Jack DeJohnette

Sadly, October saw the loss of several legendary musicians who have shaped the fabric of American music, including bassist Anthony Jackson and singer/multi-instrumentalist D’Angelo. However, today I want to mark the passing of Jack DeJohnette, whose inimitable drumming kicked off the fusion genre and redefined the role of a drummer as an artist who deals in color as much as time.

Mr. DeJohnette’s international career as a drummer began in the 1960’s as a member of the Charles Lloyd quartet, where he would incorporate the rhythms of R&B and rock music into a more traditional quartet configuration. This expansion of genre drew the attention of Miles Davis, who recruited DeJohnette to his band for the 1969 album, Bitches Brew, which codified a Jazz-Rock genre. Mr. DeJohnette went on to lead his own projects that further expanded into avant-garde and fusion styles, including New Directions (1978) and Special Edition (1979), all while delivering inspirationally funky drumming that often left the rigidity of a strict beat pattern.

“I’m like a colorist on the drums,” DeJohnette said in a 2015 video interview, “So I can work within time, but I can also be free of it, more elastic in that sense.” Perhaps his vision of a drummer as a sound painter came from his upbringing as a pianist. In the same way that pianists use agogic patterns to subtly alter time, Jack DeJohnette subtly altered rhythmic grids to create nuance and depth. This can be heard on the recording “Willie Nelson (Remake Take 2)” from the Miles Davis album The Complete Jack Johnson Sessions. For another dimension to Jack DeJohnette, I highly recommend checking out his piano album, fittingly titled, The Jack DeJohnette Piano Album.

All recordings and albums I’ve mentioned are available for free listening on YouTube, and I highly recommend falling down the oh-so-funky Jack DeJohnette rabbit hole, to celebrate this visionary musician!