Jimmy Hobson

Bohemian, native Californian, and GMS Drums endorser Jimmy Hobson
personifies the phrase "variety is the spice of life."

..."I was influenced by who my father listened to—
Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk—and espe-
cially Art Blakey."
...Hobson has logged in hours of experience in many various situations.
In the early 1970s he landed the drummer's seat in the European
touring company of the musical Hair...

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Bohemian, native Californian, and GMS Drums endorser Jimmy Hobson
personifies the phrase "variety is the spice of life."

..."I was influenced by who my father listened to—
Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Thelonious Monk—and espe-
cially Art Blakey."
...Hobson has logged in hours of experience in many various situations.
In the early 1970s he landed the drummer's seat in the European
touring company of the musical Hair...

...This helped Jimmy to prepare for his extensive work in L.A. and the Bay Area in various studio and television situations, such as his long stint with the
Limeliters—backing the likes of the Kingston Trio and Judy
Collins—and with the group Master Chorale.
More recently Hobson has recorded in New York with pop
artists Kathy Troccoli and Celine Dion. "For Celine Dion, I played on
two of the more hip-hop style tracks, which, to an extent has an implied three
against four groove." And Hobson should know: His self-pub-
lished book Polymotion specifically covers the topic. "Polymotion"
is about overlaying time signatures—basically phrasing in threes
while playing in 4/4. You'll find that Weckl, Gadd, Garibaldi—or
any of the great James Brown drummers—are always playing
something phrased off of a dotted note. It's that sort of overlaying
of time signatures that creates a flow in music—a circular kind of
thing."
• Georgia Antonopoulos

...James Hobson's Polymotion
is subtitled "Rhythmic
Counterpoint For Drummers"
and deals with developing the
ability to phrase in three while
playing 4/4 rock, funk, jazz, or
fusion. The exercises deal with
a variety of rhythmic and stick-
ing patterns, which the author
first illustrates on snare drum
and then applies to a full
drumkit (snare, high tom, low
tom, bass drum, hi-hat).
Completing all the exercises in
the 45-page book should give
anyone confidence about play-
ing "over the barline" fills and
solos phrased in three over a
4/4 pulse. The book sells for
$21.95 plus P&H and is available from Jimmy Hobson.

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