The acclaimed Kalamazoo drummer who plays three nights of Brazilian jazz across the state this week reveals the albums and artists that have influenced him most. Check out his picks, along with his own music.
A Lifelong Love of Drums: Keith Hall’s Brazilian band plays three Michigan shows this week. (Courtesy Photo)
EDITOR’S NOTE: All musicians can trace their inspiration to key recordings that influenced their careers. Writer Ross Boissoneau today showcases music that changed the world for Southwest Michigan’s Keith Hall, who’s touring the state this week. Scroll down for a Spotify playlist of his picks, including current favorites and a couple of Hall’s own tracks.
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This week, Kalamazoo drummer Keith Hall will present three nights of Brazilian sambas and classic bossa novas in Kalamazoo, Traverse City and Ann Arbor.
Featuring guitarist and São Paulo native Chico Pinheiro, Hall’s Brazilian Jazz Trio will perform music by Pinheiro, Sérgio Mendes, Djavan, Hermeto Pascoal and Antônio Carlos Jobim, as well as his own originals.
Hall: Fascinated by Brazilian percussion. (Courtesy Photo)
Hall started playing drums in 5th grade and hasn’t ever stopped. He says drums have always been his passion. He absorbed the music on the radio when he was growing up, and found he was always chasing the melody. “I realized I would try to play the melody on the drum set,” he says.
That melodic style is one thing he tries to pass on to his students at Western Michigan University, where he is the Professor of Jazz Drum Set. “I believe it was the first (college) jazz program in Michigan,” he says.
Before the Battle Creek native landed back in his home state, Hall toured and recorded with Curtis Stigers for a dozen years. He was an in-demand drummer for numerous jazz artists, including Betty Carter, Wycliffe Gordon, Sir Roland Hanna, Michael Phillip Mossman and many others.
Hall has recorded five albums with his trio TRI-FI, the first of which included Stigers as a guest, and plans to record later this year with the group performing at The Alluvion.
Hall is the artistic director of the Keith Hall Summer Drum Intensive, a jazz drum camp. He’s also the executive director of TUNED IN, a nonprofit organization that focuses on supporting music education’s power to change lives, and is the author of two instructional jazz drum set books.
The first Chico Pinheiro jazz show takes place at 7 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 26) at Kalamazoo’s Crawlspace Comedy Theatre, 315 W. Michigan Ave. Tickets, $10-$25, available at crawlspacecomedy.com.
On Friday (Feb. 27), Hall and Pinheiro travel to The Alluvion in Traverse City for the second night of the tour. Tickets, $30 advance, for the 7 p.m. show are available online at the alluvion.org. The mini-tour wraps up on Saturday (Feb. 28) with two shows — 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. — at The Blue Llama Jazz Club in Ann Arbor. The cover is $25.
1. Yellowjackets, “Four Corners” (1987) – As a high school student, this was a gateway album for me into the world of jazz. Growing up in the 70’s and 80’s I came from a rock n’ roll background and was into bands including Van Halen, Rush, The Police, Sting, Peter Gabriel and other popular music, and whatever was on MTV. MTV was new and opened up the world to seeing performance videos of some of my favorite groups. I had been listening to saxophonist David Sanborn, and then my older friend George Rousseau suggested the Yellowjackets album “Four Corners.” This record employed lots of groove elements, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, polyrhythms and on one tune in particular, drummer Will Kennedy was swinging on the ride cymbal. This steered me towards straight-ahead classic jazz, including Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. Will Kennedy is still one of my heroes and has become a great friend since the time we met in 1990. He continues to influence me.
Listen: “Out of Town”
2. Shirley Horn, “You Won’t Forget Me” (1991) – My mentor, jazz drumming legend “Jabali” Billy Hart, plays on this album. One day in class when I was a student at WMU, he played the recording and I was immediately hooked. I was hooked on the sound of Shirley Horn’s voice, and I was hooked on the deep feeling of swing that she and her band achieved; it was simple, yet so infectious. It resonated with me in a way that I couldn’t even explain, but something inside lit up and moved me with emotion, or as Billy calls it, euphoria. I was beginning to experience music in that way, and Shirley Horn’s music was a big part of it for me. The way Shirley accompanies herself on the piano while also singing with her signature vocal sound and phrasing, she sounds like two independent people. Shirley Horn is one of a kind: Her voice will make you fall in love, her sense of swing will make you dance, her phrasing will leave you hanging on her every word, and the drama and her delivery of the lyrics will make you cry. This recording became a model for me for how to play with singers, which is how I made much of my living for 15 years while living in NYC and touring world-wide. Through the many Billy Hart recordings, as well as our 30-plus year friendship, he has completely changed my life. I owe him everything.
Listen: “You Won’t Forget Me”
3. Ahmad Jamal, “But Not For Me/Live at the Pershing” (1958) – This is my favorite record of all time and it is another one that Billy Hart played for me back in 1992. The sound of the trio including Ahmad Jamal, Israel Crosby and Vernel Fournier is one-of-a-kind. The sound is so swingin’, there is room for everyone to contribute, and Ahmad’s arrangements are legendary. When I heard the song “Poinciana,” I began to immediately write down every note that drummer Vernel Fournier played. This New Orleans-inspired groove is timeless and has become known as the “Poinciana beat.” Though I make sure to call it the “Vernel Fournier beat” so that folks know who he is. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to study with Vernel before he passed away.
Listen: “But Not For Me”
Currently Loving: Rosa Passos, “Samba Sem Vocé” (2023)– I have been studying Brazilian drumming intensely for the last two years. I traveled to Brazil last March and studied with many of the legends there and will be going back for sure. This is a live album with Brazilian singer/guitarist Rosa Passos along with her trio: Fábio Torres on piano, Paulo Paulelli on bass and Celso de Almeida on drums. The trio is tight and their interplay is so hip – it is truly a Brazilian rhythm section masterclass in groove and creativity. Rosa’s voice and her guitar playing together are pure magic. She is an outstanding guitarist, with a playful style and distinctive voice. (Runner-Up: Trio Corrente & Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica de São Paulo. This band is rooted in the Brazilian tradition, but they are pushing forward to express ideas through a Brazilian/jazz lens, influenced by modern jazz, odd time signatures and virtuosic playing, with intricate arrangements. This particular album includes a stunning string orchestra, which adds a plush and expansive sound. Edu Ribeiro’s drumming is pure and effortlessly brilliant.)
Listen: “Samba Sem Voce”
ALBUMS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD: Keith Hall’s Playlist on Spotify
(The Yellowjackets album that Hall chose is unavailable on Spotify.)
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