Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Play Along: Drums (Book & CD)

I have been playing the drums for a long time, and my favorite type of music to play is the modern big band chart. Chances to play in a real band are few and far between, though, and so my practice time often leans toward playing along with recordings of Buddy Rich, Bob Mintzer, and of course, Gordon Goodwin, one of the tightest bands around. So it was a pleasant surprise to discover this set.The 10 charts included cover a variety of styles, and are of sufficient difficulty to challenge any drummer. (Beginners may find this quite a stretch.) If you're not up on your songo, use "La Almeja Pequena" and get to it. It's the best chart in this package, in my opinion.Drummers may wonder why "Hunting Whabbits" was included, given the relative inactivity of the drummer, but keep in mind that this set is also available for sax and trombone.There was also some feedback regarding the sample tracks being incomplete. In order to fit all 10 tracks plus samples onto one CD, the samples are cut to about 1 minute. However, I find this to be an advantage. If you're really lost as to the drumming style, there's enough to hear, but if you really want to test your reading chops (and your creativity), skip the sample track altogether, and just go for the play-along. Personally, I liked this exercise, and went to the sample only after I had established a "sound" for a chart.In closing, I can only say to Gordon Goodwin, "More please!"

Excellent book! Recording quality is superb and features real instruments, not sterile keyboard-centric tracks that you find on some play-along books. I'm a professional drummer, and I keep coming back to this book just for the shear fun of it while practicing, but also to clean up my swing feel, refresh my chart reading skills, or to work on whatever fills and chops I'm trying to develop at the moment. This book has a nice range of charts for beginners, intermediate players, and advanced drummers too. The writer's interpretations of the charts and the tips he offers throughout the book are excellent additions to an already top-notch play-along book that gets you swinging with one of the best big bands in the history of the genre. The charts are easy to read and mistake-free. If you're interested in learning more about jazz, big band drumming, or just want to have some new, fun grooves to solo over, then this is the book for you. Buy it. You won't regret it. Buy it. It'll make you a better drummer if you apply yourself and work through this book. There's enough in here to keep you in the woodshed for months, if not years. Now stop reading this review, pick up your sticks, and start swinging.

Actually, I bought this book some time ago and was really surprised!! If you are not an accomplished player, like Buddy Rich or Louie Bellson, save your money!! The tempos are ridiculously fast and reading for the drummer is very limited on some cuts. Over the years, I have used the Jim Chapin book, and Realistic Rock by Carmine Appice for students with decent reading/playing abilities. Several months ago, I purchased, what I believe to be teaching materials that are professionally geared to developing students with a well-rounded knowledge of set drumming. My fellow drummers have heartily endorsed the following, very well put together and professional, materials; Sittin' in With the Big Band Vols 1 and 2 and Drummer's Play Along, Cristiano Micalizzi which presents the most understandable and useful materials most drummers need to know. What's important? Fifteen minutes of rudiments and as long as you wish for the aforementioned publications from an old dude who has been playing for as long as many of you have been alive - and still is. Cheers, Dave

The charts are very clean and match up with the recording 100 percent (unlike other books like this.) The arrangements and tunes are kinda cool too. The band is not very swingin' but they are dead on accurate. Sounds like legit union musicians. I bought it for myself to keep my sight reading in shape (I am a union musician myself) but it will be very good for some of my advanced students as well. It looks just like the charts you see on the gig, so it is exactly what I was looking for.

I will first start by saying this Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band is a funky, loud, hard hitting big band, and it shows in their music. Every play along track with this book are fantastic, ranging from swing, Latin, jazz rock, orchestral movements, and they all come together to create this fantastic collection. You will be amazed at the quality of the play-along tracks, along with how enjoyable it is to play along. Performing these live, bringing your own Interpretations to the drum part, will make the crowd go wild. Trust Me.This is a great investment, and will stand proud in your drum book collection.

Great charts and music. In lieu of the short demo tracks you can always download the full ensemble versions on Apple Music, etc.

I think this is great book, but I dislike the fact that the "Demo" tracks are not the full duration of the song. They only give you a small fraction of the song, I guess to give you a taste. I hoped that I would be able to study a professional's approach to an entire chart, not just a portion of it.

I wish this were available years ago for all drummers who love Big Band drumming. Complex charts with great tips on each song's approach by the composer and drummer. How cool is that? This should be a requirement for all drummers who want to become a professional level drummer. Hats off to Bernie and Gordon for keeping this great art form challenging, exciting and so much fun! .Peace,Denny Murray

What a great fun learning and teaching book! I loved and still love this and so do my students. The charts vary in difficulty and styles and if you want to achieve pro reading levels then this book is a great test and resource.

Great book for swing fans but you need to be able to read music to follow the charts which are clear and very well written. Though if you prefer you can just play along with the backing CD which is excellent.

Being able to play along with the Phat Band is pretty good and these charts are well written but you do need to be a decent reader. The notes provided for each track are really useful and provide a great insight into Bernie Dressel's thinking. Great value book and cd.

Wow i,ll be a student for a while before i can visualize 'teaching' any of this. Nice challenge tho, keeps you on your toes.

Zunächst: ANFÄNGER - HÄNDE WEG!Aber: Für den ambitionierten Drummer mit Big Band Erfahrung ein MUSS.Hier stimmt einfach alles: Qualität der Kompositionen, der Ausführung sowie der Aufnahme,Vielfalt der Stilrichtungen und erstklassiges Notenmaterial auf professionellem Niveau,also echte, anspruchsvolle Playalongs.Habe selten für so wenig Geld so viel musikalischen Spaß gehabt.Bei allen Titeln handelt es sich um Originalkompositionen des Bandleadeders.Das Buch enthält KEINE CD. Es enthält einen Code mit dem man auf der Internetseitedes Verlags Zugang zu den Playalongs erhält. Diese können abgestuft schneller oder langsameroder auch abschnittsweise wiedergegeben werden.Die jeweiligen Originalaufnahmen (Demo's) sind nur ausschnittsweise vorhanden, was allerdings kein Manko ist.Zusätzlich gibt es im Buch zu dem Titeln Hinweise und Tipps, allerdings auf Englisch.Die Playalong-Audiodateien lassen sich herunterladen und bei Bedarf auf einen Datenträger brennen/speichern.Gäbe es sechs Sterne, ich würde sie vergeben ...