THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2025
The LVC Jazz Program’s latest guest artist, John Riley, began his Jazz Masterclass with an overview of the path that got him to be one of the most successful jazz drummers, having performed and played on records with some of the biggest names in the jazz world.
Riley mentioned that in high school, a coach had persuaded him to join the football team, but after a week, he quit and returned to band, a decision for which the jazz community is no doubt grateful.
Joined by several members of the LVC Jazz Faculty, Riley performed two jazz standards: “Night and Day” by Cole Porter and “Footprints” by Wayne Shorter. Riley used these pieces to illustrate the conversational nature of good jazz music, as experienced players treat their instruments as extensions of themselves, and are able to focus their mental energy on listening to what their fellow musicians are saying with their musical choices.
He also offered some insight into the development of the use of the bass drum since the improvements of bass amplification over the years. The bass drum now has a less obvious role, as something more subtle that supports the bassist, and is more noticeable when taken away than when present.
John Riley also turned to other music to offer a more complex analysis of creative rhythm and pulse, playing excerpts from music by pianist Tigran Hamasyan and the “heavy metal bluegrass” band The Punch Brothers. Both featured complicated meter breakdowns, which Riley used to explain the different ways that pulse can be understood.
Riley credits his success to his curiosity, saying that he is always looking for new sounds and new music that he does not yet understand, so that he can grow in his experience. He even said that some of the music that he would be playing with the Valley Jazz Orchestra at that night’s concert, composed by LVC’s own Dr. Justin Morell, stood out to him as something new and challenging to be studied and understood.
“What we need to do, when we’re intrigued by something, is dig into it.” – John Riley
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