The Ultimate Guide to "Fake" Latin Jazz Beats on Drums

Get your free transcription here - bit.ly/3OWLu8H
==
Chapters
0:00 - intro
1:09 - sponsor message/help yourself by helping me/free download
1:23 - real latin jazz beats
3:07 - "fake" latin jazz beats
5:18 - how to play them, part 1
13:03 - how to play them in "all" meters
==
One of my favorite thing about jazz drums is something I'm not sure there's a..word for...
It's what Elvin played on a Love Supreme, or Zoltan...
it's what Max Roach played on star eyes...
What Art Blakey played on A Night in Tunisia, with the jazz messengers.
Some of it comes from the afro-latin tradition...
...it's inspired by that...but it's not exactly that.
But whatever it is, it's awesome, and it's part of jazz drumming.
And It's also really challenging to learn, and will help your touch and coordination along the way.
Today, we'll explore a little - and I mean a REALLY little - of where these beats came from...
...and more importantly, I'll show you a five step method to get you stared learning them. In any time signature!
Modern examples:
Dafnis Prieto - grew up in Cuba, played with eddie palmieri among others. If Dafnis plays it, it's correct.
Jazz drummers like Antonio Sanchez, Ernesto Simpson, Henry Cole, Adam Cruz - in the bands they're working with they're stretching the definitions of clave, often they don't have percussionists, but they're steeped enough in the tradition that just like Jack Dejohnette doesn't literally need to play spangalang for it to be jazz, I'd argue these drummers play things with deep roots in the tradition.
part 2 - fake latin jazz
I'm not even saying drummers like Max Roach, Blakey, Elvin Jones, Tootie Heath, etc. aren't playing things that are inspired by afro-latin roots.
When Dizzy Gilespie recorded Manteca in 1947, he worked with cuban percussionist Luciano "Chano" Pozo to both write and record the tune, and incorporated Pozo's playing and input into the song.
Basically I'm trying to talk about the tradition enough so that I don't have to talk about it.
But let's check some of these examples of "jazz latin" beats:
A Love Supreme is one the most famous.
A night in tunisia by the jazz messengers is another one.
Con Alma, with stan Getz and Grady Tate is yet another.
And how about things like the introduction to star eyes, from Max Roach?
And the introduction to Stablemates, by Benny Golson's drummer, Philly Joe Jones.
This "jazz latin" thing has become so deeply wired into jazz drumming's DNA that I'd argue it's a separate lineage from the "authentic" vein.
==
ALL of which segues, now that you know what it is, to how to play it. Because there are books out
part 3 - how to play it
Source materials - cross stick, cymbal bell, toms
Principles:
clave and cascara - it's possible for things to be in clave even if they're not strict
Toms - originally "tumbao" (?) - if you're not playing with a percussionist they can be anything musical, depending on how "clave authentic" you want to be
Step 1: play the clave with the cross stick and the cascara with the lead hand - I'll show you classic claves for a few odd meters
Step 2: HH on all 8ths or quarters, "cascara" on tom rim
Step 3: figure out the tom melody - adjust the pattern if necessary to make it more "drumistic"
Step 4: ride bell accent pattern
Step 5: revert to tom rim as necessary

[@wurdofwizdumb1928]

Three things. 1.) You are class 2.) Fantastic Lesson 3.) That shirt is amazing

[@thatdrummeroz654]

Some of my favorite educational content for drums comes from watching this channel.

[@cadenlawton5861]

CHANGUITO🇨🇺🔥

[@borikero1]

All claves are about keeping that strong pulse that gets people dancing..strong and stable beats is the biggest focus of salsa and many other types of latin music. Even pauses and silent parts of salsa songs are in clave. Latin jazz has more of an experimental listening melodic focus, so creative license to play a bit out of clave or around it works a bit more, since people won't be in the middle of a dancefloor wondering why their feet can't find the rhythm or the pulse...many of them won't know the terminology but they will feel "something is off" or "algo está cruzado". Not taking any credit from Latin jazz, it has developed into it's own style, the musicianship needed to pull it off is incredible, and you need to be extremely creative to work around the constraints of dancing latin music genres. Great video and good explanations...I like the focus on understanding what all the percussion players are doing and respecting the core rhythms.

