Dr.Marvin Smith and Bumar records

Publication: Modern Drummer : MD Author: Petrides, Ron Date published: February 1, 2011 Although jazz drummer Marvin "Bugalu" Smith
Publication: Modern Drummer : MD
Author: Petrides, Ron
Date published: February 1, 2011
Although jazz drummer Marvin "Bugalu" Smith recorded and toured with two jazz icons, Sun Ra and Archie Shepp, I had never heard of him until two friends of mine, saxophonist David Schnitter and bassist Mark Hagan, told me about driving up to a club in Newburgh, New York, to play with him. A few weeks later, Dave, Mark, and I were slated to play at a club in Nyack, and we needed a drummer. Mark suggested Bugalu, who arrived at the gig with an entourage of students and was decked out in outlandish garb: pointed Chinese straw hat, black Chinese hand fan, black cape, and Zebra-striped jacket. I thought, I see-this is coming out of his years with Sun Ra. Later I learned I'd been mistaken; Bugalu was dressing this way early on. We settled down to the business of making music, and I immediately found him a consummate technician and an amazing showman, twirling sticks during rhythmic passages, bouncing the sticks off the drumheads and catching them in midair, all with the raw energy and intensity of the streets.
When Bugalu invited me up to the club in Newburgh as a featured artist, I got to witness yet another of his talents. He recorded the gig on a 24-track Tascam portable studio and did all the mixing and editing at home. The quality of his work was truly remarkable-clear, warm, and robust, the kinds of traits you find in classic analog recordings.
Later, while talking about the method and purpose of his teaching, Bugalu said to me-with urgency and a subtle pain in his raspy voice-"You see, I want to pass on what I do to my boys so they can have it when I'm gone. I can't live forever, and I don't want it to get lost. I'd take a knife and cut it out of me and give it to somebody if I could." Bugalu's sincerity and conviction moved me to the core; I wanted to know more about this man, and I asked him to tell me his story.
Bugalu, one of four children, grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, the son of a carpenter who built the family house, which featured a practice studio. It appears the drums were a form of self-therapy for Bugalu, who was dyslexic and did poorly in school. "I tried really hard to do the work-summer school, tutors-but I just couldn't get it," he says, "and until sixth grade, I cried and cried...I had the hecklers on me. But after sixth grade I said, 'I'm not gonna cry no more. I'm gonna learn one thing, and when I come back and show you what it is, you all won't be able to laugh at me no more.'"
Bugalu's practice regimen seemed a bit too obsessive to his older brother. Buster (himself a highly regarded drummer who performed with Arnett Cobb and Sun Ra, among others), who would say, "You're being crazy. You're like a bear. You go in the house and start practicing in January and come out in April."
As a young man, Bugalu toured Italy with saxophonist Tyree Grimm Jr. and eventually settled there, staying for approximately twenty years while making frequent trips back to the States. In Italy he worked with Rocky Roberts, an African-American singer who was a big star there and was responsible for introducing American soul music to Italian audiences, recording and performing songs in Italian. While in Italy, Bugalu became a Buddhist, which plays an important role in his life and thought.
MD: How did you get the name Bugalu?
Bugalu: I was with Tyree in Italy and, at a concert, peered around the curtain and saw so many beautiful women. I went and told Tyree, "Man, there's some fine boogaloo out there," and showed him. He said, "That's a great name for you," and that's been my name ever since.
MD: How long were you with Archie Shepp and Sun Ra?
Bugalu: I was with Shepp from 1982 through 1987 and with Sun Ra from around 1987 to 1992. From '86 to '87 I went back and forth between the two of them.
MD: A noticeable feature in your performances is twirling, bouncing, and catching the drumsticks.
Bugalu: All that came about accidentally one night with Shepp. While I was playing, a stick fell out of my hand, hit the tomtom, bounced up and hit me in the head, hit the tom-tom, and bounced up again. I was reaching over to get the stick, and it came right back in my hand. Shepp happened to see this and said, "Man, you gotta develop that," so I practiced a system of bouncing, catching, and twirling the sticks.
I had a great time with Archie. He was something else. He would speak real street, you know, but when a woman would come in, he would transform into perfect British. We recorded several records with Kenny Werner on piano and Santi Debriano on bass.
MD: How did Shepp express what he wanted from the drummer?
