#212 Jay Mumford (AKA J-Zone)- Drummer for The Du-Rites, Writer, Radio Host & More!
Photo of Jay by Alan Rand.
Jay Mumford (AKA J-Zone) in his bio says……I picked up drumming as a hobby the week the book was released when my father surprised me (as a 34-year-old man, nonetheless) with a cheap drum set when he came to visit. I fell in love with the drums almost instantly, but the discipline, sacrifice, dues-paying and dedication required to learn a new instrument properly and seriously in my mid-30’s was the fire I needed lit under my ass to return to music with a new passion…and a better attitude. I briefly returned to releasing hip-hop albums with Peter Pan Syndrome (2013) and Fish-N-Grits (2016), both of which fused my newfound drumming passion with my past. But that phase didn’t last long; my focus gradually shifted entirely away from being a hip-hop artist and a jack-of-too-many-trades and back towards my instrumentalist roots, but as a drummer and composer rather than a bassist. And that’s where I am today.
I have a series of drum break records being sampled by producers like Madlib, Prince Paul, Alchemist, Marco Polo and many others. I’ve done studio drumming for Danger Mouse, Broken Bells, Lord Finesse, Pharoahe Monch, Karen O, Michael Kiwanuka, DJ Nu-Mark and many more, as well as holding the groove for bands in funk (The Du-Rites, Zone Identity, the legendary Manzel), rock (Lulu Lewis), and sweet soul (Ben Pirani and The Means of Production) regularly. With the latter, I embarked on my first mid-major US tour as a drummer in the Spring of 2019, opening for Nick Waterhouse. My passion for drumming also inspired me to launch an interview series called “Give the Drummer Some” through Red Bull Music Academy/Red Bull Radio. I’ve been fortunate to have in-depth discussions with legendary drummers like Questlove, Mike Clark, David Garibaldi, Steve Ferrone, “Funky” George Brown of Kool and the Gang and Bernard Purdie as part of my drumming education. (Check ’em out on this site).
But my pride and joy is The Du-Rites, my instrumental funk band with Tom Tom Club guitarist and my longtime mastering engineer, Pablo Martin. The endeavor began in 2013, we released our debut album in 2016 to unexpected praise and The Du-Rites has been instrumental in helping me rekindle my passion for music. November 2020 saw the release of our fifth album, A Funky Bad Time. We’ve also released a slew of 7″ singles in the tradition of the funk bands I grew up listening to. The Du-Rites have played on songs behind Eddie Palmieri, Robert Glasper and Ghostface Killah, while the film score for Bobbito’s Rock Rubber 45s features our music prominently. With me on drums and Pablo on bass and guitar (we split the keyboard duties), I’m finally making the music that started this wild ride back in the 1980s. It took 30 years to get here – with a lot of insane twists and turns and a rap career sandwiched in-between – but sometimes the hard route makes the ride more exciting. The small victories and urge to make it funky should keep me going till I can’t anymore.
Happy Birthday
To Steve Jordan. who’s birthday is Jan 14th. Heres the video Damon talked about.
Happy Birthday to the late great Gene Krupa, who was born on Jan 15th.
Happy Birthday to Changuito. Friend of the show, Marcos Lopez, suggests this album where Changuito is playing drums.
Social Soundbyte
The Comedy Central episode with Questlove and Method Man talks about the history of hip hop.
The book Damon refers to is called The Big Payback by Dan Charnas.
Gig Alerts
Namm’s Believe In Music Week is now open as a virtual festival. Registration is free for all. Click THIS LINK, to register.
The annual Kennedy Center Honorees have been announced: choreographer, and actress Debbie Allen; singer-songwriter and activist Joan Baez; country singer-songwriter Garth Brooks; violinist Midori; and actor Dick Van Dyke.
