Polyrhythmic drums?
 

I've been listening to alot of Miles lately, and I can't get enough of Tony Williams on the drums. However, sometimes it sounds like he's offbeat, but onbeat at the same time. Are there any songs that are very prominent in the poly?

It's easily heard in 'Footprints'.

Just get any Jazz cd and chances are youll find quite a bit of it.

especially if you start looking into more of the freeform stuff.

Polyrhythms don't necessarily means one of the rythms sounds off beat. Just playing more that one distinguished rythm at a time e.g. playing a straight 4/4 rythm on hihat and a rythm in triplets so that it seems 3/4. This is often used in jazz. It can sound pretty weird but it can also sound very natural.

Tony Williams is brilliant of course.

Yeah..agree with this. Also, you might try going back and listening to what he is reacting TO that is making him play the alternate rhythm/beat. It might sound 'off' of what he is doing to propel the band, but he might be improvising off of another band member(s). Remember that while Tony was in the Miles band the whole group achieved a intense form of 'group telepathy' and could improvise off each other like mofo's!!! :clap:

amen. Miles' rhythm sections were always the ones to imitate. I wouldn't call it 'group telepathy' though. I would just call it an 'alignment with the universe'.

Elvin Jones' drumming on Coltrane's A Love Supreme is very polyrhythmic if that's really what you're going for, but even in the case with him, despite the fact that he may seem a little off, he's very much on.