Hey folks...remember me? It’s been four years since I left the Dave Weckl Band and I have to say, I miss playing with the "WeckMonster." I’ve played with lots of drummers, but it’s never so smooth for me until I sit down with Dave.

Dave asked that I contribute to his newsletter – so you will see me pop in here from time to time – with articles relating to writing, production and performance of great music.

But first...where’s Jay?

I have been a busy man, working on several projects since I left the DWB in 1999 (has it been that long?) Here's what's up...

1)  A unique world music project called AO. Musically speaking, this is an amalgamation of music from all over the world, combining the essences of the ‘native’ music of that particular land, then layering all this with the voices of children speaking in various ethnic languages. It’s extremely powerful music, and we are working with some people to integrate it into film – and possibly a live show at some point. You learn more about AO at www.aomusic.com .

This project has taken us to powerful spots all over the world, and we’ve been studying the indigenous music from those territories.  We’ve just returned from India – where we are working with one of the top composer/producers there, Sandeep Chowta. We’ve also been to Beijing, China – and have officially been asked to do music for the upcoming Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. Pretty powerful stuff...

2)  The Jay Oliver solo project.  After many years – I am finally ready to do a solo record.  I’ve realized that there is a new kind of music coming out of me…a new sound...and new style.. a new concept…something completely “outside of the box”.  In order to find this, I purposely put myself “in a secret laboratory” and stopped listening to other music.  I began to refocus on the acoustic piano (my original instrument), and approached it more like a drummer (literally learning to play paradiddles and various L/R techniques on the keyboard).  In addition, I began to infuse some unorthodox elements into this new music (i.e., other influences such as Irish music, middle eastern and Asian music, and also American folk/gospel).  The result is really different and interesting. Stay tuned for this and my new web site!

Back to the topic...where's 1?

Many years ago, Dave & I stumbled upon a new kind of ‘feel’ when I heard one of his drum solos displaced (I thought the downbeat was somewhere else).  His solo suddenly took a new life, and it was killer! I was convinced that he needed to hear it the way I was hearing it, so we recorded his solo again and then played it back ‘displaced’ and it blew our minds!  He then used that to get a feel for a NEW way to solo!

How We Did It

JO:    Rhodes

DW: : Drum Solo

We started a click (in headphones only) and I played a common Latin rhythmic motif – right hand only – no bass line.  Dave then played a solo over that – and we recorded the whole thing, except we didn’t record the click.

Then...we played it back, and this time, I played a bass line LIVE (to the tape) – only I purposely “heard” the track in a different spot.  I made this an ‘obvious’ bass line, so that Dave and I both heard the tape now playing with the ‘1’ in a different place.  The drum solo was WILD!  Listening to it displaced like this opened up a whole new door to possibilities. From there, we began to utilize this newfound “feel” and integrate it into the arrangements and music that we wrote.

When Dave “goes off..."

“Whoa.. there he goes again…what was that? Where’s the "1"? Where’s the downbeat? Was that an odd time signature? What’s the secret to finding where the downbeat is?

Hmm..  well..  I’ll save that answer for the next article…but I will give you a hint:  It helps to know the drummer’s “vocabulary," 'cause at a certain point, I almost know what Dave is gonna do – even before he does it.

More on rhythmic ambiguity in the next article !

Out!

- Jay Oliver