The Kennedy Center Honors are prestigious, "lifetime artistic achievement" awards that are typically announced over the summer and then celebrated at a splashy gala performance in December that is later broadcast on TV. The pandemic scrapped those plans for 2020 and will affect the festivities this year as well. The Kennedy Center says the 43rd Honors Gala will be modified to meet safety protocols with a series of smaller events for reduced audiences to take place over the course of a week beginning May 17, airing on June 6th on CBS. -Article
Educational Spotlight
The Breakbeat Bible, by Mike Adamo, provides the most in-depth study of breakbeat and hip-hop drumming in print. The style is divided into thirteen essential elements, with each element discussed in its own chapter. Hundreds of exercises and beats give the reader ample opportunity to practice the elements, which, when assembled, will give the drummer the ability to integrate a complete language of incredibly funky concepts into his or her playing.
Over 90 transcriptions of beats and breaks provide the reader with a window into hip-hop/breakbeat drumming. Included are some of the most sampled beats in music historyincluding information about the original song and later songs that used the sample. Also included is a historical overview of hip-hop and breakbeat drumming, as well as biographies of many of the architects that helped design the culture. -Buy THIS BOOK
Friend of the show, Dafnis Prieto, is giving a masterclass through the Sabian Education Network. His book is called “A World of Rhythmic Possibilities”.
Conga Chops by friend of the show, Paulo Stagnaro, not only has conga lessons and timbale lessons (provided by Marcos Lopez), but as of Friday the 22nd, will be launching Bongo lessons (provided by friend and ex-host Marcos Torres).
There are all kinds of lessons, exercises, play along tracks and more!
You can even hear one of the later examples. This audio is the third to last lesson in the course, where everything that has been learned is put together in a Salsa Dura style. The Track on they’re playing over is Quítate La Máscara by Ray Barretto.
Product Review
The product talked about is the Roland Verselab MV1
Iconic Recording
Por Encima del Nivel by Juan Formell y Los Van Van featuring Changuito on timbales.
Music News
At a virtual conference hosted by the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, Dr. Anthony Fauci said it would be safe to hold concerts, open movie theaters, and resume other live events once the US achieves herd immunity “some time in the fall.” (Via New York Times.)
The nation’s foremost expert on infectious diseases cautioned that our ability to return to normal would depend on the success of the vaccine rollout. He estimated that herd immunity would be reached when between 70-85% of the population had received the jab. “If everything goes right, this is will occur some time in the fall of 2021,” he said, “so that by the time we get to the early to mid-fall, you can have people feeling safe performing onstage as well as people in the audience.” -Article
Gov. Cuomo Says Concerts Could Return Next Month With ‘Rapid Testing’. Cuomo’s government has attempted to prohibit musicians from performing at ticketed events, though artists legally fought back for that right. But that victory remains moot with large blocks of the state and New York City on lockdown and many indoor venues facing imminent shutdown. Still, some outdoor events are already planned for February, with the help of several organizations. As reported by the Gothamist: “The state’s New York Arts Revival will be a public/private partnership with a mission of bringing the arts back through pop-up performances and events, set to begin in early February and featuring the likes of Wynton Marsalis, Amy Schumer, and Chris Rock.” -Article
Inauguration Day Performers Revealed — Lady Gaga to Sing National Anthem
The song leading into the interview is “Cant Buy Groove” by Jay Mumford.
Jay Mumford Interview
The book Jay wrote is called “Root for the Villain: Rap, Bullshit and a Celebration of Failure”.
Jay started as a bass player and listened to his parents jazz and soul records. Jay mentions A Love Supreme Part 3 Pursuance.
Jay’s first concert was seeing Chico Hamilton in the Greenwich Public Library in CT.
Damon brings up the cities that Jay grew up in of Larchmont/Mamaroneck in Westchester County, NY and Jamaica Queens. The song Damon brings up is the KRS-One hit, “The Bridge is Over”.
Damon mentions how some hip hop musicians are from that area of Queens that Jay grew up in. Jay mentions some other musicians including drummers like: Lenny White, Billy Cobham, and Tony Thompson. Also, how the building structures of this particular neighborhood lent to more music being created.
