Mastodon’s Brann Dailor is the latest drummer to take on Drumeo’s recurring “For the First Time” segment, which features famous percussionists learning and performing a song on the spot.
The Drumeo hosts made Dailor pivot outside his wheelhouse for this clip, presenting him with the jazz-fusion classic “Birdland” by Weather Report.
“I could get my teeth cleaned to this,” joked Dailor before hunkering down and tackling the many complexities of the song at hand.
Brann’s prog-metal skills are certainly applicable to jazz, as he juggles bar-length fills and on-a-dime rhythmic changes in his own band. But Dailor is clearly challenged by the Weather Report track — especially during his first pass. The instrumental dropouts in the song, in particular, seem to stump him.
“I would have to make a decision whether or not I’m getting real small, or dropping out completely,” says Dailor as he talks out his approach, then explaining that he — an “unschooled player” in his own words — applies the same approach to learning Mastodon songs.
“I have to rely on my memory and repetition,” he adds.
Dailor runs through a total of five takes, the final being a masterclass in restraint as he executes the proper dropouts and navigates the song’s many transitions while delivering massive percussive barrages when things pick up. The listen-back to the original is also quite entertaining, with Brann comparing his playthrough to what Weather Report’s Alex Acuña laid down.
“I need to get into that Weather Report album, because that’s a badass song,” Dailor said.
Fans can catch Dailor playing metal tunes when he hits the road with Mastodon on their co-headlining US tour with Coheed and Cambria this spring. Pick up tickets here.
Check out the Drumeo clip with Brann Dailor below.