“I fell in love with your groove the first time I heard you, and that’s why I tried to steal you’. John Robinson: ‘Well, mission accomplished!’.
When one of the greatest producers ever, Quincy Jones, tells you that, then you must be doing something right.
John JR Robinson is the most recorded drummer in history, one of the top names that every drummer should study and understand, and this is a collection of incredible grooves he has played during his career.
That ‘something’ is what we are going to learn by practicing many of his greatest beats.
The first 20 examples are taken from his ‘The Time Machine’ Dvd. I picked some of the best rhythms he plays in different sections of this must-have educational video.
I highly recommend it, since not only John sounds fantastic in it, but he also generously explains lots of enlightening concepts.
The second half are transcriptions from recordings he has done with Michael Jackson, Jeff Lorber, Rufus, Seal, Quincy Jones, Lionel Richie, Whitney Houston and many more.
You can click here for the 10 Page Interactive Pdf:
What’s so cool about his style is that he has some very unique and original beats, while at the same time he is able to infuse even the simplest rhythm with huge amounts of deep groove. Personality and feeling: a simple and very intelligent way of making music.
Go listen to the recordings to hear his amazing feel and focus on reproducing that as much as you can. That’s where the magic is.
You can click on each groove in the Pdf to go to its specific time in the YouTube video where I play each example.
These are fun!
This is part of my ‘Groove Masters’ mini-series. A few more are on their way (and drop me a line if you have any request). For instance, I have also done three booklets about Vinnie Colaiuta, Jeff Porcaro, and Steve Jordan, which you can download here:
Vinnie Colaiuta Grooves
Jeff Porcaro Grooves
Steve Jordan Grooves
And if you feel like improving your groove even more, check these out:
‘Groove Workout & Tools’ – Altitude Drumming – Volume 7
‘Groove Mastery & Formulas’ – Altitude Drumming – Volume 8
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