[@bobblues1158]

Oh yeah. I have always been hip to fake latin jazz beats. i like them because you can make up some psuedo beat that fits your tune. It is a very used device throughout the history. I did play lead alto for Tito Puente for a year and a half and really got schooled. But all Latin beats are in transition so the question of fake or correct is a moot point. Really appreciate your channel!

[@shayelijah9048]

Just when I'm learning basic funk, this is a great lesson!

[@patdavey7187]

I call it shmlatin and I love it. People are scared of touching Latin music for fears of being inauthentic which is a shame. Beg borrow or steal and enjoy. In the crease!

[@neilhiggins1755]

I think that a two bar clave only works well up to a maximum of 5/4. Once you get above five beats in a bar it makes more sense to go with a single bar clave. Loved the lesson. The 'cheat' versions generally work much better in jazz than the more authentic versions. Probably because they allow a looser feel.

[@swan4163]

Great video! Probably one of the best ones you’ve done.

[@TrentShuey]

This super dope info, man thank you!

[@ReallyBigBadDog]

Gotta say.. that was bloody awesome!!

[@DrummerRIP]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Well done… As genuine/real as it gets. Thank you Nate!

[@Diatonic5th]

Great lesson! Thanks for posting.

[@stevevorass]

Love this! Very useful. 🙏

[@garysommerfeld4668]

I play in a blues band, and I use Latin beats like this all the time to put a twist on the tunes. Love your breakdown. Thank you.

[@Themurphyshow7]

Love your content!

[@zezedoudou1859]

Fantastic! thanks

[@ARGBlackCloud]

Once again Nathan , it's intersting how the universal mind desides to deliver you a bunch of latin drumming info all at once , I was just talking to a friend about Claves yesterday and he showed me Horacio Hernandez's book on claves , too wild ! Thanks for the great transcription , many busy hours to come !! Keep up the great work !!

[@jcbozich]

Doin’ this. Thanks again Nate!

[@timcline2799]

Very helpful, Thank you. If it fits, feels good, gets people dancing, keep playing.

[@bockfuss]

Worthy of note: the cascara demonstrated at approximately 10:32 is one Gadd has put to good use over the years, including but not limited to Samba Song - Chick Corea, Friends; Late in the Evening - Paul Simon and here and there in Aja - Steely Dan. Love the videos, Nate. Keep 'em comin'!

[@JovanChronosTaylor]

I super enjoyed this!

[@danevansdesigner]

Great show and thanks, its always boggled my mind the latin side and even if i may be able to play some basics at home the stress of the gig ( not a common event ) just sees me fall apart. Youdaman Nate.

[@kirbyhurst]

Yessss this was much needed

[@jonniejlo]

love it. Appropriate T shirt.

[@tdrum21]

Good content. Dig it. Like your odd Rational Funk too 😜👌🏽

[@fideldely5988]

Don't forget Ignacio Berroa and horacio hernandez. Check Julio barreto, and mark walker... gracias por ser tan chevere como siempre mi hermano

[@danevansdesigner]

Can you give out "nate points" to early commenters and people watching within a minute of release? 20 points or 80 points? Great video so far. Still watching.

[@Themurphyshow7]

Minus fifty nate points for begging

[@dugthrelfall2027]

Me too, me too

[@c3N3q]

Get a life!

[@infinitesimotel]

Seems to be a principle of polyrhythmics where each instrument finds a rhythm that doesnt coincide too often with other instrument rhythms but still keeps the character of the overall pattern.