One of the Queens rappers he worked with as a drummer is Pharoahe Monch.
Damon talks about the history of what Breakbeats are. Jay mentions the song “Cold Sweat” by James Brown. Jay mentions Dwight Burns of The T.S.U. Toronados who were the backing band for Archie Bell & The Drells, as well as Funky Broadway by Dyke & the Blazers.
Other songs/bands he mentions are Dizzy by Tommy Roe and The Turtles.
Jay talks about how Motown drummers were also Jazz musicians and had their own idiosyncrasies.
One of Jay’s favorite drummers is George "Funky" Brown.
Damon and Jay talk about the drummers that can play with a J Dilla type lilt in their groove like: Daru Jones, Adam Deitch, Chris “Daddy” Dave, Nate Smith, Questlove and more.
Jay mentions one of his favorite beats is “Wah Wah Man” by Young-Holt Unlimited.
Damon mentions some popular songs that included legendary break beats. Funky Drummer, The Big Beat, Papa Was Too, Amen Brother, and Rocksteady. He also mentions the site Who Sampled (dot) com where you can lookup beats and samples. Jay mentions that there is also, the Ultimate Breaks and Beats by "BreakBeat Lou" Flores.
Jay talks about his transition from playing breakbeats to touring in a band.
The band that Jay started is called the Du-Rites. They are an instrumental funk band with Tom Tom Club guitarist and mastering engineer, Pablo Martin. The endeavor began in 2013, when they released their debut album in 2016 to unexpected praise. The Du-Rites have been instrumental in helping Jay rekindle his passion for music. November 2020 saw the release of their fifth album, A Funky Bad Time. They’ve also released a slew of 7″ singles in the tradition of the funk bands Jay grew up listening to.
Jay talks about how recording himself and listening back was great for improving his time quickly and also paying attention to the length of the sound created. Making sure all the notes had their full and intended value.
Damon talks about the Tom Tom Club and goes on a little musical tangent talking about their hit song Geinus of Love, which was later sampled by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five as well as Mariah Carey (featuring ODB).
Jay mentions his interview series, “Give the Drummer Some” where he’s gotten to interview some drumming legends and some of the adventures that came out of those interviews. He mentions some of the drummers he’s interacted with as well.
Damon brings up 777-9311 by the time and Jay confirms that it was Dave Garabaldi that did the drum programing on it. If you want to learn that groove on drums, check out Curt Bisquera.
Jay tells the story of working with Bobbito Garcia and Rock Rubber 45s.
Jay talks about his various breakbeats and what his clients ask for from him, including Lunch Breaks. His research on the various drummers was important in coming up with the right sounds.
Damon talks about sampling and the iconic Cosby Show episode. Also, he brings up Daniel Lanois who is a great producer and is able to do that live on the bandstand.
Damon and Jay geek out on the Amen brother break and how that influenced drummers like JoJo Mayer and Johnny Rabb with playing DJ beats on the drum set.
Jay talks about how the loop libraries have been big during the time of covid. A couple of the bigger ones are from The Loop Loft (by friend of the show Ryan Gruss) and Splice. Damon talks about how covid has changed the way people are performing, like Marc Rebillet.
Jay names some of his favorite breaks. The aforementioned “Wah Wah Man” (drums - Isaac "Redd" Holt), “Give it Up'“, “Chocolate Buttermilk” (drums - George “Funky’ Brown) “Epilog” (drums -Jack DeJohnette), “Hunk O’ Funk” (drums - Joe Dukes), “Spinning Wheel” (drums - Joe Dukes), “Check Your Bucket” (drums - James Black), “Soul Drums” (drums - Bernard Purdie), “Energy Level” (drums - Leslie Ming), “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (drums - Steve Gadd). “Funky Broadway” (drums - Bernard Purdie).
Jay talks about how merch gets you down the road as a touring musician.
You can follow Jay on his Website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
The song leading out of the interview is called “Rock Rubber 45s”.
