CXXII.

"You know jazz is a lot more than just playing by ear or by feeling. There’s this misconception {beatnik rap, sings} oh I’m a jazz man, I play what I feel man. And that’s not what it is. I mean jazz is really, four things have to hook up, right? What you can think, what you can hear, what you can feel and what you can execute on your horn. But the thinking part is really important. Because unless you’re really thinking about the music you can’t really manipulate the changes, right, if you want to put substitutions in or if you want to kind of play a different key or you want to just kind of use some harmonic devices to kind of accentuate your playing. That requires some thought."

© Gary Smulyan
Interview by Monk Rowe, October 17, 2010, Fillius Jazz Archive, Hamilton College, Clinton, NY
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Gary Smulyan live in Jazz Club Torino, 2013: