live video with the band in NYC at the well-known jazz venue Birdland. He was featured on Tito Puente's 1996 CD release Jazzin, a collaboration CD with Tito Puente, Puente's latin rhythm section and the Count Basie Orchestra. The Boston Herald said, in a review of the Basie band at the Boston Globe Jazz and Blues Festival that same summer, "Mr. Thompson was the powerhouse drummer who drove the Basie sound!" Rich was one of 15 semifinalists in the Thelonious Monk International Drum Competition in October 1992. In the past ten years he has played numerous times with pianist Marian McPartland, guitarist Gene Bertoncini, trumpet legend Dizzy Gillespie, guitar legend Joe Pass, and trumpet/flugelhorn great Clark Terry.

Thompson has recorded numerous times in the U.S. and France with renowned pianists Bill Dobbins (Paradise, Glass Enclosure and others.) and as a co-leader with James Williams (of Art Blakey fame) on the CD titled Eventually. He has also recorded/performed with singer Bobby McFerrin and with the Eastman Jazz Trio featuring pianist Harold Danko and bassist Jeff Campbell. Most recently, Rich can be heard with Trio East. This pianoless trio's recording Stop-Start has been reviewed extensively in the United States and Germany and is featured on iTunes music as well as in CD format. The Trio has been performing in New York City and has been written up in the NYC newspaper All About Jazz on several occasions in the spring and summer of 2005.

Rich has written two drum set books which include Drum Set Solos Vol. I (Kendor Music) and Billy Hart's Jazz Drumming (Advance Music). Both books are widely used by students and teachers, and his drum set transcriptions have been featured in Down Beat magazine.

Rich has given master classes and concerts at numerous colleges in the U.S., France, Denmark, Thailand, Japan, and Newfoundland. He has taught jazz at the Eastman School of Music Summer Jazz Workshop for ten years, and has been featured for the past eight years as an artist in residence at the Birch Creek Music Center in Egg Harbor, Wisconsin. At Birch Creek he has been spotlighted on two CD's and received the Woody Herman Jazz Award for inspirational teaching. Rich currently serves as the chairperson for drum set solo selection for the NYSSMA Manual in New York State.

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RICK HOLLAND JR247:First tell us what it was like touring w/Basie Band:

RT:  Rick, this was a lifelong aspiration and a constant inspiration! There are more modern endeavors musically, but this was a band and a sound that always caught my attention as a young man. I had always thought that the Basie band was held in highest regard as the paradox of swing and groove. To be included at any level was an honor and a musical rite of passage for me personally.

I remember that the second week w/the band included a record date (we called it that even though it was for a CD) with the Basie band and Tito Puente. If that wasn’t exciting enough, we boarded a plane that same evening, after the recording session, for Bangkok Thailand. We took both Benny Carter and Frank Foster as guest stars to be featured in concert w/the Basie Band. There were weeks like that almost every month. We played major halls like Chicago’s Symphony hall. Joe Williams was featured on that date and many others with his swinging accompanist and one of my favorites, Norman Simmons. It was great hanging out w/all those “giants” who had been w/the band at some point in its 60-year history. I got to play with Sweets Edison, Lionel Hampton, Dorothy Donegan, Ray Brown, Junior Mance, Sadao Watanabe, Plas Johnson, John Handy, and others too numerous to list here. I got to meet other drum legends such as Panama Francis, Chico Hamilton, Harold Jones, Grady Tate and others.

The time I spent touring, performing, and recording w/the Basie Band in 96-97 was one I’ll always remember with fondness both for the music and the great musicians with whom I performed.

JR247 How did the Basie experience shape and mold you as a player?

RT:  The Basie band taught me more respect for the music and it’s lineage. It gave me new insight into dynamics and shading w/in a big band. The Band could be roaring thru a shout section and the arrangement might suddenly call for a triple pianissimo ending. At times Grover Mitchell might look at us and say the word “Zero!” to convey the dynamic he wanted for a particular section. And, It all had to be played w/an incredible sense of swing and panache too.

The band also taught me the value of being on time for a gig as we always had a two-hour minimum when it came to arriving at any concert hall or venue. I gained new respect for the endurance it takes to sustain a gig of this magnitude. You don’t realize how stressful it is to travel all day long and then have to walk out on stage and kick the stuffing out of the band as if you are rested, relaxed, and rarin’ to go.

You see, as a drummer who rarely got to lay out, playing with this band took a lot of energy! The leader of the Basie Band at that time was Grover Mitchell. He used to look at me, and my sweated out suit, on the break and say, “Rich, you got the toughest job in show business.” I think he actually knew how hard the rhythm section had to work, especially James Leary (the bassist) and myself. We had to take care of business on each and every quarter note, on each and every tune.

