He joined one of the most influential big bands ever, Count Basie's big band, in 1933, and stayed with that band until 1948. He was one of the first drummers to promote the use of brushes on the kit, which I also think is a great thing. If you have a tendency to disregard playing with brushes, don't! You are missing out on a whole other huge way of expressing yourself on the kit.
He also was instrumental in getting away from the march-like four on the floor with the bass drum, and moving toward syncopated work on the cymbals. He also used the suspended cymbals, which came to be known as the ride cymbal, and he was instrumental in developing that great ride cymbal jazz pattern, which is still in use today!
Let's take a listen to some of Papa Jo's great drumming:
Tim Kurteff-Schatz
Take some drum lessons at Earthtone School of Music!
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