Purely a rhythm player

Dusty Miller

My question is being new to playing or attempting to play this wonderful style of music who the forum readers would rank as the most technically accomplished rythmn player clearly recorded, I ask this for reference as I will I think only be a rythmn player . This will help me to identify certain styles and try emulate them with the help of guides and hopefully a teacher
Dusty

rimm

Nousche is the número uno as far as pure rhythm playing goes IMO. He's just flawless.

bbwood_98

I'll give the list of the players I check out the most:
Mathieu Chatelan
Hono Winterstien
Fanto and Yayo Rienhardt
Titi Bamberger

My favorites. There are lots more. I love being a rhythm player - really, it's awesome.

MaximusVolumus

I second that on Mathieu and Hono

Jon

I'll second Titi Bamberger Love his steady, insistent, old-sounding rhythm in this

kungfumonk007

I don't know about an individual player but check out Clasico - Gonzalo and Adrienne - steal as much as you can, lots. Rhythm is so personal I think, and GJ rhythm is friggin' hard!

dennis

i dont think there is one single best rhythm player, they each have their own strengths; although technically it is true that nous che has incredible stamina as he really specializes in some of the gypsy latin stuff which require quite a lot of technical endurance

nonetheless, they each have their own specialties that one does better than the other, for the simple reason that they do it more than the other.

a lot of people are mentioning famous players because they are famous, often famous by association. not to take anything away from them, but from their family there are usually players who are really just as good... from hono s family entourage, there is his other nephew benji winterstein who does it just as well.. from nous che s family, johnny rosenberg does it just as well as his famous cousin.

i write a book about all the different nuances of gj rhythm playing nowadays, and u would see how everyone is different... a guy like nous che is a perfect fit for stochelo, and a guy like bireli works well with a guy like hono, and the reverse might not be true.. there are so many subtleties , one can talk about. i know most of these players personally so i ve seen and carefully observed how they work , it s more complex than si ply listing a number of players to check out... it depends on what u are interested in... pure gipsy swing? heavy swing? light swing? traditional swing? eastern european? latin? funk? etc,.. not one of the players listed above can do all of them, like i said they each have a few things they specialize in

i d write more, but i m on the road right now and really tired!

Dusty Miller

Thanks for your input I guess I will need to listen to a cross section , I'm happiest as a rythmn player so that's where I'm going to stay obvious next question is the genres mentioned heavy swing , light swing, are these techniques covers in any form of resource book I may be abbie to purchase.

Shaun

kungfumonk007

I'm pretty sure there are no specific resources that are that narrowly tailored in subject. But. . . you can collect your own resources, - Hono's lessons on DC music school. Gonzalo and Tcha both give their take also on DC music school. Joscho has his site, Rosenbergs have theirs. . .

Really I think just listening listening listening and than playing with as many different players as you can and you'll start to notice that those little details Denis is talking about make a BIG difference. I think rhythmically one of the big difference is how much of a "snare" is on 2 and 4. I think the more traditional players put in more chord tone where the more modern players make it more pronounced as snare. Some people say more chord sound swings harder. Others say more snare sound swings harder - it is really personal. Then there is how crunchy of a sound you get in the bass. Joscho uses more open swing voices that are a little lighter. Gonzalo makes his chords super bass heavy and crunchy. Then there is how harmonically busy they are. Some players prefer straight ahead changes, 2 or 4 beats per every chord, sticking to the traditional changes - other players are changing and substituting a lot more regularly. I think Bireli throws in a lot more chords - tritone subs and extra ii's and such. I think if you started with those three elements you'd go along way. Of course that is just for la pompe swing. Hope that is helpful for your own personal style.

1. How much snare on 2 and 4
2. Voicings - how bass heavy and crunchy
3. Harmonic speed

Dusty Miller

Very helpful indeed, thanks for taking th time
Dusty

Jazzaferri

A great resource for rhythm playing from the man who started it all, is a CD called The All Star Sessions Django Reinhardt with Rex Stewart (Tpt) Barney Bigard (cl) and a bass player who's name I keep forgetting (Billy Taylor) Maybe. ARML moment.

There are only 5 tunes with this quartet, lots of other great stuff, but in those 5 tunes you hear Django's rhythm clearly and you will find that there is no style per se. Just fabulous guitar backing and a few solos playing with a small group of musicians of the same caliber as Django. Rex Stewart and Barney Bigard are both considered to be among the greats of their instruments as well.

Learn to play rhythm like that and you will have people from all over the world knocking at your door to play with them. :laugh: