Drew Shoals - The Official Drew Shoals Website

Press

“Album Rating: 9.5/10

I first came into contact with Drew Shoals in between sets at a CD release show in Eugene, Oregon last year when he was playing drums for the non-vocal jazz group, the Ben Darwish Trio. The guy just had a cool vibe about him as he went through a set which included frenetic ditties, romantic ballads and even lounge-style covers of Alice in Chains and Christina Aguilera. He smiled as he played, he grooved with the time of each tune and spent nary a second going through the motions of just banging away at the drums. You could tell this was a cat who dug the tunes he was playing.

Now on his own debut recording, The Greatest Haven’t Been Born Yet, Shoals is taking his love for music to new heights. “Meteor Showers” is a perfect example of his significant talent, as his drumming mirrors the overall effect of a meteor shower. The sounds range from quiet to bold and raucous; from an ethereal, dancing-along-the-edges-of-the-song sort of feel, to the hang-onto-your-hats-while-I-blaze-through-a-variety-of-sounds explosion about halfway through. Like watching a meteor shower, it can be languid and quiet, or it can be explosive and exciting, but it’s at it’s best when it somehow manages to be both.

Opener “Maternity Warden” and “Fertile Crescent” both sound like tracks that just barely missed making the cut for the film Out of Sight, with their Detroit-style �70s funk/jazz. They’re funky, sexy and moody enough to be played in lounges everywhere. Likewise, a sexy saxophone sound leads the way for Shoals and Company on the lively “Playing the Field (A Discus Saga).”

Being in another non-vocal band, Shoals’ efforts are even more remarkable because there is no lyrical or singing talent to assess - it’s all about the actions speaking louder than words, so to speak. Rarely repeating himself or sticking with a standard drum beat, Shoals plays with rhythm and time with an ease that is downright unfathomable. Perhaps most impressive is that while he as the drummer is the namesake of the band, he doesn’t once go into a steal-the-spotlight drum solo to showcase himself as the leader of the band. He is creative, animated, and yet controlled.

And he surrounds himself with a number of competent musicians as well, which usually helps make any band’s music sound better. Standing out among them are the aforementioned Ben Darwish, who plays keyboards on a handful of tracks and does a good job of complementing the tunes and knowing how to add to a song rather than lead one, and John Nastos, whose alto and tenor saxophone work is superb.

The jazz community outside of the Pacific Northwest might not be too familiar with the young Drew Shoals yet, but with a stellar debut (that isn’t really a debut considering his touring and recording track record) like this, he is likely to continue turning heads as he builds a name for himself. Fans of jazz, nu-jazz, funk and even hip-hop will appreciate the depth and diversity of this album.”

-stereosubversion.com, Brian Palmer March 2008

“Outstanding Achievement in Jazz (Portland Music Awards 2008)

Drew has played drums for bands of such a vast array of musical styles, he could have easily been nominated in every category- and won. Can we stop with the dialogue that he is the next generation of jazz? The fact is, he is already there. Not ony is he at the top of his game, but he is literally reinventing the rules as he goes along. As a d drummer, he is stepping forward as a frontman and star, without the need to pull a Phil Collins and start singing. He is the most in demand drummer in the Northwest, by both local and national acts….Drew Shoals is in the rime of his life, prime of his career….While his age reflects his youthful spirit, his music traces the edges of what was and what is yet to come.”

- Music Spectator Magazine February 2008

“dynamite drummer”

-Portland Mercury January 2008

“Drew Shoals could arguably be the most in-demand drummer in the NW right now. When he finds time to record is a true mystery but somehow he managed to write and release an amazing debut CD which seamlessly blends rock, hip-hop and Jazz in a fresh and innovative way.”

-Indiemusicportland.com January 2008

“Drew Shoals is quite possibly the most talented young drummer in the Pacific Northwest.”
- Willamette Week 2005

“Drummer Drew Shoals is on the verge. He is already known as the brightest young star in Portland’s music firmament, and national recognition is on the way. Behind the drum kit, he’s all arms and legs, moving his whole body and using cymbals as much as the drums themselves. You can draw comparisons to Jack DeJohnette and Tony Williams, but Shoals is coming from an entirely different place.He is as versatile as he is talented, having played in pop, blues and bluegrass bands, touring extensively over the past summer with Tony Furtado.

He is releasing his first jazz album as a leader Saturday, with some of the other Young Turks, the players who will lead the Portland jazz scene for many years to come. The title is “The Greatest Haven’t Been Born Yet.”

What does the title of your album mean?

I was reading the poet Saul Williams’ book, “Said the Shotgun to the Head,” and there’s a line: “The greatest Americans haven’t been born yet.” That hit me. It was an optimistic yet solemn statement. I thought that instead of saying “Americans” we’d bring it out to a broader vision. I was mediating on that Saul Williams line. I lit some candles, sat down in my room on the floor, cross-legged, grabbed my guitar and wrote the track. I knew it would sum up the album for me.

