The Drum Thing by Deirdre O’Callaghan was originally published 2016. It now appears in a compact edition. The book features nearly a hundred drummers, from all genres but with jazz well-represented. Fortunately, O’Callaghan doesn’t photograph them on stage, but meets them in their own spaces – bedrooms, studios and basements.
The photographer left her native Ireland when she was 18, moving eventually to London. In her early 20s she began to get seriously interested in photography. Her project on drummers began as a magazine feature, for which she photographed eight drummers. When she met the charismatic Roy Haynes at Ronnie Scott’s, she knew she needed to broaden her scope. She met Sarah Lowe, wife of Jim Sclavunos the drummer for Nick Cave, and they began making a list. This book is the result.
In an online interview, O’Callaghan explains the history of the volume. “Once I started going into their own environments, everything changed,” she comments. “With drummers especially, the question of where you keep your kit says everything. The space reflects the person’s personality and their relationship to the instrument.” A particular favourite was the late Milford Graves: “His whole space was like a wizard’s lair. There was so much to discover.” She explains her method: “My natural approach is always to set up rather than shoot on the fly… There was no question of sneaking around corners grabbing shots. That’s not my style.”
Her previous long-term photography projects were also about communities. For her first book, Hide That Can, she spent four years photographing the men of Arlington House, a hostel in the Camden area of London. The concept behind the present volume is just as original. Usually there are interviews, of varying lengths, and varying degrees of insight. Some of them are banal. “Anybody has the capacity to be a great drummer,” Patrick Carney of the Black Keys comments. For R&B drummer James Gadson, in contrast, “People used to say… either you got it, or you don’t.” But Lenny White has interesting things to say on Miles Davis, and Tyshawn Sorey is deep: “You’re like a young old guy,” he was told. He thinks of himself as an orchestrator rather than a timekeeper.
It’s the pictures that make the book what it is, of course. It used to be assumed that art photography was in black and white, and – just as in film – I prefer that medium. These are in colour, and they’re too “staged” for my taste – but I’m a jazz not photography critic, so what do I know? The results are engaging and intriguing nonetheless. If you’re a fan of drummers, this book will appeal. It’s lavish and beautifully produced, and comprehensive.
The Drum Thing by Deirdre O’Callaghan. Prestel; 256pp; £35 (hbk). 978-3-7913-9413-8