PORTRAITS DAVID CALARCO A veteran jazzer proves that you can make a mark outside New York City—if you retain your intensity and keep yourself open to change. by Ron Petrides u

avid Calarco has played with an L y d

impressive list of jazz artists, includ- u

D R ing Randy Brecker, George Garzone, Jerry Bergonzi, Kenny Werner, and Joe Lovano. He also recorded and toured with the renowned baritone saxophon- ist Nick Brignola for over twenty-five years. Yet to many on the scene he’s almost unknown. I first learned of David from bassist John Menegon, a longtime member of the bands of Dewey Redman and David “Fathead” Newman. Menegon told me after a gig, “Man, you gotta play with David Calarco—he really swings hard.” We eventually did play together at Justin’s in Albany, New York, and I was immediately taken in. Calarco indeed swings very hard, and he’s able to depth and well-roundedness. Calarco In school I was trying to learn as much accomplish this at any dynamic range, comes to the drums not only from a jazz as I could. I was also playing percussion, which created a conflict, because there’s from a whisper to a scream. Moreover, perspective—Tony Williams was a big not enough time in life to do everything his interaction and inventiveness within early influence—but from a background well. That conflict lasted through my the ensemble, from call and response to that also includes a serious study of classi- studies at Berklee. rhythmic counterpoint, are always push- cal percussion, which fed his knowledge MD: Were there many opportunities to ing the boundaries. His solos are very and appreciation of twentieth-century art hear jazz while growing up in upstate exciting as well—in fact, they’re nothing music. This diversity is evident in the rich New York? short of jaw dropping. By the end of our interplay he fosters in whatever ensem- David: My father would take me places to hear music. When I was ten, he took first night playing together, I could only ble he’s playing with. me to hear Gene Krupa at the Lion’s Den keep asking myself, Why haven’t I ever in Troy, New York. We sat about ten feet heard of him before? MD: Is it true that you began playing from Gene…he must have been around The answer lies in part in Calarco’s drums at five years old? sixty-five at the time. I will never forget choice to live near Albany, a couple David: Yes. My grandfather was an ama- how gracious he was. I told him that I hours north of Manhattan. David claims teur rudimental snare drummer. My was having trouble with my snare drum, this was a quality-of-life decision. mom gave him a drum as a present, and which was a 1948 Slingerland Radio King. He sat down with us, took out a Upstate he’s been able to have a home, I wasn’t allowed to touch it. On my birth- piece of paper, and wrote a letter for me raise a family, and be close to the out- day, though, he let me try to play it, and to send to Slingerland, which he was an door settings that, as an avid fisherman, I did something that resembled real endorser of. He said, “You send them he holds dear. But Calarco is hardly a playing, which shocked everyone. So my this letter with your drum.” The letter country bumpkin. Possessing an intense parents went to the band teacher in my basically said, “I want you to fix the drum personality that could be summed up as grade school and paid her to stay after for this kid.” I mean, they completely “New York”—a 1986 Modern Drummer and give me lessons. reconditioned the drum for me, free. I wish I still had that drum—even more, I article on him was titled “The Upstate My first drumset lessons began when wish I had the letter! Burn”—David is uncompromising in his I was eight, with a frustrated big band drummer who used to play on The MD: Could you reflect on your associa- art and strong in his belief in himself and Arthur Godfrey Show. He was a really tion with Nick Brignola? his musical direction. Upon spending good teacher; at eight years old, for David: There are only a few people that time with him, I was impressed by his example, I knew how to play a rumba. come along in life that you have a spe-

