Rashied Ali has been one of my favorite drummers for a while. He played with John Coltrane and comes from an avant-garde jazz background. His playing, (a lot of it at least), is very improvisatory and complicated. Not complicated in the sense where he is just spinning his wheels, but complicated in the sense of being extremely exploratory, daring and fluid.

A record I highly recommend checking out is “Duo Exchange”, released in 1973 on the Blue Note jazz record label, it stands as a powerful statement on avant-jazz, improvisational drumming. Its just Rashied Ali and a horn player; Frank Lowe, 2 tracks, around 20 minutes each. The music featured on this album may be hard to listen to for some, but the fruits of your listening are worth it as it shifts from intenese driving sections to slow, moody sections with oddly placed accents coming from Ali.

Ali is all over his kit on this album, with amazing tom tom sections being the highlight of the drum sound. Even if you aren’t into jazz or the somewhat abrasive sound of this record, if you’re into drumming there is a lot you can pick up here. When I first heard this record, there were so many drum tricks, fills and accents I’d never heard before. Great album and an amazing drummer.