Give The Drummer* Some!

I can admit to being late for events on occasion, including wor…well, I’m late for a fair number of things. (Don’t judge me.) On March 29th, however, as I entered the Guitar Center 10 minutes LATE for Anthony Capers' drum clinic, I felt an ever growing sense of regret for letting procrastination prevail. The Country Club Hills location is by no means a large space, but the full sound of Anthony Capers (AKA "Big Ant") and guest performers Black Slang swelled beyond the boundaries of the walls, spilled into the vestibule and boldly greeted me at the door.

“Damn. Ya’ll feel dat?”

They were playing Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” arranged by Big Ant, but I’ll get to that shortly…

Big Ant assembled talent of premier rank for the opening of his second drum clinic with Junius Paul-bass, Kevin Nabors-sax,Corey Wilkes-trumpet, Greg Spero-keys (collectively known as Black Slang) and Chris Paquette-percussion. In the center of it all, appropriately positioned as if upon a throne, was Anthony Capers holding court and drumming the divinity out of a full drum kit. The energy from the floor consumed the crowd as the crew grooved their way through a sophisticated and soulful “remix” of John Coltrane’s “Giant Steps”. When I found out later that Anthony Capers actually arranged the piece, I knew two things:

1. I had found the subject of my next blog piece, and

2. This man is not “just” a drummer, he is a musician *

The arrangement was alluring, marrying technical skill, timing, talent, genres and fun to present a true auditory delight. Big Ant approached what he calls the remix of Coltrane’s “Giant Steps” with an audacious nature. After all, “Giant Steps” is a standard composed in such a complex and forward manner that its rapid progression of chord changes over several different keys gave way to the term “Coltrane changes”. The band made minced meat out of that beat and blended it into a stew of soul, funk and jazz that truly fed my soul.



As a true testament to his true versatility, Ant wrapped up one jam session, fielded a few questions and encouraged a young man to “keep playing” only to introduce the next jam session with the group Sugar Pusher. Group member Matt Kerr provided the vocals on a high flying rendition of the Beatles’ classic hit “Get Back”. The collective of talent came together so cohesively that being a fan of rock was not a pre-requisite for enjoying the second half of the clinic. It was just good music.



After witnessing his talent for myself, there is no wonder why performers from gospel to hip hop look to Ant Capers for backing. He exhibits true showmanship during a performance that can be peppered with amusement, serious focus or even an impressed look for his fellow performers. While he urged clinic participants to ask questions about technique, it was obvious that the language of the drums is suitably his native tongue. I look forward to seeing Ant use his language to speak to the masses, but you can follow him for show information via facebook, screen name:Anthony Capers.