More Than Keeping Time: A Melodic Drumming Demo

What would you say if I told you that drums can sing? The best jazz drummers have always understood this as fact. Allison Miller has even made it a core part of her artistic mission — as drummer, a composer and a bandleader, notably with her ensemble Boom Tic Boom.

Jazz Night in America recently caught up with Miller, who skillfully demonstrates the concept of "melodic drumming" — using her drums and cymbals, a Duke Ellington tune, and a new piece of technology — in our video short. We also dropped in at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola for portions of an engaging set by Boom Tic Boom, featuring Miller alongside violinist Jenny Scheinman, cornetist Kirk Knuffke, clarinetist Jeff Lederer, pianist Carmen Staaf and bassist Tony Scherr.

In our radio show, we'll also hear from Miller about how playing in high-profile folk-rock settings (with Natalie Merchant, among others) informs her playing. We'll learn how female empowerment is thriving in the jazz community plus Miller's firsthand experiences with sexism and gender inequality in our institutions and on the scene.

And we'll consider how it all connects: melody and harmony, the individual and the whole. "There's something about the platform of jazz," Miller says, "that it lays this palette of having such deep communication with your other bandmates. And for me that's why I play this music."

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