Maintaining uptempo swing (quarter note ≥ 300 bpm) for an extended period of time can be very challenging. Doing so successfully requires a good, relaxed technique, especially in the ride cymbal hand. The perils of playing of trying to play fast without being prepared for it are illustrated hilariously by Bill Cosby, a drummer and major jazz fan, in this amazing clip from the Dick Cavett show. In my opinion, this should be watched (memorized?) by everyone who aspires to be a jazz musician. It is that important.
In a previous post about hand stuff, I discussed a technique called throw-catch, or push-pull. This is a technique I've been working on since I was first introduced to it college, and that I find very useful in a variety of situations. When I play double strokes, I use this technique to play two strokes with one motion. However, it can also be expanded to encompass 3 notes, as in the jazz ride cymbal pattern, while still utilizing only one "up and down" motion. I embedded a video of the incomparable John Riley demonstrating how this technique can be applied to the uptempo ride cymbal pattern. The most important thing to remember is that its very important to stay fairly loose and relaxed, regardless of the specific hand technique you are employing. Playing with a lot of tension, while trying to execute something as strenuous as the uptempo ride cymbal pattern, can lead to repetitive stress injuries (tendonitis, carpal tunnel, etc) over a long enough period of time.
Although maintaining a consistent ride cymbal pattern at fast tempos is essential for uptempo playing, there are plenty of other fun and interesting things to practice that integrate the rest of the drum set. One good exercise is to practice all four permutations of double strokes played between snare and bass drum (snare-snare-bass-bass) while maintaining the ride cymbal pattern and foot hi hat on 2 and 4. This isn't terribly difficult at a slow or medium tempo, but it can be tough to play very consistently at fast tempos. Once you become comfortable with the permutations on their own, try to sequence them all in a row without stopping. Here are the four permutations notated, with ride cymbal and hi hat included.
John Riley's book Beyond Bop Drumming has several pages of snare/bass drum combinations to be played while maintaining the jazz ride cymbal and foot hi hat pattern. I've found those exercises to be very beneficial, and I still practice them fairly regularly. Any of the exercises I've mentioned so far can also be practiced with the hi hat playing quarter notes, like Tony Williams often would do. Here's a video of me playing one page of the uptempo exercises from Beyond Bop. Normally, I repeat each phrase twice, but I play them one time each in the video for the purposes of demonstration. I go through the page twice; first time with quarter notes on the hi hat, second time with 2 and 4 on the hi hat. There are many other ideas and concepts you can integrate into your uptempo practicing; try to find inspiration through listening and your own experimentation. One example is to try and use odd groupings of notes in your comping-this can be both a mental and physical challenge at first. In the following clip, I demonstrate playing through all 4 of the permutations I previously mentioned, and also play the 2 permutations of alternating single stroke 8th notes between snare drum and bass drum (snare-bass-snare-bass, etc). After that, I mess around with a few variations of accenting groups of five 8th notes, trying combinations with both bass drum and snare drum. Notice that I keep the ride cymbal pattern consistent the whole time; I feel that it is important to practice the exercises this, although you certainly can vary the ride cymbal pattern when it comes to any performance context.
