Artist Features
Rodney Jones: The Art of Jazz & The Craft of Guitar
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Rodney Jones Reflections
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Dizzy Gillespie:
Dizzy taught me about playing yourself.
I asked Dizzy why he still played the same lines that he had played for years. Without missing a beat, he looked at me and said, “Why mess with perfection”. I got it and never asked him again. LOL.
Lena Horne
Lena taught me about deep listening and the importance of knowing the lyrics and story of a song.
While rehearsing the standard, “I’m Glad There Is You”, Lena kept asking me to play the intro over and over. Each time she got more and more frustrated. I was playing it perfectly, I thought.
I got it. She was hearing a whole other level into the music. I closed my eyes and played with as much heart and soul as I could. She looked at me, smiled, and said, “Now
I never forgot that lesson.
Bucky Pizzarelli
Always another step
Was in the recording studio with a bunch of jazz legends. I was playing
He said, “You sounded good. It wasn’t Bucky, but it was good.” I laughed. He was right.
Kenny Burrell
Priorities
Music first, Reading second.
James Brown
Context is everything
While recording with James Brown I played a funky solo over one of the songs. Out of habit, I played a couple of Octaves. Later, I asked the Musical Director if Mr. Brown liked my playing, He told me that Mr. Brown said, “He plays good funk, for a smooth jazz guitar player.”
The octaves were smooth jazz to him.
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