Dear Elizabeth,
If a player is concerned about making mistakes then their criteria is to play perfect. I choose to play as interesting as I can and making a mistake is part of sounding interesting. I keep venturing beyond myself.

What is very, very, important is ---- to come back though your mistake so that it is not noticed. I would call that professionalism. Playing God bless America is more difficult than laying a Jazz rendition of Fly Me to he Moon. Playing a Jazz rendition allows me to hit a wrong note and work my way to a correct note. “Quick, hurry get off that black and get on the white one”, and that’s possibly Jazz.

John C.