When jazz musicians approach a piece of music, we are essentially treating the original composition as a canvas to paint our own musical ideas and expressions. This can include anything from adding new harmonies and rhythms to altering the melody and structure of the song entirely.

Playing jazz is a conversation.

One musician will play a certain way, and someone else in the band will pick it up and interpret the music to create a beautiful tune.

Can you play that again?

People often hear something they love, and they ask: “Can you play that tune again?” expecting it to be exactly the same as they first heard it. The truth is it will never be exactly the same again.

Jazz is simply what it is, at that moment.

Video Transcript

That's the beauty of jazz. It is an art form that happens in the moment. It's never the same twice.

It's all about what each musician is feeling and also what's happening amongst the players in the ensemble. When you're playing music, it's a conversation. You'll hear this frequently where one person will say something musically, and another instrument will pick it up and goes," Oh, I like what you said there; let me give you this answer to that," and this interpretive play that keeps happening. Then all of a sudden, you've got this amazing music. People are like, "That's awesome! Do you have a recording of that? " You have to say, "no" and it'll never be the same again. It is simply what it is...in the moment.