Purchasing the Bluesmoke 2006 DVD was so worth it. Especially for the recording session. While watching this time, I really focused on the arrangement between sections, in an effort to tease out additional tips for improving my compositions.
In the show music, snare and tenors mostly play the same rhythms, but when they have rests, the basses sneak in diddles and runs, especially in movement three. It's so subtle, and so tasty. The same thing occurs with tenors when snare and bass are playing simpler beats earlier in the show (maybe movement one).
I've been trying to incorporate these elements, but really, that's the easy part. The hard part is making coherent, long-running rhythmic and melodic phrases. Effectively utilizing the tonality of the tenors and basses in a complimentary way, is something I also struggle with. One thing that's still a hang-up is rarely permitting snare, bass and tenors to play the same rhythm. Somehow I came to think it was bad form, when it clearly is not. Running a shared rhythm among the basses or tenor drums gives it so much extra life that I need not avoid it any longer.
It might simply be my 27 year old ears failing me, but it does seem like the mic on bass 1 was mixed a tad bit low. Top bass doesn't come through on some of the runs. It gets drowned out by the rest of the line.
I don't have much to say about Greivous' Groove, because it has always felt like a whirlwind to me. Eventually you get a sense of the downbeat and the underlying rhythm, but until I listening to it ten times I was pretty lost. Maybe I should look for a transcription. I'd hate to say I don't like it, because I think it's growing on me, but past Blue Devils cadences (like Ditty) tend to draw me in more right at the beginning. However, near the end of Greivous' there is that really nice three-layer rhythm. You can't help but bob your head.
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