“I’d say, ‘Well, what am I supposed to do?’ He’d say. ‘Oh, you know what to do.’” – Max Roach, Down Beat Magazine, November, 1978, interview with Bret Primack
Category: very occasional quote of the day
Very occasional quote of the day: inferiority complex
“I wasn’t altogether emotionally ready for the gig. I was only 18, and going through what a lot of young musicians go through, because I teach now and I can see it. It’s a paranoid […]
Very occasional quote of the day: play
“What you should do is to play every chance you get. If you are not on a steady job (six nights a week), then rehearse with units as often as possible. But, by all means, […]
Very occasional quote of the day: correct
“Screwing things up is a virtue. Being correct is never the point. Being right can stop all the momentum of a very interesting idea.” – Robert Rauschenberg
Five interviews with Paul Motian
It’s not no deep fuckin’ secret! People talk about this shit like it’s some kind of… – Paul Motian From jazz writer Ted Panken, several unedited interviews with Paul Motian— he posted this in 2014, […]
Very occasional quote of the day: a gig
“A remember when I was 15 or 16 [in about 1940], I used to work Coney Island sideshows. I worked a place called Darktown Follies and we would literally play 18 shows a day. Can […]
Very occasional quote of the day: advice
Make a mistake! – Thelonious Monk to Abby Lincoln, quoted by Max Roach, Down Beat Magazine, November, 1978, interview by Bret Primack. The complete context: I remember when Abbey Lincoln, who is a very fine […]
Larry Bunker / Shelly Manne / Donald Bailey on solo structure
In a drummer round table in Down Beat magazine (March, 1973), Larry Bunker, Shelly Manne and Donald Bailey discuss soloing: Larry Bunker: When I solo I always think in terms of the structure of the […]
Very occasional quote of the day: brave
Be strong and brave enough to stand up and say. “It’s me!” If they want to throw tomatoes at you, stand up and take it. Max Roach, Down Beat Magazine, November, 1978, interview by Bret […]
Very occasional quote of the day: tooth and nail
“You’ve got to let the limbs fly-let ’em go just like rubber. Young drummers don’t get into the meat of the drums enough. They seem to be afraid of them. Especially the bass drum—they’re afraid […]
Very occasional quote of the day: don’t talk about the gig
No matter what, you never talked about the music on the bandstand or the gig for that matter. It can ruin a gig. You’re crazy when you’re on the bandstand, vulnerable, without defenses. Tempers can […]
Very occasional quote of the day: technique and improvised music
When it comes to “technique” I don’t just want fast hands, I want fast ears! In improvised music you have to compute and consider what you’ve heard and make a decision instantaneously. Your technique, or […]