Bill Stewart - "Puttin' On The Ritz" Transcription & Soundslice

Bill Stewart's drum solo on the Larry Goldings' Trio Puttin' On The Ritz (originally written by Irving Berlin) shows a really unique way of composing a drum solo. For the majority of the solo, Bill is maintaining a steady ride cymbal beat while playing an off-kilter tom melody, dipping into metric modulations before adding stepped hi-hat offbeats and dotted quarter notes with the bass drum. The solo has contour and dynamic shape without being bombastic. Bill is very patient in developing his solo themes --it's easy to hear what he is doing. The difficulty however lies in keeping  the multi-limb puzzle pieces together while keeping the song form in mind.

What's very apparent at the first note of this track is that Bill loves high tuning. It lends to a melodic "less is more" sensibility when playing the toms, and even the bass drum at times sounds like an addition tom voice. Also, listen for Bill's patented "ride click" sound on his ride at the track's off set!