That’s Enough – Analysis
I started to compose this piece thanks to the valuable exercises in Ted Pease’s book. This professor wrote a book on composition that was so clear even drummers could understand it… haha : ) … he’s a drummer too.
The title of the track aims to describe a state of mind where you see first-hand the anger that has blocked certain situations for a long time. This time is it used to give voice to positive aggression, which unblocks a tightening, a deafness, and a lack of being. Now the rage stimulates a reaction, allowing you to repel, and to recuperate something precious…
This title is therefore designed to act as a shout that, like an earthquake around you, says “that’s enough!” to something and/or someone.
I’m telling you this to explain my musical motives for the beginning of this piece, which sees the accordion as the narrator of a timeless episode (in fact it plays over eight chords, each with a fermata). Here the drums have the role of providing the emotions, which cannot take into account the apparent calm with which the rest of the band plays, but instead escape dynamically in a surge of feelings that demand to be listened to exactly as they pour out of the heart.
I used mallets for this initial part of the composition. I hope what I have written up to this point helps you to understand that some pieces of music, improvised rather than written down, need to draw inspiration from a “feeling” that makes you play in a particular way (explaining not what to play, but how to play). The arrangement continues with a double bass line that defines the rhythmic character of the piece. Here you can clearly hear the three against four rhythmic cycle over two measures on which the bass lines are founded. The first time I played this piece I interpreted it rhythmically by playing with the flow of three against four, without actually rationalizing what I was playing. Thanks to Vera Figueiredo and her drumming, I worked out where I wanted to take the groove. I was looking for a rhythmic combination based on 4/4 but which sounded like triple time to the ear… Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the Brazilian rhythm called the Chamamè. Originating from the Brazilian region that borders Argentina, the Chamamè is a rhythm in 6/8 that features a bass drum known as a bombo leguero. This instrument is played with sticks, striking both the skin and the rim, and it is often paired with the sound of the accordion. In That’s Enough I wanted to recall this timbre, mixing the sounds of the drums (played with one stick and one brush) with the cajon (played with the hands). This mix of sounds generates a dark and incisive color, but at the same time moderated by the range of dynamics and timbres. In the Chamamè the 6/8 beat has an accent every three eighth notes. When playing it on the drums, try playing the kick drum on every fourth note, which creates an interesting syncopation between the 6/8 and 3/4 meters.
In sections A and B the accordion plays the theme in this South American atmosphere. At C the accordion is supported by a beautiful horn background… if you are a sensitive type, have a tissue at the ready… and thank the arranger Massimo Morganti for this emotional moment.
I originally considered exploiting the three against four rhythmic cycle for the whole of section C… and indeed that is what the drum score suggests. But playing together helps you understand what the music and/or the musicians need… and if you don’t grasp it on your own, the sullen faces of your colleagues will help you reflect on what you’re doing… I therefore opted in “complete freedom” for a “bright cross-stick” (to borrow an elegant term from Steve Houghton).
Letter D repeats part of the initial theme with the Chamamè-inspired groove. At letter E the pianist Paolo Di Sabatino plays a wonderful solo, accompanied by the drums, which abandon the idea of the initial rhythm to give the soloist more freedom. With this in mind I decided not to play the cajon in this part of the piece, ensuring the rhythm is light and more ethereal.
At letters F and G the soloist is supported by the horn section, which, thanks to Morganti’s writing, brings the solo to a delicate and incisive climax.
Section H brings back the theme, which soon hands over to the coda (letter I), where the piano comments on the timbre in the background, before abandoning itself to unrestricted flight in what is technically called a “cadenza”, which here comprises two chords.
For the improvised parts I haven’t given many directions for the drums, instead choosing to illustrate what happens around the drums. I wanted to get the message across that what you play should be inspired by the things you hear.
That’s enough!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yyw_LdpfIz-Y3jXR4I0O2GynpQ73gtoI/view?usp=sharing
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