Sherrie Maricle: Secrets of Big-Band Drumming

The DIVA Jazz Orchestra leader on technique, teaching, gear and why stuffing a blanket inside your bass drum isn’t the answer. Plus: the 5 common pitfalls for developing big-band drummers

For a young Sherrie Maricle, there was never any question about where to focus her efforts behind the kit. “It was definitely jazz, and it was definitely big band,” she shares. At the age of 11, Maricle encountered Buddy Rich and his Killer Force in concert, and that proved to be a formative experience. “I had never really heard jazz before then,” she recalls. “But when I heard that, every hair on my body stood on end, I got goosebumps, and I raced home and told my mother I had to play the drums and be a big-band drummer.”  

Maricle lived up to that ambition. Mentored by the legendary Mel Lewis, among others, she became the driving force behind the groundbreaking all-woman DIVA Jazz Orchestra, from its inception in the early ’90s all the way to the present. Also a gifted educator keen on passing down practical knowledge, Maricle recently spoke with Music & Arts about the musicianship drummers need to propel a big band.

Charting a Course

When asked about notable challenges early on in her journey, Maricle’s response is clear and to the point: “I remember looking at the music and not understanding some of the notation. This was the ’70s, and there was no standard drum-set notation. And there’s still no standardized drum-set chart today. It’s much more standardized than it was back then, but sometimes you get something that’s overwritten, and sometimes you get a chart with a line that just says, ‘Play eight measures.’ So there’s the process of simply understanding how to read it.”

In learning how to decode charts, Maricle also came to the realization that listening is understanding. “My advice for any person is to really listen—check out any type of big-band music that’s related to the chart you may be playing in school, and try to copy things and transcribe fills or common figures that you hear. You could be playing a Maria Schneider chart or a Darcy James Argue piece or a Basie chart or a DIVA Jazz chart. And they’re all so different stylistically. So nothing will do you better service than your ear. That’s how I learned how to play and kick a big band.” Offering examples of drummers who make for great teachers on record, Maricle mentions Rich, Lewis, Jeff Hamilton, Dennis Mackrel, “Papa” Jo Jones, John Von Ohlen and Rufus Jones, among others.

Between the Lines, Beyond the Script

Going deeper into the process, Maricle emphasizes the importance of knowing how to lead an ensemble toward points of emphasis. “After I navigated how to understand the written figures and read them in the context of a chart, I learned that it’s the drummer’s job to play in between them,” she says. “That’s the fuel of the fire of big-band playing—how you set things up, how you kick the band.”

Though some band directors advise students to stick with what’s written, Maricle favors a more real-world approach. “I would always encourage in every possible manner to have rhythm-section kids improvising, at least in part when they’re playing [to support] solos,” she explains. “That magical thing happens there—just playing a groove and a time feel and creating an awesome pocket—and it elevates the music. Of course you can do it by playing the written part. But the better thing to do is to listen and communicate in the moment.”

Technique Is Transferable

Having played in her high-school marching band, Maricle is never shy about promoting the importance of snare-drum technique and how it transfers to the kit. “The 40 basic rudiments are [foundational for] drumming, and they’re applicable across the board on drum set,” she says. “They develop your technique, and they support and serve as sticking patterns that you use for fills and beat patterns in both your hands and feet. I think playing the snare-drum repertoire that comes through marching band, or by working with rudimental drumming books, is essential.”

Common Percussion Pitfalls

As a frequent adjudicator at educational festivals, Maricle has seen and heard it all. Quick to praise great work from students and teachers, she also notes that many drummers in these scenarios struggle in the same areas.

1. “The first thing is that some drummers ignore what the band is doing and just keep time. But in many cases, that’s probably because they’re something of a beginner.” 
2. “Next, I’ll hear kids ignoring figures that the band is playing … or they’ll play the written figures but not kick them. They see music that’s aligned with a shout section that the ensemble is playing, and they just start playing on the snare drum and cymbal instead of filling in the spaces and kicking.”  
3. “The third thing is when they’re not communicating with the rest of the rhythm section; they’re keeping their heads buried in the music. That makes it sound like four or five separate people instead of a rhythm section.”
4. “On a different note, many times the drummer might be playing an uptempo tune with a loud bass drum on beats 1 and 3, and snare drum on 2 and 4. That ends up sounding like a polka; it has no swing to it. I hear boom, chick, boom, chick, and that instantly knocks the swing right out of it.”   
5. “The last thing would be a lack of clarity in deciding what the grooves really are. I don’t mean drawing a distinction between postmodern swing as opposed to straight-ahead. What I’m talking about is when it’s supposed to be a mambo and the kids are playing a bossa nova or a rock groove. They need to understand, in a general sense, what the grove is supposed to be.”

Brushing Up

Brushes are a necessity for any jazz player, yet Maricle notes that they’re often overlooked in a drum student’s formative years. “I get a lot of college students that have never touched a brush … and I make them learn!” she says with a laugh. Maricle notes the personal, distinctive nature of brush technique: “As far as the swishing and swirling patterns, there are a few standard things that you can go with. But I think it depends on what feels best in your hands—swirling clockwise, counter-clockwise, etc. Watch as many videos as possible, and try things out and see what feels most natural.”

Maricle initially played counterclockwise (à la the great Peter Erskine), and then reversed course at Mel Lewis’ urging. Later, she picked up some pointers from Hamilton. Today, it’s safe to say she knows more than a thing or two about brush technique (and her brushes of choice are Vic Firth’s Heritage Brushes). She notes that written resources can be of assistance in this area—Philly Joe Jones’ Brush Artistry, for one—but also emphasizes a clear through line in the larger conversation: the educational value in listening and watching.

Where Ears Meet Gear

Beyond the art of big-band drumming is the sound that helps define it. Maricle—a clinician for Yamaha Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Aquarian Drumheads and Vic Firth Drumsticks—has a clear sense of what that means, both for her own identity as a musician and within the larger tradition:

“For cymbals,” she says, “I tend to lean more towards warm and dark overtones. I think they blend better with an acoustic band. I play Sabian Artisan Light cymbals and some Hand Hammered ones. They’re generally lighter in texture and darker in tone, and I just feel that they blend nicely and create a beautiful texture in the band. I also use a Fast Crash, which decays quickly, so you can have band punches with shorter notes and the cymbal doesn’t keep ringing.  And also a gigantic 22-inch Mel Lewis Swish Knocker cymbal.

“When it comes to sticks, I prefer something lighter—I use a Vic Firth SD4. It’s a rounder bead, so the cymbal is very articulated, especially on the ride cymbal, which is a key signature in jazz. And I play maple drums, which deliver a warmer sound. I always encourage white-coated heads instead of anything plastic, especially if you want to play with brushes. Thinner is better—nothing too thick—and maybe a medium-ply on the bass drum. When the heads are really thick you get less reverberation and less vibration from the instrument, and it makes it sound like you’re playing on cardboard boxes.

“I would never recommend stuffing drums. Many teachers I’ve seen have drums stuffed with blankets or pillows or comforters—just everything you can possibly do to cut the natural sound of the drum, which I don’t fully understand. Maybe use a little bit of a felt strip, but you still want the drum to have resonance for acoustic jazz. As far as tuning for big-band drumming, if you have the drums all tweaked up like bebop drums, I don’t think that works well for a big band. I like the drums to be on the lower side because I think it lifts the band more.”

Shop drums and drum method books at Music & Arts!

Educators! Let our industry-leading School Services take your program to the next level. Open an Educator Account today!