JR247Rich, talk to us about some of the groups you’ve worked with since and play with now.

RT:  After the Basie Band I traveled extensively w/trumpeter Jeff Tyzik performing w/Symphonies in the U.S. and Canada. This led to many appearances w/guest artists such as Byron Stripling, Dee Daniels, and others as well as being featured as guest artist myself. With the faculty Jazz trio at Eastman, I recorded several CD’s including “The Question Is?” w/Harold Danko, Jeff Campbell and a guest appearance by new faculty member (at the time) Clay Jenkins. Another recording w/the trio featured a guest appearance by Bobby McFerrin. The Eastman Jazz Quartet did a recording for Steeple Chase entitled “Rich Perry, Live at Eastman” and the second CD w/Rich Perry was an alto saxophonist Kim Richmond's date entitled “Crossweave”. I’ve also enjoyed my association with Chicago based trombonist Tom Garling. We (Clay, Jeff and myself) recorded a sextet CD in 2004 for Tom, which included Gary Versace on piano and Mike Lee on tenor saxophone.

For the past five years I’ve had the pleasure of working in a piano less trio w/Clay and Jeff that we call “Trio East”. The recordings sprang out of our Thursday night gig at the Little Theater Arts Cafe here in Rochester. Our first record date “Stop-Start” was self produced and quickly bought out by a NYC indie label named Sons of Sound Records. It received very positive press and is available on iTunes. Our second CD entitled “Best Bets” was recorded in NYC at the Studio in SoHo. It is our best work to date, and Origin Records, located in Seattle, produced the record. This CD is available in stores and iTunes as well. One of the tunes was also included as a “daily download” on the web site “All About Jazz” and the CD has received great reviews.

JR247How do you feel your playing has changed over the years?

RT: I hope that I have gotten more conscious of my role in any piece of music with any configuration of musicians, be it a trio, quartet, or a big band. I used to be totally into bebop and hard bop drumming. I have branched out over the years and I try to implement many of these influences in my playing. Some of these include Afro Cuban rhythms, world drumming, gamelan, Indian rhythms, Motown, and the great modern classical composers of the last hundred years.
JR247: Who are some of the players out there that really inspire and motivate you?

RT: I would have to go back to my initial influences, which is like a who’s who of American drummers. Some of these include Baby Dodds, Jo Jones, Dave Tough, Kenny Clarke, Sam Woodyard, Roy Haynes, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Shelly Manne, Mel Lewis, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Louis Hayes, Tony Williams, Frank Butler, Colin Bailey, Jack DeJohnette, Joe Hunt, Billy Cobham, Eddie Gladden, Dave Garibaldi, and Steve Gadd etc.etc.
       
Some of the younger guys I’ve really checked out are Peter Erskine, Vinnie Colaiuta, Lewis Nash, Bill Stewart, Herlin Riley, Matt Wilson, Dennis Mackrel, Jeff Hamilton, Joey Baron, Jim Black, John Hollenbeck, Nasheete Waits (I knew his father and used to listen to him too!)
       

There are many more that I listen to but didn’t have space or time to list.
Even though it isn’t always talked about in a predominantly jazz based article, I do check out pop players and many R&B drummers. A great film I recently watched was entitled “Standing in the Shadows of Motown” featuring The Funk Brothers w/drummers Uriel Jones, Richard “Pistol” Allen, William “Papa Zita” Benjamin, and tambourine/percussionists Jack “Black Jack” Ashford and conga player Eddie “Bongo Brown”

JR247: On a different note, what are some things you like to accomplish with your students, especially at Eastman, as you try to shape and mold them for the future and a career in music?

RT: Well, the first things I want to do is try and facilitate their ability in terms of amassing a musical style along with the acquisition of a vocabulary rooted in jazz drumming. I quite often tell my students that I can’t teach jazz, but I can help facilitate their desire to become a jazz drummer/musician. I’m proud of the individuality that my students possess and have had several great young players with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with since beginning at Eastman in the fall of 1996.
       

My most recent book “Modern Jazz Solos for Drum Set” (Kendor Music) is a collaboration of ten jazz solos written in the style of great jazz drummers. I wrote five of those solos and coached three of my top students (at the time the book was being written) on the completion of the other five. My students are constantly recording, playing live gigs, and pushing themselves to be accomplished and articulate when speaking about jazz and drumming. I have former students living and working in NYC i.e. Ted Poor, Brady Miller, and Jared Schoenig to mention a few. Devin Kelly, my most recent masters grad student, lives and works in Los Angeles.

Thanks again Rich. We wish you the best as you continue to play and m old the next generation of Jazz drummers!!