MODERN DRUMMER • June 2012 cial musical connection with. I mean, I TOOLS OF THE TRADE owe everything to this guy. He opened all these doors for me—guys like Chet Baker, Calarco plays Mapex Orion drums, including a 20" bass drum. “I believe it gives me Dave Holland…the list is so long. more versatility over the customary 18" bass drum,” he says, “and I like the voice that Nick and I began playing together in it provides. Plus there’s not much tuning range in an 18.” As opposed to the popular 1976, and he passed away in 2002, so convention of tom sizes progressing in increments of 2", Calarco plays 12" and 13" that’s a musical relationship spanning rack toms and a 14" floor tom, and sometimes an additional 15". His snare is either a 1 1 twenty-five years. We had a really close 6 /2x14 Black Panther bird’s-eye maple or a 6 /2x14 Deep Forest cherry, both with gold personal relationship too—he was the hardware. David plays Sabian cymbals, including a 22" HHX Manhattan ride, a 22" AA Raw ride, a 22" Encore Mini Bell ride, an 18" Legacy crash, a 15" Sound Control crash, best man at my wedding. When he 14" Encore hi-hats, and occasionally a 20" Chinese. He uses Vic Firth SD10 American passed away, it was like losing my father. Custom maple sticks and Aquarian heads. It’s painful to this day, and it’s hard for me not to choke up when I listen to our records. He was an incredible player, and more, because I’ve changed my approach changed the way I approached all of my we fit together so well that people used to that as well. When I was twenty-five playing, which became much looser, to call us Batman and Robin. This close- or thirty, I could just muscle my way allowing me to concentrate more on ness is quite obvious if you listen to us through things because of being a better musical matters and less on the whole playing as a duo on his album Signals…In physical specimen. Therefore I was able drumming thing. I began looking at my From Somewhere. to pull things off athletically that I really balance and stool height too; I wanted MD: Since that time, what have you been should not have been able to. As I grew everything done the best possible way up to? older, I saw the need to change the way I for my body and what I do. David: There was a period where I pro- approached things technically. MD: Could you shed some light on the moted my own band, but I prefer being a MD: How did you come to that decision? diverse influences you referred to earlier? sideman because of all the headaches David: Around twelve years ago the David: The generation of jazz musicians that come with being a leader. I had a great drum mentor Jim Chapin and I got from the 1970s that I grew up with was band with Jerry Bergonzi, Tom Harrell, together when I was performing at an influenced by all those different kinds of Fred Hersch, and John Lockwood, and IAJE [International Association for Jazz music that were new at the time—more other permutations of it featured Danilo Education] convention. Jim asked me to than the generation that preceded us, Perez, Randy Brecker, and Kenny Werner. play a particular thing on the drum pad and more than those that followed, But because everyone was busy doing that he always carried around with him. because of the birth of the retro move- their own thing, booking the band He watched me play for a second and ment in the ’80s. The early-’70s era was an became problematic. I’d have to book said, “That’s incredible what you’re doing. incredible melting pot of different music so far ahead, it just got crazy. You have hands like Louie Bellson. I wish I from all over the world that had never MD: How has your approach to playing could do what you do. You have a lot of been explored before; it was thrown at changed through the years? finger stuff together. But that’s not what I us, and we embraced it. I grew up not David: I look at music less from the asked you to do.” only listening to jazz but to Mahavishnu microcosmic angle of the drums. Now it’s He’d asked me about playing an open Orchestra and fusion, and it had a definite more about how everything I play relates stroke as you might come to it from the influence on my approach. Also, the big to what everyone else does. This was Moeller technique, and I didn’t play it at push from true Brazilian and Latin music more difficult when I was younger. I all. Then he showed me what he was came in the early ’70s. So by the mid-’70s didn’t have the experience of playing looking for. And then he played the same there were guys who could play all differ- with a lot of different people yet—people thing on my sweater—no bounce. This ent kinds of stuff authentically—and play who play differently from each other— was a revelation to me. It made me go the hell out of it. and [when you’re young] you aren’t yet back and analyze what I was doing and However, as an individual you still able to change your playing to relate to see if there might be a better way. arrive at a certain way of playing, and you what the other person is doing. Of course MD: What changes did you make? understand: This is what I do. You see, if I still have to take care of business—the David: My grip on the stick was good for everybody could do everything, there function of the drums within the band what I was doing, but it didn’t allow me would really only be one guy, and every- and all that. to do other things. So I changed my grip, body would be a copy of that one drum- MD: Has your soloing concept evolved particularly in the right hand. I changed mer. What’s really great about music is as well? my fulcrum into more of a second-finger that everybody’s got a little thing that David: Most definitely. I’ve broadened fulcrum, a triangle kind of thing, and it they do that nobody else can do. technically and musically. And stylistic- loosened everything up completely. I MD: So, is “the upstate burn” still alive? ally, I’ve got a lot of other influences. rediscovered the full stroke, which David: Yeah, the upstate burn is still alive MD: Have you experienced any loss in allowed me to explore the correct way and well. I play every gig, no matter how terms of what you’re able to do on the of learning the Moeller technique. See, big or small, with intensity and emotion, drums physically? it was all about making things easier, as if it were the most important gig on David: Actually, right now I think I can do smarter—not harder. This in turn the face of the earth. Reprinted by permission of Modern Drummer Publications, Inc. © 2012 www.modendrummer.com