You'll Hear It: Full Album Deep Dives with Jazz Musicians - 7 Things We're Thankful For About Jazz - #64

Episode Date: November 22, 2018

Today on You'll Hear It, Peter and Adam ring in Thanksgiving Day by listing 7 things they're thankful for about jazz! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Hey, Adam. What's up? You ever had Tofurky? I would never. Well, everyone in my house is a vegan. Oh, I mean, if you want to stop by... I'm looking forward to it. Come over this afternoon.

I'm Adam Ennis. And I'm Peter Martin. And you're listening to the Thanksgiving edition of the You'll Hear podcast. Daily Jazz advice, a lot of thanks and a lot of love coming at you. That's right, man. Today is one of my favorite days of the year. You know, this holiday, if you're not in the United States or not from the United States, or maybe you don't know anything about Thanksgiving, it's actually one of the

the cooler national holidays, I think, that you can have because it's literally just a day that everybody takes off and gets together with family and friends, usually, has a huge feast and talks about what they're thankful for throughout the year. I think it's awesome. It is awesome. And I think that, you know, we have so much to be thankful here at the You'll Hear podcast that it kind of works in with us. And I would say first and foremost, our listeners. So we want to give some big thanks, big love. We are a global podcast due to our exclusions. arrangement with Apple, who has agreed to distribute this around the world. I hear this podcast thing is catching on.

It's catching on. Did you see on Saturday Live, by the way, this couple weeks ago, they had a skit called the Potty's, which was like a podcast awards? No. Yeah, man. If there's a real thing like this, we need to get, did we get on that? We did not. Okay.

I mean, it was a spoof. Oh, spoof. Yeah. Well, that's perfect for us. The potties is funny. Anyway, potty committee, if you're real, check us out. Best Jazz Podcast, perhaps? Yeah.

So we thought it would be cool today, you know, to talk about seven things we're thankful for about jazz because I think that's what most people kind of tuning in. We love jazz. Obviously, that's what we're talking about here. Our listeners love it. That's sort of the connection that we have. And it's such a deep well that's given us so much that we and we love seven. So there you go. So why don't you kick it off? So the first thing that we're thankful for about jazz is the people. I mean, this is really, you know, When it comes down to it at the end of the day, like, it's fun to play the music and it's fun to be, you know, told, hey, you sound great or whatever. But at the end of the day, the connections that you make with the people, with fellow musicians, with fans, with fans of the music, with listeners.

It's like jazz people. It's corny to say that, but there's such a thing as jazz people. Jazz people are some of the coolest folks you'll ever meet. That's right. They usually have a keen sense of style and art and appreciate some of the finer things in life. as do we? And it's like, man, there are kindred spirits all over the world that you run into

because of this music. Because of our connection to this music, I know, speaking for myself, and I'm sure it's the same for you. I've just met some of the hippest folks ever. And I'm so thankful for that. Didn't we invent hip? At least the concept, if not the word.

Just invented hip. Invented cool. Invented all that stuff, man. It's just such a treat to play this music and to meet the folks that are connected to it. Good. All right. That's great.

Okay, so for number two, I'm going to go with, and look, this could have been 77 or 777, but we're trying to keep this tight with 7. So, we're going to leave some out. But I want to go with just the swing feel. Not to be too much of a traditionalist, because I'm not like, I'm not saying that jazz is only the swing field, but I love just the feeling of, but ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, digging. Not necessarily sung like that, but you know what I'm saying. It can still swing without having that exact swing. feel, although that exact swing and feel is so unique to jazz and feels amazing. It is.

And it's not the only thing that, like, jazz has contributed to kind of the world of music, but it's, it's like one of those, the most identifiable things, the most copied, and one of the foundational and fundamental things. And I love, like, that you can put it into so many different situations, you know, different applications. And, I mean, think about, like, some of the coolest, like, hip-hop grooves that, like, break into, like, a swinging bass line underneath the groove on, like, it's such a flexible groove as well.

And I just love that feeling. Like whenever I, I mean, it just like gives me energy. And it's like a, it's just like a beautiful little thing. But of course, it's created by people and it's developed by this great lineage of jazz. But just that, that feeling of that groove, I love it. It's so deep. You're totally right now. Number three of our seven things we're thankful about jazz.

