For Terri Lyne Carrington, drumming is a spiritual act
by Alexander Varty on February 11th, 2015 at 12:13 PM
…Terri Lyne Carrington cites Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, and Jack DeJohnette as her primary mentors. Like DeJohnette, she’s honed her technique on the drums to…where her playing is more about manipulating energy than keeping a beat. And…she takes an inclusive attitude toward the thorny question of just what, exactly, constitutes jazz.
…Hancock and Shorter…also seem to have passed down some spiritual wisdom.
“You have to look at why you do what you do,” she explains…. “And if you look at that honestly, in most cases somehow you work back to some kind of spiritual journey that you’re having within the art of being creative. That’s kind of how I look at it: it’s about purpose, your sense of purpose in life. And music is really healing; it affects people on levels that they don’t even realize. So it’s about healing and inspiring people, and that’s spiritual as well. It’s all connected.
“It’s also about the spiritual process of just being in the present,” she adds….
Scott K Fish 