5 out of 5

Label: self-released

Produced by: Bobby Previte

I’m not “a drum person.” We know those persons exist, and, er, I imagine many of them are drummers, but surely there are appreciators who can go in for a solo drum show and enjoy themselves. Often (or at least in my limited exposure) such things are hosted by virtuoso types with huge setups, hitting many things in short succession, and so there’s a certain Wow factor, but I lose patience with that. Drummers do catch my ear when they’re part of a larger sound, for sure – a band; some extra layers of ambience or keys – but I don’t know that I’ve been able to do a truly drums-only listen and legitimately remain engaged.

Of the drummers I do pay attention to, Bobby Previte seems like the odd man out. He’s not necessarily flashy and he often leans into traditional jazz – far away from the post-rock leanings of, say, Doug Scharin, of whom I am a fan, leanings which can give me a “hook” into music I might not otherwise try out. But almost always (and probably actually always, if I had a better ear), Previte finds a way to add a bit of edge; some personality to even the most tame or straight-forward piece, and is able to add unique shape to not only his solo work, but also his many collaborations. Shape that is ever-changing, while linked by that edge.

Pathways For Drum Set is another odd man out in my collection, both overall, and my small set of stuff from Bobby: it’s live, somewhat ambient – but not drone – drumming, and that’s it. It was recorded during COVID, and the song titles suggest the composition tracks a walk through nature; perhaps through some landmark. For those who were up and bopping during COVID, wandering outside could be… interesting. There was the isolation – which may have been the norm depending on where you were but took on a different taint at the time – and the kind of defiance of being outside for extended periods (though I admit that feeling is shaped by my having been in a city at the time).

But even if those weren’t your experiences, there was an experience, a personal one – maybe just a secondary reaction to the world, if not felt firstly – and that’s what Bobby has translated here, via a sole instrument.

The walk starts out pretty upbeat; Bobby will return here, but as things go on, it gets layered with reflections that are coded soberly, or thoughtfully. I don’t think it ever really feels sad, but the experience is deep; it’s very immersive: an artist truly talking with his instrument. If it’s not apparent from my roundabout explanations, this is not a show-off piece of drumming, but it’s also not an art piece: these are songs, though they do flow into one another.

Analyzation beyond that feels like it would require me to be able to speak more about this particular instrument in a way that’s beyond my abilities. All I can add is: I didn’t read the copy about COVID during my initial spin, but I was caught up in the music all the same. A glance at the song titles – which detail the path of the walk – added another layer, then the background blurb another. In other words: there are no requirements for hearing the story told by “Pathways.” You don’t need to be a drumming fan, or a jazz fan. It’s pure mood music.