This is the travel that oftentimes goes into playing jazz. Peter, I know you like to say, like, you don't get paid to play piano. to get paid to travel. That's right, right. And then I do the gigs for free. That's right. You know, but going along with some of the headaches and whatever of, you know, airports and all that stuff, traveling has been an amazing part of the music for me to go to different countries

and experience different cultures. And then to experience jazz in those different cultures and how they treat it and how they interpret it, it's been amazing. Yeah, because of the global reach and really global nature of jazz, because it is such a, such a cultural phenomenon that crosses borders and stuff, it's enabled us and most jazz musicians to be able to travel. And then going back to number one, people, to meet people and stuff to, you know,

learn about their cultures, make the connection between, and then like that, because the music came along at a time when world travel was becoming more readily available and practical, you have these global influences on the music. You know, South American influences, Cuban, European, you know, Asian, all these different things, you get to get that interaction that wasn't really possible before, you know, a lot of air travel and stuff. But I know for me personally, I'm so thankful, like, I've gone to, you know, all these different, I mean, last month I went to five continents.

It's incredible. Because of the music. Yeah. Not because of me. Because of jazz music, literally, because, like, I kind of attached myself to a little part of it. But the only reason I can go there and people, like, will come and meet me at the airport and stuff is, like, because I play jazz. And they're interested in that. And so it really opens up a world of interesting places to see and learn about.

Very, very cool. What do you got for number four? Number four. So I think the lineage of jazz, what connects us with the past, the present, and the future. I'm so thankful for that because, you know, we come as part of a tradition in jazz. And again, I don't mean like some kind of stale museum tradition. I'm talking about, like, learning from the masters, but also being connected with them. I mean, I got a chance to meet Herbie Hancock, you know, when I was like 21, 22 years old and, like, learn from him directly.

not in a lesson, but from his records and from like getting to sit down and have a meal with him. Well, he was sort of seated next to me. I don't know if he really wanted to be there, but I got to sit next to him. But, you know, to become a part of that. But even if you don't meet someone, you're connected with them because you play the music you're taking from them. And then, like, the great thing about the lineage and the people of jazz is like it's never about the age. You know, you have, like, there's not a lot of work situations where you can have, it's all about if you can play or not. That's right.

And so, like, it's not just about the past. Like, I love, like, playing with these younger players. and meeting them and going on the road with them. Seeing what they do with it? Exactly. It's really fun. And it's a continuum. It's a continuum.

And to, you know, I think for us, too, especially the history of the music is such a cool thing to be a part of. We're sitting right now about a mile from the Mississippi River in St. Louis. Yeah. Where a lot of jazz musicians went up and down. That's right. Between here and New Orleans. And Scott Jopham's house, a quarter of a mile from here. I know.

So to have any kind of connection to those brilliant folks who created this great American art form, as an American, It makes me really, really proud of our cultural heritage. But even if you're not an American, I mean, jazz pretty much took off around the world as soon as it started. Right. So in your country, wherever you are, you have probably this history of jazz of when it arrived. I mean, think about the wealth and breadth of music that Billy Strayhorn wrote when he was living in France. You know, like the international nature of the music has always been, you know, present. And I think, too, like with the lineage, it's almost like, you know, I see it almost like maybe

Navy SEALs see themselves as kind of a brotherhood and sisterhood now of like it doesn't matter your age or whatever you're part of something that's bigger than you right you have a language where you're from it's all yeah and a code of ethics and stuff you know ours are a little are quite as stringent as the Navy SEALs but we have that we have a way of doing things and a thing that connects us even before you meet somebody man I talk to people every day from Tokyo or from Africa or from Australia or from Canada you know wherever we are and we're all speaking the same language everybody wants to swing right everybody you know what I mean It's all the same.

It's great. So for number five, we have the challenge of jazz is something that we're thankful for. Oh, yeah. This is something that can't be mastered, really. I mean, there are masters of the music, but you can never really conquer it. There's always something else to learn. There's always a deeper place to dig. As an artist, as a musician in the music itself, there's always a boundary to push.

