Practice all you want ....that's not a guarantee you'll be good.....either you have it inside or not plain & simple....
the "GIFT" is from a higher source my friends....only certain people have it...look around you ....you'll know when you have it or see it

That arranger 'intro button' sure came in handy yesterday when I had to hit it 3 consecutives times while fumbling for my words. (no, not memorized yet

zuki

Folks, then there's the issue of maintaining your "chops". From experience, I can tell you that it takes considerable "woodshedding" to maintain upright bass chops, and I know the same is true for most, if not all horns. Maintaining chops requires lots of time on the instrument which is also a chance to learn new/different material.


R.

right on..but the gift is not always all-encompassing. it's the combination of the gift with the right instrument of expression..which is why Claudio is aways searching.
Charlie Parker could play tenor but he wasn't the same.
Eric Dolphy was a genius on all 3 of his axes..and Trane on 2..Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder are greats on vocals and keys, but Ray is just fair on sax..Stevie is an equal genius as a writer..but other great players are only ok, not great, when they go to a 2nd axe...and stories abound about those who started on one axe and had little success until they switched to the one that suited them better.
it's called "finding your voice". Toots Thielemans is a fine guitarist..but when he plays that harmonica--magic!

A great pianist on a Boesendorfer is miles beyond the same guy on a spinet. But a great pianist on a spinet is light years beyond a lousy pianist on a Boesendorfer. It's not totally one thing or another, because even the lousy pianist will sound better on a Boesendorfer.

some greats need no practice..just play, like Tatum. others are like Heifetz, who said: "if i don't practice one day, i can tell. If i don't practice 2 days, my wife can tell. if I don't practice 3 days, the audience can tell."



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Miami Mo

Mo, life isn't all black and white. Just because I HEARTILY agree with one thing doesn't mean that I automatically disagree with everything else. I just thought that particular statement was very relevant to the original post. And don't be so sensitive. Not EVERYone is going to agree with EVERYthing you say EVERY time you post. Better get used to it. Oh well, back to the wooodshed. After 50 years, this may finally be my year to become great.

chas

Mo, an impressive knowledge of good instruments and of the abilities of major players/performwers across the spectrum. Ever try to play the "gut bucket"? The Feeble Winds may be expanding the ensemble.

R.

and by the way, shouldn't we all be taking Gary's advice and moving away from this PC keyboard and toward that other keyboard.

chas

As my accordion teacher used to tell me "PRACTICE DOESN'T MAKE PERFECT, ONLY PERFECT PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT"!!!
t.

you do realize the irony in that statement?
act for yourself, Chas...

and no. i don't want or expect everyone to agree with everything i say, heaven forbid, what fun would that be?..and where did you get that from anyway? just because i said that you made a point of agreeing with the one point which matched your original contention, and didn't address any of the rest of it?

seems you may be the touchy one, no? cause it ain't me..
but I don't really want to start anything with you, as it's not conflict I crave, just the stimulation of exchange of ideas. that generates its own heat, healthy disagreement you can learn from. don't need the personal put-down, pal. I don't think i got personal, did I? and why would i, since i don't know you--why do you presume to know me?

I like it here, you can leave and practice if you like. hope it helps.

I practiced clarinet/sax an hour a day from age 10 to 19 and was a dud. next time I got into music I was 35..and decided i would play, not practice. not ever. even when i'm alone i just play. When i just play, i wind up playing for hours..not an hour a day forcing myself to do it. i guess you could say it's another way to practice if you like.

I opened Jazzmania Loft in NYC 1975 and nobody who wasn't better than me was allowed to jam. a lot of guys got to jam at first, but after a couple years very few..
i was playing with some of the best, but I was nowhere near as good. that's how i liked it. Play with people better than you and you get better. i never got good practicing.
but that's just me, not saying others shouldn't practice.
i also tried different instruments, different brands of same
instruments. It didn't distract me, it helped me. equipment
made a difference. It can't replace talent, no..but it can
enable talent. i'm still into equipment..only now it's keys.

Hey, I took the easy way..and look, overnight..at the age of 59, LOL, i was playing with Jimmy Smith at the 1998 Clearwater Jazz Festival. Long time to wait, maybe if i practiced i would have got there sooner? ...errrr NOT..i would have burned out, i think, like before at age 19.

so i started the keys thing 7 years ago, and i'm taking the same route, and just playing, and loving it..and doing whatever else i love..like writing these little dispatches on SZ, and it's a harmelss little ego trip, sure..but I have you guys to zing me when i go too far..and i can zing with the best of them, too..but i try to zing the content, not the person.

oops, outta time..gotta pack for a rare Tuesday night solo
gig in a little Italian Restaurant. aint the clearwater jazz festival, but no matter to me, it's all just music...every gig
is a blessed event. consider the alternatives....ouch...


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Miami Mo

You can practice wrong chord changes all you want...you will just play the changes wrong and feel that you are better.....After this date I am no longer responsible for it's content..