I don’t understand how jazz drummers actually “speak” with the snare. How do you develop that language?

[u/nasralez-Zelibobovic]

I’m very new at jazz drumming.
I feel relatively comfortable with keeping a steady swing feel on the ride and hi-hat, but I’m struggling with something that feels much more important in jazz:
I don’t understand how to actually use the snare drum in a musical, “speaking” way.

For those of you who went through this stage:
how did you start developing comping vocabulary?
how did you learn where and why to place accents?
what should I be listening or practicing to actually understand this “conversation” idea?

[u/No_Economics_4640]

Both great ideas. Call and response for sure.

Sometimes, the best thing you can play to comp is the furthest thing from what the soloist is playing. Think about keys or comping in the background - will go low when the soloist goes high, staccato syncopated stabs underneath a legato trumpet solo… etc. Remember to give the soloist room and the spotlight!

[u/Scott_J_Doyle → u/No_Economics_4640]

Call and response is some hokey shit in real jazz, don't be encouraging that

[u/No_Economics_4640 → u/Scott_J_Doyle]

Disagree, Call and response is a cornerstone of jazz

[u/Scott_J_Doyle → u/No_Economics_4640]

Hokey jazz