[@8020drummer]

polyphonics I think, but yea I agree

[@BrianH020]

Hey Nate, my drum teacher in the DC area back in 86-87, the great Bill Reichenbach Sr (not to be confused with his awesome trombone playing son, Bill Jr), was instrumental in the Latin jazz samba/bossa nova craze in the early 60s with Charlie Byrd and Stan Getz, starting with the album Jazz Samba. What an absolute master drummer. I can vividly remember one lesson where I wasn't quite getting something, and he sat at the kit to show me. WOW! To sit literally inches from such a force of drumming nature, was so intimidating at first, yet awe inspiring as well. I'll never forget it!

[@dirkflandrich448]

This has no connection to Samba and Bossa from Brasil. It is more connected to the the Cuban world. This misunderstanding (Latin Jazz is Samba and Bossa) is the key problem when it comes to fake Latin and I guess it was the motivation behind the video lesson.

[@eduardomorenorojas5756]

Tumbao is a bass drum pattern, that goes along with the bass player lines

[@dirkflandrich448]

Tumbao is a conga pattern on 2 (slap) 4 and 4+ (open) with taps in between. You would play it in Son, Montuno or Cha Cha. The Bassdrum pattern is a bassline with mainly routs and fifth on 2+ and 4. Clave and Cascara are the connection between both and if you mean that, the bass on 2+ on tumbadora would be played in a traditionell set up with three players quinto, conga, tumbadora.

[@jjcdrumplay]

Nice, the bottom mastersound on top again, chunky! Hey what about jingles... Can't you use the block instead of the floor tom rim?

[@glennkelly4058]

Isac Jamba has a great video showing Traditional Samba vs Gringo Samba. Interesting viewing even though it's in Portuguese.

[@TrentShuey]

Dude!! Frank Malabe for the win!! ;)

[@TrentShuey]

Afro-Cuban Rhythms for Drumset is another great resource.

[@donovanjones4175]

My brain hurts

[@webstercat]

The & of 2 then 4 on bass drum as addition.

[@terrymiller111]

Grunge Stewart? (TBBT)

[@bennyhill8186]

I don't know if I mentioned it yet but I got extra credit answer to a question you didn't ask so I don't expect any credit but the Spanish flamenco philosophy of music that left with parts of it traveled the world or through Cuba say South America and then back again is called ida y Vuelta I think it's around the world and back, though my Spanish could use a refresher course I know that it's not a direct translation but it's the paraphrased theme and that's the the phrase they use.. all their words not mine, if you heard an old school flamenco player describe it I'm pretty sure that's almost exactly how he would lay it out to you.... The example that they gave when I was reading it it was in a flamenco book of clapping patterns and cajon, the examples were the Rumba, bossa Nova, and bulerias. At least one of which inherently began in North African say and Western European gypsy music and was picked up elsewhere and when brought back went through further edification process, if I'm not mistaken the Rumba we all know and love as basically what I can describe as the reggaeton beat, but the flamenco Rumba, without taking a any more room see Paco de Lucia track on album cosita's buenas the track is El dengue, it's sort of an inverted Rumba beat most of us are familiar with. Just thought I'd throw two cents in there cuz I thought of it as a very interesting idea always since I first read it and started learning the cajon and the clapping patterns geez not so easy especially if you're clapping in 16th and the other person or group is also but alternately to yours making 32cd notes, but that and many others make great group percussion exercises that you could do with pretty much anybody if you start out simple enough, and as an added bonus in music therapy I happen to know someone who got their masters in music therapy and they worked with a lot of autistic kids and exercises like that work really well and get those kids to communicate in ways they were never able to before

[@firstnamesurname6550]

Well, that's a 'recent' fringe hypothesis ... For cubans, the origen of those 'clave' patterns are totally African ( mostly, from the Abakua (yoruba), Congo, Nigerian + Camerun's traditions ) where those patterns had merge ... spanish gypsis had nothing to do with the origin of Cuban Son ... Instead, Cuban Son merge into Flamenco by the migration of Cuban musicians to Spain and/or Spanish Musicians going to latin America and getting influenced by the local folklore ... and that's Why it is called 'De Ida y Vuelta' ( Back and Forth ) ...

