Frank Wess

This past Saturday, I had the pleasure of seeing a live interview with jazz legend Frank Wess. His statements and answers were very powerful, and I wanted to share a few of my favorites with you.

On learning the craft: "Good musical sound, good time, and to be able to play a melody. If you can do that, you can get away without having all the theory in the world."

"When you play all those fast notes...Who's going to be able to hum that when they get in bed?" - Wess' quick response to being asked what's missing in jazz today.

"It ain't got nothing to do with the chords." - Wess, on the importance of melody in his solos. He was asked specifically if, when learning a song, he practices playing through the chord changes.