| Staying Creative |
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I was remembering today, how saxophonist, Joe Henderson performed here in Los Angeles at Calalina's several years ago. The club is designed where there is a kitchen behind the stage area, and pass-through doors on both sides that connect through the kitchen. While this was the only time I ever saw him perform, I noticed that he didn't stop playing the whole time. He would simply walk off the stage at the end of his solo, and walk back to the kitchen so he couldn't interfere with the piano solo, then walk back out when it was time for his enterance again. The whole night transpired like this, and I'm convinced that Joe never stopped playing the whole set. What interests me about this is the fact that he remained "in flow" the entire time. Since he was continuing to "ride the wave" while he was not featured, meant he could be responsive to the solos the other musicians were playing - on a totally different, and more intimate, level. The contrast to this is the player who is so prepared with pre-flighted ideas, that he weighs down his performance with cleverness and preparedness, rather than trusting the flow that really delivers the goods. Joe Henderson was always in flow. In fact, because of this, he really couldn't play a wrong note. Nothing he could play would be outside of the context of where he actually was in the moment. This whole "in the moment" thing may bug you, but it is the only sustainable answer to the genuine creation of musical ideas that actually work. If you think of a groove player playing a preconceived part, then you miss the actual groove which transcends the part. Hope this is helpful to you. |
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