SKF NOTE: This tale of Wynton Marsalis‘s life on the road has been on my bookshelf for a few years, waiting for the right moment to read. That moment started a week ago. Here’s a good thought from Wynton I underlined on page 32 of this book. The advice applies to all musicians, including drummers.

“Thinking and playing are two totally different skills. Hearing and playing are also two different skills.

“The thought might not be in what you play because no one knows were his sound comes from. It’s just your sound. You can work on it and make your sound more like you.

“But a lot of musicians would rather play scales and patterns and live in the glow of somebody else’s sound.

“To be heard, you have to develop your own sound. You might as well, because who you are will forever be in your voice.”

Source: Jazz in the Bittersweet Blues of Life, by Wynton Marsalis & Carl Vigeland