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We thought we were done with Whiplash.
Interesting movie. Not trying to be "real". The questions people ask us about it gradually fewer with the passing of the years.
A useful touchpoint for cultural references. "Not quite my tempo" has become the "Greed is Good" or "You can't handle the truth" for anyone with a toe in the music world.
But that's not all. Art shapes life.
Ten years ago, Adam Neely contrasted the music of Whiplash with what "real jazz students" of the time would likely be listening to. With the gradual seepage of the movie into the zeitgeist, "real life" jazz has become closer to the Whiplash.
Internet stars built entire careers in the wake of the movie.
I'm not saying any of this is good or bad. It's the way popular art works. But it does mean we can talk about Whiplash again. We should talk about it. If it's going to be the general public's avatar for what jazz drummers do, we get to set the record straight, in much the same way medical professionals would want to if Grey's Anatomy were the only portrayal of them, or pilots if Snakes on a Plane or Airplane were the only popular portrayals of them.
All of which leads us to the question: is the movie's central character, Andrew Niemann, standard-bearer in the popular consciousness for "jazz drummer", actually any good? He who broke up with his girlfriend, bled, performed with a concussion, committed assault and battery onstage, all in pursuit of being "one of the greats"...
...if we compare him to real life jazz drummers - the "real life" version of a jazz drummer at one of the world's leading music schools - how does he hold up?
Well, it's a more interesting question than it might appear.
For starters, which "Andrew" are we talking about? If it's the Andrew on the backing tracks for the big band recordings the bands pantomime along to, then who we're hearing is actually real life pro Bernie Dressel. Google him. He plays in a bit of a "classic" style, but he's legit.
Likewise, if we critique the drumming of the "body double" whose hands we see in many of the solos, Kyle Crane. Look him up on Youtube. Kyle Crane is legit.
Even actor Miles Teller himself, veteran of garage bands but with nothing like the experience his character would have had upon enrolling at the fictitious Shaffer Conservatory, deserves kudos for "crash coursing" traditional grip, jazz beats, and even some of the songs.
That's Miles playing Whipash in the "chair" scene, once Fletcher stops the band and counts off he specific "rushing or dragging" section.
Of course teller doesn't have anything like the touch and acumen his real life equivalents would, but my issue is less with any of the actual drumming in the film than with what the film portrays as important.
What it chooses to emphasize.
Practice till your hands bleed.
Double time swing.
Solos.
Sure - the last 2 are real parts of jazz drumming, though we wouldn't call it "double time" (just "up"). But just as important is what the film leaves out. How about regular swing? Kind of important, right? Touch. Subdivision. (In the "rushing or dragging" scene, what's more important than the tempo is the "nervous" pulse Teller plays, though it's realistic to a character under as much stress as he was.)
Not to mention body movement and mechanics.
So today, we'll get into it. For fun. But, lest anybody think "this old movie again?" No. Doctors got The Pitt. Soldiers and police get their more realistic portrays. If Hollywood isn't going to give us any attempt at realism, we get to earn clicks by calling them out.
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