[@CamTarn]

5:02 'Now that you kinda know what it is...' Sorry, I'm pretty lost at this point - what would you consider the primary difference between 'real' and 'fake'? With the clips being so short and being talked over (I'm guessing to avoid copyright strikes) I really can't tell the difference between them :/

[@mrtyreus0]

Should the last note of the clave pattern be on the "and" of 1 (as demonstrated here) or the "e" of 1. I've heard it both ways, but always thought of the latter as more "authentic" whatever that means...

[@jc3drums916]

Are you talking about son clave vs. rumba clave? 2/3 son clave: ..x.x... x..x..x. 2/3 rumba clave: ..x.x... x..x...x Both are written as two-bar patterns in 2. (For fake Latin jazz, you would probably write it as a single measure in 4.) The last note is on the & of 2 (son) vs. a of 2 (rumba). Which you use depends on the music - mambo uses son, guaguanco uses rumba, etc.

[@8020drummer]

Short answer is the “4” is from son and the “&” is from rumba. In practice, especially in jazz, you can probably interchange because the clave isn’t just that rhythm, it’s the direction of all the other rhythms, so in a sense both son and rumba clave are “in clave”.

[@ericwinter4513]

@@jc3drums916 Actually, Cubans tend to think of one long bar with 16th note subdivisions

[@gatodrums]

🥁🔥🥁🇵🇷✌️✌️

[@moumouzel]

Is the guide non fake?

[@dirkflandrich448]

A usefull lesson, because many people have no clue about this fake Latin beats. No word about Robby Ameen? Important is that Clave and Cascara patterns are not connected. The accents of Cascara should not correspont with the clave.

[@fideldely5988]

Just to add to your lesson, drumset try to EMULATE what the conga, timbales, bongo are doing. I strongly recommend everyone to expand what nate explained by checking artist like Poncho Sánchez, irakere, or more pop like gilberto Santa Rosa, Rubén Blades and Willie Colón. Very goood video for start. Thnx Nate

[@citydrums7525]

Good video, great points... Nothing wrong with a little Lantin-esque. I like the way Billy Martin switches between "legit" Latin beats and just winging it on the drum set. Could one consider Pancho Sanchez Urban Latin? How about this insane "Latin-esque" solo from Tony Williams with Stan Getz: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gWOwpaBqZphnepY

[@webstercat]

Would this be considered “cultural appropriation” for gringos to play Latin music?

[@bennyhill8186]

Ok maybe you consider mmw latin inspired beats as fake but I assure you They totally are...no seriously some very autentico like my Latin, some just inspired and fuse with something new,but if you ever saw live, you'd know no one has more Latino percussion on stage whether he knows how to use them or not ;) but if he did or not I wouldn't know except for the "wank drum", you know, the oil damp rag inside the conga with a wood stick installed permanently on inside at center underside, and you "have at it" .. rhythmically speaking of course,rubbing up n down pulling the skin of drum tighter n looser, but really it's the actual squeak sound of the drum back n forth, what else could it be called

[@jc3drums916]

It's called cuica. It's supposed to simulate the sound of a jaguar in heat or something.

[@Sn00ze]

First

[@mphase7575]

Eric Harland is a white guy who plays guitar apparantly 😆

[@8020drummer]

Yea Eric Harland is actually Kurt rosenwinkel

[@wolowolowolo]

For Americans latín drumming=Cuba. Sad.... Very sad in the age of information, it's time to change the paradigm...

[@jc3drums916]

Sometimes Brazilian music gets lumped in there too, but often it's considered a separate thing. Some Caribbean music (calypso, soca, merengue, etc.), tango, bolero, and maybe some others I'm forgetting are also categorized as Latin. At least, that's how I was taught in music school. I'm sure there are many more styles of music from other Latin American countries, but the definition as you describe it seems to be one that was established in the 1950s or 60s, and no one has bothered to expand it. It's why I try to specify the exact style or country rather than use the word "Latin".