1Lk0itV

“New York defines who
you are as a musician
because you realize
pretty quickly that
everyone here can play”
at the University of Denver. His study of poetry
undoubtedly informed the thematic nature of
his drumming and the impressive structure of his
musical compositions. “When I read Langston
Hughes at DU,” Royston said, “I realized, ‘This
is music, the rhythm of it, the development of it,
the theme of it—the whole beauty of a blank piece
of paper that you are going to create a timeless
work on. It’s a canvas for you to work with. I fell
in love with the beauty of words, and it reminded
me of the beauty of melody. Poetry is like music.
Music is like poetry.”
Performing in May with guitarist Jeff
McLaughlin’s trio at the tiny Bar Next Door in
Greenwich Village, Royston injected “Stella By
Starlight” with dizzying layers of rhythmic complexity,
gracefully shifting the rhythm between
half-time and 4/4, dissecting the pulse and then
digging into a deep, wide groove. Royston’s playing
provided a lesson in musicality and possibility,
like a poet grooving high. This elasticity
of approach also informs 303, especially its
suite-like title track.
“I didn’t want to have a conventional song
form, like AABA for ‘303,’” Royston said. “I wanted
it to be more like AA, and then we went into
a completely different feel. We don’t return to the
first melody; we transition in the middle and go
somewhere else. We didn’t have to return to the
top of the tune. It went in another direction, into a
different realm. Then the song ends.”
303 ranges from tranquil original compositions
(“Mimi Sunrise”) to Mozart (“Ave
Verum Corpus”) to an interpretation of
Radiohead’s “High And Dry.”
“Rudy had a vision for this band, and it
worked,” Felder said. “Rudy’s tunes are very
through-composed and very sectional and he
trusts his musicians. He let us do our own thing
and sound like ourselves. It’s always good when a
bandleader trusts you to play who you are. I don’t
think [this music] would have worked with a different
drummer or a different bandleader. Like a
lot of great drummers, Rudy is a texturalist.”
Nine years on, Royston still appreciates the
trial by fire he experienced as a drummer landing
in New York City. Perhaps his next album
will be titled 212.
“New York defines who you are as a musician
because you realize pretty quickly that everyone
here can play,” Royston explained. “But what
can you say that will make you different from
these other 20 drummers? If you don’t figure that
out, you’re going to get lost in the swirl of drum
sounds. You find out where you are and who
you are; it refines you because you’re in the middle
of all that. Iron sharpens iron. You’re immediately
playing better because you’re around all
these great musicians. After that initial shock of
getting better, then the work comes. Then you
get it together.”
DB
AUGUST 2014 DOWNBEAT 51