Drum Corner

Welcome to jazzleadsheets.com's Drum Corner, designed for drummers, by drummers! Get drum transcriptions by famous jazz drummers (scroll down) or try great Minus You audio tracks where you can be the drummer. Parts are notated especially for drums. Useful tips and information specifically tailored to drummers can be found in the Drum Corner tab of a given song page (below the sound clip). If you spend a few months practicing with our audio tracks, you'll be a better drummer!
To see drum transcriptions listed by composer, go to SONGS, then click the SOLOS drop down and choose Drum. And check out our YouTube channel for drummer videos. See/download the Drum Notation Guide here.
 
DRUM TRANSCRIPTIONS
Our drum transcriptions include: • layout for the whole recorded track • melody notated above the drum transcription for all melody sections • stickings • drum solos • trading fours & eights • song form indications throughout • stem up notation for reading ease.

MINUS YOU (Minus Drums)
With our Minus You audio tracks, there's no other drummer to fight with. It's just you and a great rhythm section, accompanying the melody and soloists. Some tracks also have exchanges and drum solo space: we've added finger snaps during those sections so the drummer can be aware of where the pulse lies.

    Carl Allen

    A leader in jazz drumming, drummer Carl Allen has been a force in the New York scene since the 1980s. Carl became interested in jazz after hearing an LP of Benny Carter as a teen. In his hometown of Milwaukee, Carl worked with Sonny Stitt and James Moody early in his career. He moved to the east coast to study at William Patterson College; a year before his graduation, Carl worked with Freddie Hubbard, for whom he served as music director for the next eight years. Over the course of his career, Carl has recorded on over 200 sessions as a sideman including dates with Donald Byrd, Art Farmer and Jackie McLean. He has performed with a who's who of jazz legends, including J.J. Johnson, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Benny Golson, Joe Henderson, and many others. Read more...

  • Flashback - Art Farmer Swing (medium)

    • Vince Cherico

    5-time Grammy Award Winner, Vince Cherico, is the drummer for featured artists in today's Jazz and World music venues. From 1995 - 2006 he was the drummer with Ray Barretto & The New World Spirit, later The Ray Barretto Sextet, and developed his reputation in Latin Jazz while touring the world, recording 6 CD's and 2 Grammy nominations for Contact & Time Was,Time Is. Modern Drummer describes Cherico as, "a drummer of fluidity, fire, and physical ease" who "plays with balanced dynamics and a commanding yet sensitive touch." Read more...

  • Back Road - Kenny Dorham Swing (medium)
  • Blue Spring Shuffle - Kenny Dorham Swing (medium)
  • Lotus Blossom - Kenny Dorham Swing (medium up)
  • Monaco - Kenny Dorham Latin/swing
  • Night Watch - Kenny Dorham Swing (medium)
  • Pedro's Time - Kenny Dorham Latin/swing (medium)
  • Windmill - Kenny Dorham Swing (medium up)

    • Billy Drummond

    Drummer Billy Drummond first came to international prominence when he joined the bands of the legendary Horace Silver and, later, J.J. Johnson and Sonny Rollins, with whom he spent three formative years. Now one of the busiest players of his generation, he can be heard on nearly 300 albums, including three critically acclaimed recordings as a leader. His album "Dubai" was named Best Jazz CD of 1995 by the New York Times. He currently leads his own band, Freedom of Ideas. Read more...

  • Dubai - Billy Drummond 7/4 swing (medium groove)
  • Peck A Sec - Hank Mobley Swing (uptempo)

    • Billy Higgins

    Born in Los Angeles, Billy Higgins played professionally in R&B bands such as those of Bo Diddley and Jimmy Witherspoon. In 1953 he joined high school friend Don Cherry's group "The Jazz Messiahs." Higgins and Cherry met Ornette Coleman and joined his rehearsal band. The band played for years before debuting their music in 1958. It was with Ornette Coleman that Higgins first came to New York, where he became one of the most sought after contemporary jazz drummers. Read more...

  • Benji's Bounce - Dexter Gordon Swing (uptempo)
  • Break Through - Hank Mobley Swing (medium up)
  • Straight Ahead - Hank Mobley Swing (uptempo)
  • Third Time Around - Hank Mobley Swing (uptempo)

    • Willie Jones III

    Jones' sharp time-keeping and distinctive rhythmic expression are part of what make him one of the world's leading jazz drummers today. Willie Jones III's interest in jazz started at a young age when his father, a notable jazz pianist, introduced him to jazz music. After playing in his school marching band and jazz ensembles, Jones received a full scholarship to California Institute of the Arts, where he studied with James Newton and Albert "Tootie" Heath. Read more...