Do you write on guitar?

I write on piano and guitar. As of six months ago I had never written a jazz tune and all of a sudden they came out. I had told myself, “Oh, well, you’re a drummer, you just play drums, you’re a sideman, you can’t be a band leader.” All of a sudden it was, “That’s not true, I can do this.” All of a sudden the floodgates opened and I had an entire record come out.

There’s hip-hop in your jazz playing, isn’t there?

Yes. Crunk jazz starts off with what is inspired by the Southern rap movement. It has this driving relentless high-hat thing. I start with that and then I build. Eventually I deconstruct that. I’m thinking of hip-hop when I’m playing.

You’re in so many different kinds of bands, is there something that ties them all together?

Like Thara Memory says: There’s good music and bad music. I love playing tons of music and I feel so lucky to play with so many amazing singer-songwriters, playing pop and rock, being able to tour around the country.

Music is a spiritual experience for me. I love to connect with the people I’m playing with but also the people who are listening, and I feel like we’re all experiencing something beautiful together. It doesn’t matter if it’s jazz or rock, it’s just cool to be a part of something moving.

How do you deal with people calling you the next big thing?

(Laughing.) It’s flattering, but I can’t buy into the hype. I just have to continue to enjoy making music. I appreciate the compliments people give me, but I’m just happy to have the opportunity to play drums for a living.

- Tom D’Antoni, The Oregonian 2007

“Shoals played with focus and precision in a style somewhat reminiscent of Nasheet Waits, son of the late, highly regarded drummer Freddie Waits. (Shoals seems also to have given close listening to Max Roach.) His rock-funk roots and catholic approach to percussion was put to good use in his own compositions (”Lux,” “Maternity Warden”). Small wonder that he has worked often and in a variety of musical contexts in Portland since graduating with honors at Whitman.”

- Keith Raether, The Fountain 2007

“Portland native Drew Shoals is a laid-back, extremely likable player who exudes an infectious ease and remarkable finesse behind the drums. Irreverently referring to his music as “gangstajazz,” Shoals has been busy working with Three-Fifths Compromise, Ben Darwish, Fiction Junkies, Warren Rand, Janice Scroggins, Renato Caranto, the Chris Mosley trio and others, quickly becoming the drummer to watch in town. An award-winning soloist at the 2005 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, Shoals is a sly bandstand presence who joyfully interrogates tunes. An African-American studies major at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., Shoals first encountered jazz through spoken word. While at Jefferson High School, he was heavily influenced by local jazztronaut Mike Van Liew, who introduced him to the wide-open possibility of the music, which led him from Mahavishnu Orchestra and fusion to Love-inspired grooves—and eventually to the jazz equivalent of a gateway drug: The Bad Plus. This opened the door for a further, speculative (at times, impolite and bone-worrying) take on jazz. Solidly grounded in pulse and forward motion, Shoals is able to balance on the fulcrum between boom-chick-a-rocka-chick and ching-chicka-ching. He is also faithful to all schools, old (and older) and new, and is one of the most talented, fresh voices on the scene. Catch him now, before New York grabs him up.”
- Tim DuRoche, Willamette Week 2005

“Drummer Drew Shoals shows off speed and technique…”
- All About Jazz.com 2005

“For those concerned about the state and future of jazz in Portland, fear not: This double bill offers up a small handful of next-generation artists that’ll soon have the same currency as names like Brown, Moore and Friesen. Guitarist Mosley is a recent PDX transplant exploring the outer reaches of open-ended swing with microtonal splendor. The Fiction Junkies are a great jazz-meets-the-kitchen-sink vehicle for guitarist Dan Duval and cohorts Matt Wiers and Drew Shoals. Fans of Bad Plus and Brick Fleagle, take note.”
- Tim DuRoche, Willamette Week 2005

“Shoals…laid down a rich and heavy rhythm foundation…The result was pure ear candy.”
- Pioneer Log, Lewis & Clark College 2004

“Among other things, the right to assembly guarantees that a maniacally talented cadre of young jazz beaux like these can plot the night away in a darkened basement with no fear of the Man. Dabbling in revolutionary delight, the Ben Darwish Trio tosses off incendiary originals, fiery jazz chestnuts and swing with wicked abandon (courtesy the ebullient momentum of drummer Drew Shoals).”
- Tim DuRoche, Willamette Week 2006

“…polyrhythmic, energetic and bold, but very tasteful because he utilizes a wide dynamic range and understands the architecture of the tunes he is playing. Drew is quickly becoming the “go-to” jazz drummer for many of the most well-known names on the local jazz scene.”
- Positively Entertainment 2006