Bass Drum Control has been out there since 1964. It has been a such a successful book that it was reissued with a new cover to celebrate its 50th anniversary. Voted one of the “25 greatest drum books of all time” in Modern Drummer, it is—as has been said many times—“the Bible on the subject.” It was originally written for the jazz concept using a single pedal, but for several years now it has been adapted by drummers world wide for the double pedal, and is endorsed by Steve Smith in his clinics and videos as a product that he used for getting his double pedal chops together. It is also endorsed by Joe Morello on his video Drum Method 2 – Around the Kit. Colin says “Most of the drummers that I have met over the last 30 years or so have been through that book.” Colin is known for the speed and accuracy of his unique bass drum technique, and you have only to hear him play some of the exercises on the book’s CD to make you want to have that kind of ability.

Drum Solos – The Art of Phrasing, released in May of 1998, was written to give the concept of soloing in phrases, in an organized way, to drummers who have had little experience in playing jazz music. There are many 2, 4 and 8 bar solo phrases that can be combined to produce solos of any length. The main idea is to think in two bar phrases and build on that. The book comes with a CD of Colin playing five tunes with a trio (featuring world renowned jazz guitarist Bruce Forman) so you can hear his soloing and also read the solo transcriptions. Then there is a play-to section (with drum charts) of the same five tracks that gives you the opportunity to trade fours and eights with the guitar and bass. A click track is provided in the solo spaces. For drummers wanting to get into jazz this book will provide some solid material to work with and will certainly enlighten you to the concept of “soloing in phrases.”

Bass Drum Control Solos – Released in September 2002, this is a follow up to the original Bass Drum Control. The material is in solo form, using the whole drum set. Colin extensively utilizes the bass drum in his solos, as it is one of the drums in the set and he feels it should be used more. It can provide drummers with a larger range of options in creating a more colorful solo, with the use of 2, 3, 4 or more bass drum beats when combined with the snare, toms and cymbals. On the C.D., Colin plays some solos from each page. For those drummers who have, for many years, gone through the exercises in the original Bass Drum Control, this is a totally different book, and is fun to play. A single or double pedal can be used in these solos.