  • Daahoud - Clifford Brown Swing (medium up)
  • Philly Twist - Kenny Dorham Swing (medium up)
  • Smoke Signal - John Webber Swing (medium)

    • "Papa" Joe Jones

    Born Jonathan David Samuel Jones in Chicago, Illinois, Jo Jones got his start playing drums and tap-dancing in carnival shows in Alabama until joining Walter Page's band in Oklahoma City in the late 1920s. He, along with Walter Page and Freddie Green, joined Count Basie's band in 1934. That rhythm section would forever change the sound and feeling of jazz. Read more...

  • Bebop Irishman - Ray Bryant Swing (medium up)
  • Philadelphia Bound - Ray Bryant Swing (uptempo)
  • Show Time - "Papa" Jo Jones Swing (uptempo)
  • Sox-Trot - "Papa" Jo Jones Swing (medium)

    • Philly Joe Jones

    Born Joseph Rudolph Jones (July 15, 1923, in Philadelphia, PA), he dubbed himself "Philly Joe" to avoid confusion with the legendary drummer Jo Jones (also known as "Papa Jo" Jones). Unlike many jazz artists who started their careers by going on the road in their late teens, Philly Joe, at 18, joined the U.S. Army (1941) and remained in the Army until 1947. Soon after leaving the service, he moved to New York and joined Joe Morris's rhythm and blues band. His first recording (at age 25) was with the Morris band (September 19, 1948). Read more...

  • Got To Take Another Chance - Philly Joe Jones Swing (medium up)
  • No Room For Squares - Hank Mobley Swing (uptempo)
  • Old World, New Imports - Hank Mobley Swing (uptempo)
  • Out Of Joe's Bag - Hank Mobley Swing (uptempo)
  • Workout - Hank Mobley Swing (uptempo)

    • Victor Lewis

    Drummer Victor Lewis was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Both of his parents were touring musicians. After graduating with a music major from University of Nebraska, Lewis moved to NYC in 1974, and was soon very much in demand, most notably playing in Woody Shaw's ground-breaking band. During this time he also played extensively with Carla Bley, David Sanborn and Dexter Gordon, among others. Through the '80s Lewis was a member of Stan Getz's band, which also included Kenny Barron on piano and Rufus Reid on bass. Read more...

  • Merry-Go-Round - Jonny King Swing (medium up)
  • Seventh Avenue - Victor Lewis 7/4 even 8ths (medium up)

    • Lewis Nash

    Lewis Nash has been one of the most in-demand jazz drummers for over 40 years. He has lent his tasteful swing and exciting soloing to over 400 recordings—among the longest discographies of any jazz musician. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, he began playing professionally in his teens; by age 21 he had already performed with visiting jazz legends including Sonny Stitt, Slide Hampton, Lee Konitz, and Art Pepper. Read more...

  • Skeeter Blues - Lewis Nash Swing (medium up)

    • Charli Persip

    Drummer Persip grew up with jazz legends tenor saxophonist Hank Mobley and pianist Walter Bishop, Jr. in New Jersey. He got his start professionally playing with Tadd Dameron around the New York/New Jersey area in 1953, but became widely known for his work with the Dizzy Gillespie Orchestra and Quintet (1953-1958). Read more...

  • Eternal Triangle - Sonny Stitt Swing (uptempo)
  • Sevens - Roland Alexander Swing (medium up)
  • Three For The Festival - Rahsaan Roland Kirk Swing (medium up)

    • Bill Stewart

    Bill Stewart is a versatile drummer and composer who has been active since the late 1980s. He attended William Patterson College (where he studied with Rufus Reid, Harold Mabern, and Joe Lovano) from 1986-1988 and made his recording debut while he was still a student. In 1990, he made his name working with guitarist John Scofield in an association that lasted for five years. Bill's 1995 highly-acclaimed release "Snide Remarks" on Blue Note featured Lovano, Eddie Henderson, Bill Carrothers, and Larry Grenadier; it included nine of Bill's own compositions as well. Since then, Bill has formed the Bill Stewart trio with Kevin Hays and Larry Goldings. Recent projects include work with Renee Rosnes, Jim Rotondi and Jon Gordon. Read more...

  • Shape Up - Jon Gordon Even 8ths