r/jazzdrums

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?

Long time drummer here who has mostly played rock with people for many years. I've always played jazz on my own for most of that time and am comfortable with comping, independence and I'm building up my jazz vocabulary. So last night I jammed with a local jazz ensemble I signed up for. We are all mostly beginners to jazz. It sorta went OK but I REALLY struggled with playing quietly enough. Nobody complained but I just felt like everything I did was too loud. And because of that, I wasn't comfortable at all and wasn't really swinging. I assume this is common for drummers new to jazz? I am not a loud drummer by any stretch - have done probably hundreds of cafe gigs with singer-songwriters. I see videos of guys like Quincy Davis, Steve Holmes etc... and it doesn't look like they are playing as light as I was at all. Is this common for drummers? How did you get past it?

I'm a 17 yo drummer whos been playing since 3 years now. I think I can consider myself an intermediate drummer. Ive been really wanting to learn jazz now and i dont know how to build a proper practice routine or what to even practice. I dont have any music schools that will teach jazz let alone jazz drumming in my city. I would really appreciate it if someone were to suggest me what i should do to learn jazz, what things to focus on, artists to check out and a proper practice routine for jazz drumming. All i know right now is the jazz swing and basic comping upto the 16th notes.

On a bop-kit bass drum, is a port—for potential muffling, not miking—beneficial, harmful, or neutral? Will have a single felt strip on the batter head, an Evans HD Dry at the moment, but considering Remo Fiberskyn.

I'm starting to learn drumming and am looking for a snare to pair with my acrolite for Brazilian jazz where I've seen they use multiple snare drums to replicate caixa and repinque.

I'm looking to get a second even though I am just learning and have an acrolite so I have a lower volume option when my partner is home (acrolite with rtom) and a second snare at more normal volume and for brushwork without pulling the head off that will also work for Brazilian music in the future.

Does anyone here use this setup?

Chatgpt is recommending a Omar hakim 13"*5" mahogany snare for my issues which actually seems like it might work.

Thoughts?

Budget is flexible to get the right snare but obviously not looking to spend a crazy amount when just learning if I can find something for less.