House of Drumming.com

My experience with Jazz has given me the impression that what Pat is referring to has to a large part been assimilated.

I came to the party late: I was raised on Rock and Roll, then got heavily into Prog Rock and Jazz Fusion.

I started listening to the 'Jazz Giants' only within the past ten years.

One thing that immediately struck me was a perception that they had greatly influenced my musical heroes.

The things that were going on in the '60's really seemed to have a big impact.

That is the best way I can explain how when I first heard Tony play with the second Miles Davis quintet, it sounded eerily familiar, like exactly what I was trying to do the first time I ever played a drum.

The word "jazz" is the biggest obstacle standing in the way of the concept of "jazz".

There is too much connotation and preconception contained in that term; from the moment someone starts out playing that style of music, one is pointed in the wrong (retrospective/backward-looking) direction (not to mention all the pretentious silliness that "jazzers" subscribe to--it's worse than classical musicians, if you ask me).

That word needs to be put to rest and buried so that the music world can get on with it.