A flat ride cymbal or flat top ride [1] (or often just flat ride) is a ride cymbal without a bell, originally developed by Paiste in collaboration with jazz drummer Joe Morello as part of their Formula 602 series in the 1960s. The most common size is 20" followed by 18", but larger examples exist.
The ride cymbal is a standard cymbal in most drum kits. It maintains a steady rhythmic pattern, sometimes called a ride pattern, rather than the accent of a crash. It is normally placed on the extreme right of a drum set, above the floor tom.
Paiste is a Swiss-based Estonian manufacturer and designer of cymbals. It is the world's third largest manufacturer of cymbals, gongs, and metal percussion. Paiste is an Estonian and Finnish word that means "shine". Their eponymous sunrise can be seen in the logos for their 2002 line and their Twenty line.
Joseph Albert Morello was a jazz drummer best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet. He was particularly noted for playing in the unusual time signatures employed by that group in such pieces as "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo à la Turk". Popular for its work on college campuses during the 1950s, Brubeck's group reached new heights with Morello. In June 1959, Morello participated in a recording session with the quartet — completed by the alto saxophonist Paul Desmond and the bassist Eugene Wright — that yielded "Kathy's Waltz" and "Three to Get Ready," both of which intermingled 3/4 and 4/4 time signatures.
A flat ride cymbal produces the tightest, driest, most controlled stick sound of all ride cymbals, but with an airy wash. The lack of bell makes this cymbal quieter [2] [3] and most suitable for jazz. Roy Haynes was one of the first drummers to use a flat ride which can be heard on Chick Corea's album Now He Sings, Now He Sobs made in 1968.
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, United States. It originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and developed from roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is seen by many as "America's classical music". Since the 1920s Jazz Age, jazz has become recognized as a major form of musical expression. It then emerged in the form of independent traditional and popular musical styles, all linked by the common bonds of African-American and European-American musical parentage with a performance orientation. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, call and response vocals, polyrhythms and improvisation. Jazz has roots in West African cultural and musical expression, and in African-American music traditions including blues and ragtime, as well as European military band music. Intellectuals around the world have hailed jazz as "one of America's original art forms".
Roy Owen Haynes is an American jazz drummer and group leader. Haynes is among the most recorded drummers in jazz, and in a career lasting over 70 years has played in a wide range of styles ranging from swing and bebop to jazz fusion and avant-garde jazz. He has a highly expressive, personal style.
Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist/electric keyboardist and composer. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta" and "Windows", are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis's band in the late 1960s, he participated in the birth of jazz fusion. In the 1970s he formed the fusion band Return to Forever. With Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, and Keith Jarrett, he has been described as one of the major jazz piano voices to emerge in the post-John Coltrane era.