There's always something to get out of it. And, man, that is inspiring. for me to know that from now until my last breath, I'll be thinking about this and I'll be challenging myself, you know, giving myself stuff to work for, giving myself goals and things to achieve. It's awesome. Yeah, I mean, I think that if you've nailed it right there,

if you are open to jazz, it will give you that challenge. Like, if you're open to it, it'll be there for you and giving, giving, giving that challenge to, like, try to, for you to continue to learn in the music, which is a great thing, because that keeps you young. That gives you energy. Totally. You don't have to, like, go out and find other things.

Well, I've mastered this and I've got to find a new kind of music or whatever. And, you know, we're big believers here at Open Studio. And I think you and I were always talking about this lifelong learning. Absolutely. We even created a hashtag on it, ABL. Hashtag ABL. Always be learning. That's right.

And so, like, if you're into that kind of thing, you know, learning and progressing jazz, you know, the challenge of jazz is a beautiful thing. If you're not, if you're only just like, I want something easy and I want to master it and then kind of roll with it, then that's not really something. And jazz usually is not that interest in you because it's too much of a challenge. That's right. And, you know, the other cool thing about that is, like, basketball is a challenge and is a lifelong pursuit to the point where your body can hold up. But, Chaz, you can keep going. That's right.

You can keep going. You got no knees. Plus, basketball. I mastered that. I forgot to tell you two years ago. I actually ended up mastering it, so I moved on. Oh, boy. Okay.

What do we got for number six? Number six. Oh, okay. So this kind of goes back to your number one, but I added it in because I think it applies to, and that's the characters. Oh, there are so many characters. Yeah. But we've got like, and I mean,

Some weird folks that play. There's some weird folks. But just interesting. I mean, it makes sense because the really interesting players are such honest players. So it comes from an interesting personality. So the person that always comes to mind first for me is Lou Donaldson. The great. The legend.

Lou Donaldson, he's a classic. And like all the stuff that he says. And, you know, and it's the way he plays, too. Not that he only plays high pitch like his voice. But, I mean, he plays with a certain, like, you know, humor and character and depth that his personality has. We got to do an episode on Lou Donaldson. Just on Lou.

We're going to have to invite my co-patriot, Mark Whitfield, to come in because we do a very great Lou Donaldson impression together. It's scary. We should invite Lou. What the hell, man? Every time I've been around him a few times, I always shy away from the impression. I always say that I'm going to do. I wonder why that is.

Oh, and then I found out that he heard that Mark Whitfield and myself had been doing it. He's like, yeah, I heard you all talking about it. And I was like, what you mean? What you be? Yes, I got to be careful. Well, but not just Lou Donaldson, but like there's so many plays. players, club owners, sound engineers. Like, I mean, there's so many folks when you play this music that you meet that you're like,

well, you're a good story to tell you later. And I mean, none of us are bland, but there's always some that, I mean, you can't really be bland and play jazz. It's just because you have to improvise and put yourself out there. But some, you know, and we're here in St. Louis. And one that some people may not know, although a lot of people do, is Pitao Williams. Love Pita. You know, who's legendary, big shout out to Pita, great pianists that I grew up listening to, still doing this thing. One of the greatest solo piano players I've ever heard.

man, when he's on, he's, yeah. And, but pizza is a character. I mean, you know, so many characters. And for me, I remember, like, being in awe of this as I was kind of as, you know, young teenagers and meeting these. I mean, I remember I met Jeff Watts and, like, guys coming through town, Kenny Kirkland. I was like, not only were they great players, but they were just so interesting personally. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

All right. So number seven. Let's wrap it up. Okay. Number seven of our seven things we're thankful for about jazz is, this is a little anticlimatic, the music. Doesn't that what we're talking about, dude? That is what we're talking about.

But we didn't really hit it in any of these. I mean, of course, we're talking about the whole music. But I mean just, like, the recorded and live legacy of it as a listener. I mean, we're playing it, and these are characters and traveling and swing and all this is important. But I just mean, like, I mean, the fact that you can, I mean, you can buy kind of blue, the album for on a CD for like $7 on Amazon. It should be $7 million for the, like, the life of, you know, a lifetime of inspiration and good times from that. I mean, it's the biggest bargain ever. So I'm so thankful to.

have this rich recorded legacy. I mean, I'm just sitting at home and listen to music all the time. And then the live thing, too, man, the fact that we could also go out tonight, just tonight, like, across the alley here and here's something. Well, it's Thanksgiving, so they're closed. Oh, right. But tomorrow night, we could go out and hear music that we've never heard before and that will inspire us.