Bugalu: Actually, Shepp never rehearsed with me. He would just say, "Let's go." I remember on my first night he said, "Play as fast as you can, and I'll come in." Kenny Werner and Santi Debriano knew what was going on, but I didn't. Santi, Kenny, and I liked playing together, and in the studio we talked a bit, but Shepp didn't say much; you had to intuitively know what he wanted. It was the same with Sun Ra-you had to have the right instincts. He would do things like point up, and you would play in the higher register on the cymbal bell, He'd point to the middle and you'd play on the tom-toms; he'd point down and you'd play on the low tom and bass drum. But that's about it.
MD: Can you shed some light on your years with Sun Ra?
Bugalu: My brother, Buster, was playing with Sun Ra, but I got him the gig. Sonny said, "We're gonna train your brother how to play the charts." You see, I was the only drummer that Sun Ra actually took somewhere without having to have a million drummers. Usually he would have several drummers playing different things. He'd get me in that band, and I'd play all of those songs, all the stomps, accents, all the big-band shit, and then you'd have four or five other drummers playing some random shit. But I'm the only drummer who did it alone. I'm on the DVD East Berlin And West Berlin, which presents two sets: The West Berlin performance, with the Sun Ra All Stars, is with Shepp, Philly Joe, and so on, but on the other, in East Berlin, I'm the only drummer.
MD: With Sun Ra, how did you manage by yourself to cover what several drummers did?
Bugalu: First, you needed to be able to do the stomp, bebop, swing, and the free thing. Sometimes I just played one of those things, but sometimes I would actually, play time with one hand and play the free thing with the other hand.
MD: Let's talk about your gear. You use a small bass drum.
Bugalu: I use a 16'' bass drum, which was originally a floor tom that I modified. It's a 6-ply drum, which I like because it has greater resonance than an 8-ply. My drum has no sinkhole where the manufacturers put their emblem. I closed the hole up, so it makes my drum explode faster. My bass drum is tuned to approximately a low G-flat. I have an 18'' bass drum with the legs mounted so that it stands like a floor tom, which adds a wonderful dynamic color.
I always use UFIP Italian cymbals. I really like the way they sound. My brother used them first, long before I went to Italy.
MD: Who are your main influences?
Bugalu: First and foremost my brother, Buster. He was bad. Then Elvin, Roy Haynes, all those cats.
MD: How did your brother shape your development?
Bugalu: He was eighteen years older than me, so when I was young he had already played with Eric Dolphy, Oscar Pettiford, Benny Bailey, and so on, and had toured the world. He showed me how to hold the sticks. He held them in a different manner where the hand had more leverage and more control. He showed me the sticking on paradiddles and how to feather the bass drum. I was so small that I wondered how he could play so light with such a big foot. Mainly, though, I learned from just watching him practice.
I remember him playing along with Horace Silver's record "Sister Sadie" every day because he liked what Louis Hayes did on that record. I remember the smile it put on his face, so I did the same thing-for twenty years. Also, Buster had listening sessions with me and would make me identify a drummer in a bar or two.
MD: What did you learn from listening to Louis Hayes?
Bugalu: From that record I learned the function of the drums-the time, the nuances, and the accents. I learned how to lay down the groove and how to let the left hand dance.
MD: And from Art Blakey?
Bugalu: I took the shuffle-he had the best shuffle in the business. And I copied his solos.
MD: And Elvin Jones?
Bugalu: He sounded different from all the others...more African. He messed me up, so I had to study with him. I took lessons with him at Ippolito's Drum Shop for twenty-five dollars back in the mid-'60s. In the first lesson he taught me paradiddles with accents. In the second lesson he grabbed the sticks and played the ride cymbal with the butt-incredible power. Elvin had no rules and did the unexpected. When he played a fill, just when you'd expect him to hit the cymbal on the downbeat, he would do something else. Elvin opened me up to a more free approach.
MD: I noticed that on the Archie Shepp recordings the drummer is listed as Marvin Smith, and that on several websites the sessions are attributed to "Smitty" Smith. What's up with that?
Bugalu: Look, I recorded those sessions a long time ago, and I don't need to prove nothin'. Anyone who listens to them would know that's my playing.
MD: How has Buddhism impacted your music?
Bugalu: Through Buddhism I learned that life is about constant change, and it's beautiful if you can take constant change and maintain constant balance. I made that my system of drumming. I'm changing all the time, with each performance, with its different members, the weight of the bandstand.... If you maintain balance, then you're good.
Author affiliation:
Guitarist/composer Ron Petrides teaches at the New School For Jazz And Contemporary Music. He has performed with Walter Bishop Jr., Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Hart, Tony Bennett, and Lena Horne. … See Less