[duribass]

Clifford is definitely a good place to be stuck (for now at least!). I've shamelessly quoted that solo many times when I need some serious rapid-fire licks! Of course, I still transcribe other things to vary my vocabulary.

I honestly haven't really checked out Martino - I've heard the name before but never had any inclination to delve any further. Now I do though and I'll definitely take a look at some of his recordings. Which albums do you recommend?

As for youth and music, I think there is some relation perhaps, but maybe not to the extreme that some believe. It takes a certain amount of mental maturity before the analytical mind can really wrap itself around the concepts of improv. Simply practicing isn't going to get a kid anywhere unless they can think properly about what they're doing. If you look at a lot of great jazz musicians, they either didn't start or didn't take their playing seriously until their teens (there are exceptions, of course). Clifford started when he was 15, same with Lee Morgan and they improved exponentially over the next few years. I think that it's around this age where a person is developed enough to be able to take it seriously just like they would with any kind of academic subject. There are so many parents that go with "the younger the better" theory and think that exposing their young children to music will develop their musical minds - I've seen many of these kids (much of them pianists) who end up learning the RCM repertoire but nothing else (barely any sight reading ability, NO improv skills, cannot put emotion into music, cannot apply their technique to anything else, cannot HEAR the music before playing it...). I think that's because at a very early age music often becomes a drill and not a form of expression. So to sum it up, I don't think the earlier is always the better. The right time is the better. I can't debate the fact that there are prodigies who are able to seriously practice and understand music at a very early age, but this doesn't mean that someone starting later in life has any less potential.

I was also just reading about Oliver Gannon, and apparently he was getting his engineering degree when he bought an electric guitar. Within months he was gigging and then went on to study music. I've heard similar stories of people not playing at all and then discovering music later in life. So I guess it is possible for an adult to learn jazz right off the bat as long as they have the time and drive to work at it without forming any mental blocks (although this is pretty impractical for an adult who has to work for a living as well). It's much more common for adults to pick up a guitar and learn some rock or folk tunes and that's the limit of their virtuosity. If they have individuality and the ability to connect with others (like Leonard Cohen does), and the ability to create music, then their music can become much more real and much less of a hobby.

Definitely some thoughtful stuff you're putting out there, Mr. Rud.

-cm