And that's endless well. Endless well, man. It's so great. And I think that, you know, I mean, it's to the point now where, like, I mean, I don't take anything for granted because, like, I've seen, I've always had access to a lot of great music live, recorded. information. I mean, I'm like the, you know, the luckiest guy ever

in terms of that. But now, you know, I've got this little device. I don't even use it that much, but it just, it's just funny. This little Google home thing in our living room where I'll be like, Hey Google, play John Coltrane. And then literally John Coltrane is playing. That always brings a smile to my face. If anybody's listening to this on their Google Home, they just shut off our podcast.

Now they're listening to Coltrane, which is not a bad thing, actually. You should probably do that yourself. Well, let's do a little recap here like we've promised we would do and keep forgetting. Number one was people number two was swing number three was travel number four was lineage number five was the challenge of it number six were the characters of it and number seven is the music itself that was a good recap actually i think that's not the kind that people were asking it they mean more like when we list

books or album but this is good too it's a good habit for us to get into it's getting the habit of recapping any lists we do those were the seven things we're thankful for about jazz and now we're going to give a recap as to what we have eaten and drank so far it's in it How many cups of coffee have you had, Adam? I've had two, too many cups of coffee, which means like about eight to ten. I've had one, not enough because the pots was empty. I mean, that's for another time. I don't know what you're talking about, man.

You know what pot is not empty? What? The open studio offer pot that's dropping tonight. Tonight's the night. Damn, damn, everybody. Man, I was excited about that. As my mom would say when I was 14, watch out for your piano hands. That's right.

I'm not. But, yeah, dropping tonight at me. midnight, although it's going to be a little early for the you'll hear at listeners. We'll get to that a second. You may have already seen this if you're here at this. You may have already seen this depending on when you're listening. But the podcast comes out early. The podcast comes out early.

But we are having this weekend in celebration of, and we're not even going to say in celebration of Black Friday. It just happens to be this weekend. Uh-huh. But in celebration of all the wonderful artists and wonderful members that we have around the world at Open Studio, we are running our biggest offer and discount offer. of the year, actually that we've ever offered before. You know, and so we want to invite everybody to come check out our wares online at open

studio network.com. And you can actually go, no matter when you're listening to this, to openstudionnetwork.com slash BF. BF as in Black Friday. I thought it was his best friend. Okay. That's cool. Black Friday.

Either way. We can do it either way. Or BFF? No, we don't have that. We don't have that URL. So, but yeah, go to open studio network. dot com slash bf and if it's before Thanksgiving is over you can answer your email to be notified or you can just come back to the page and everything will be there for you too we're going to give you know a little

bit of special love to the you'll hear at listeners like we like to do but we're going to have everything everything is on sale everything is on offer we have some amazing packages we have some special stuff we can't even talk about yeah that's right and you know what we rarely use this podcast as an opportunity to hawk our own products we don't rarely until this week but we have a lot of listeners here that I know are like thinking about maybe buying one of these courses and we just want to like we want to help you out and let you know that you will not find a lower price for for what we offer at Open Studio than this week. That's why we're doing this because we do want you to know that if you've been on the fence about

it, if you've been wanting to check out Jeffrey Keeser's courses, Peter Martin's courses Christian McBride. Notice what you said about Jeffrey Keeser's courses. Well there's a lonely one technically but there's about to be another one. And it's pretty dope man. Okay. But, you know, we have a lot of good stuff, and we want you to be able to save as much as you can on it. And so that's why we're telling our, you'll hear at listeners about it a little bit early. And you can go to, like you said, openstudionnetwork.com slash BF.

You could also click in the, if you're on your phone, on the podcast app, you could click the... If you're on your iPhone. If you're on your iPhone, probably Android, too. Maybe Android, too. In the details, we're going to leave a link to that address. So you can just hit details and then episode web page. And I'll take you right there to Open Studio Network.com slash BF. Sounds good

So best friends Right do we have any reviews? Oh no let me do the reviews tomorrow We did a bunch of reviews Yeah I mean you know always leave A seven-star review It's not possible but just do it Yeah

We could turn that into a hashtag Always leave a sevens Like all Anyway we'll get to that because You'll hear it