How I fell in love with jazz

Teenage years: rock first, jazz later

When I think back to the very beginning of my drumming journey, jazz wasn’t even on my radar. The first albums I fell in love with were rock records, both light and heavy, the kind you blast in your room as a teenager and play along to for hours. My early heroes were rock and metal drummers, and those years were completely dominated by that world.

Discovering the jazz masters

It wasn’t until my early 30s, already living in the U.S., that jazz really caught my ear. The turning point came when I started listening to some of the great masters: Art Blakey’s power and fire, Jimmy Cobb’s touch and elegance, Mel Lewis’ crazy swing, and Elvin Jones’ intensity and freedom. These were drummers who had a completely different language, a whole new way of expressing rhythm that was unlike anything I had played before.

The albums that changed everything

As I started exploring jazz, a handful of albums became my gateway into the music. Each one revealed something different, from hard bop fire to modal calm, and together they gave me a whole new sense of what drumming and improvisation could be:

• Moanin’: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
  → Blakey’s explosive energy and driving swing hooked me right away.

• Kind of Blue: Miles Davis
  → A masterclass in subtlety and space, it showed me the beauty of restraint by master drummer Jimmy Cobb.

• Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section: Art Pepper
  → The rhythm section’s effortless swing felt like a conversation I wanted to join.

• Chet Baker Live in Milan: Chet Baker
  → The intimacy of this recording pulled me in and made jazz feel close and human. And it was recorded in my hometown before I was even born.

• Blue Train: John Coltrane
  → Full of momentum and fire, it opened my ears to the depth of Coltrane’s sound.

• The Sidewinder: Lee Morgan
  → Infectious and funky, it proved jazz could groove as hard as anything in rock.

Why jazz spoke to me

What drew me in was the challenge. I knew I wanted to push myself as a drummer, and the intricate, difficult nature of jazz drumming was fascinating to me. The swing, the independence, the way the ride cymbal could carry the whole band, the solos, it was a world away from the straight grooves of rock. Learning jazz felt like learning a new language with its own rules, structure, and freedom.

Beyond jazz

Even though I love jazz deeply now, it’s not the only music I listen to. Rock, funk, a whole variety of ‘Latin/Afro-Cuban’ music, and plenty of other genres still shape my listening and my playing. Jazz just happens to be the one that completely shifted my perspective on what drums could do.

Living near the NYC jazz scene

In 2021, I moved near New York City, which opened another door. Living so close to the heart of the jazz scene gave me the chance to see incredible musicians live. Coming up soon, Arturo Sandoval.

A Note for new listeners

If you’re just starting to explore jazz, don’t feel like you need to understand everything right away. I came to it later in life, after years of listening to and playing other styles, and that background made the discovery even more exciting. Start with a few classic albums, stay curious, and let yourself enjoy the ride. Jazz can feel intimidating at first, but it’s really about connection, freedom, and listening. That’s something anyone can tap into.