Andrew Cyrille interview by Ted Panken

Here's another in my series of choice, drummer-relevant bits of other people's interviews, this time with Andrew Cyrille, by Ted Panken:

Ted Panken: Are there different challenges for you in dealing with, let's say, the less pulse oriented forms of drum music? Did you have to develop new techniques or a different vocabulary?

Andrew Cyrille: That's an interesting question. Most of the time, I think about myself as using pieces of the language that I have learned from seeing and hearing the traditional greats, like Jo Jones, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones and Baby Dodds or Frankie Dunlop and Rufus Jones in the big bands. Buddy Rich, to some degree, who was a speed merchant.

Ted Panken: That came in handy with Cecil!

Andrew Cyrille: Well, that's right! When I was working with Illinois Jacquet, he had Jo Jones in his head, and I had to give him some of it. On "Robbins Nest" and "Flying Home," certain things would happen that brought forth certain climaxes things that you might say were scientifically proven! They reached certain peaks, made certain descents, and returned to those peaks. You had to know what to do. Of course, I was young and didn't know a lot about Jo Jones, and sometimes I got frustrated because I couldn't give Jacquet everything he wanted all the time. Then, again, I don't necessarily think that I had to, because I was trying to find my own place and do my own stuff, which maybe he didn't like. He was stronger than I was. He was the bandleader, and I was finding my way. But still, he hired me.

1997 BBC interview: Tony Oxley

I could not locate my Tony Oxley Modern Drummer interview, so instead here is a BBC interview with him, in which he discusses his unique set up. There seem to be quite a few of these orphaned things floating around the internet- it seems about time to go spelunking into the usenet archives to see what I can pull up for you. Read the interview at the source page to hear the sounds played during it:  

AS begins by saying that he asked Tony for a quick tour of his kit:

TO: The small hi-hats; I'm not into an obsession with small things, as you see...

AS: You've got the largest cowbell in the world!

TO: Right! ... some of the cymbals are quite large. But one of the things with drummers that perhaps takes a while for them to get to the point is that, when you have even in the jazz kit, ride cymbals, crash cymbals and a hi-hat, if those sounds that they produce are mainly in the middle of the spectrum they're not going to mean much because they're all more or less on the same vibratory level. So of course, with a hi-hat like that [SOUND], no matter what I actually play on the rest of the kit that will penetrate

Tony Oxley

Excerpts from a Modern Drummer interview are coming, but in the mean time I thought I'd share some clips of one of the more unique drummers living, the UK's Tony Oxley. As you can see, he takes things into sort of a "jazz multi-percussion" direction:



More after the break: