Drummer Jon Crocco, native to Virginia and graduate from Berklee College of Music has been supporting himself teaching drums for the past 10 years in Paris, France. "The scene in Paris isn't like I remember in NY or Boston or New Orleans. Most places here don't allow real drumming like I grew up knowing and admiring. I love Paris but its actually a very quiet place. I guess I got fed up with that part of the city. I wanted to let my skills go and play my snare drum like I learned and love and like it loves to be played. It turned into an eye-opening debut-album experience for me. And the fact that I'm playing a Ludwig "Black and White Badge" snare made in 1981 a year after I was born, and a custom size bass drum that I made myself in Paris this past year... well... its all very important stuff to me. But on the technical side of things I think its safe to say I took Ernest Hemingways haunting quote to heart,"I want to write a book I want to read." Atlas is an album I want to listen to. Its deeply personal. Long snare solos that don't hurt your ear though remain quite technical are very hard to find. I also wanted things to be from the soul. I didn't write any of the snare solos down. I just went into the studio and tried to play as inspired as possible. Those days were very important to me. And epic style hypnotic bass drum figures from a REAL acoustic bass drum aren't exactly as the french say, "à la mode" or in style. I purposely ignored that norm and tried to capture the tribe and the fire sort of thing but in a cosmic sort of way. Completely unplanned though, the first three tracks turned into a Suite. I got so inspired doing Awakening. Its the only track with two snare solos going on simultaneously and in stereo! Another thing very hard to find. I've been teaching now for 15 years- drumlines, private lessons, and collective drum classes. I dream of doing more. Its become my calling I guess. I grew up in a family of teachers and I've been blessed to have many wonderful teachers in my life. Teaching in Paris though has been a very special adventure for me. A lot of my students are just discovering the drums and thats proved to be one of the most educational moments to witness. A large part of what I put into this album had them in mind. There are fundamental rudiments and structures in every track. There is impressionable snare work, brush work, heart beat style bass drum patterns, and picturesque cymbal work. All this to say, though it be a kind of meditative album, I believe it stands up just as much in the world of Academia. I know we all don't have great stereos at home or even good headphones but for those who do you'll really enjoy this albums sonic movie approach. Then at the other end of things, listening to it softly becomes a very "zenful" experience. Another thing thats very important to me is story and balance. This album goes by very fast and I like to think that thats a good sign. A note about the sound: I put a great deal of personal taste into this album's mix. Drums are more often than not too loud or not loud enough. I'm sure I'll get some criticism from the engineering police for not following the standard sound. But then again thats not what I was shooting for. I was intent on keeping things transcribable yet without being overbearing. I'm very happy with the result! The title Atlas came about not because of the man but because of the map. Deep inside the time and rhythm of this album I see an Atlas to the way I love to play. I decided though that this particular story hasn't finished. Atlas has become the first of a series. The next album will be played on my full custom made kit and with the Ludwig snare yet once again, but this time hopefully with a few special guests.... Summing up this album to the none-drummer, I'd say its a very "zenful", ambient, sometimes mysterious kind of experience. Its wonderful to think to, but more importantly to me, it makes me want to play. Thanks for considering this album. If you buy it don't hesitate to tell me what you think! Happy drumming, happy living, happy all around!" - J Crocco