Originally Posted By: MarioD
Ed I agree totally with you on those shredders. Why play as fast as you can if you ain't saying nothing?


In my mind one of the best players ever was/is Joe Walsh. His solos always said something relevant to the song.

And what is the ONE thing Joe isn't?

A speed burner.

Music has to come from your heart. This always reminds me of the night my sax playing friend and I went to see Kenny G(orelick). We used to have a venue in Cleveland called The Front Row. It was 30 rows deep and in the round with a rotating stage. We bought early to get good seats, and we were in the 3rd row. A local jazz group opened for him and were very good. He started about 9:15, and by 9:45 we were out of there. Now, Kenny G is maybe the BEST technical sax player I have ever seen. Everything he does is straight out of Berklee. But by the 4th song he was already repeating licks. I leaned over to my friend and said "We heard these licks in the 2nd song", and he replied "In the first one too." And we got up and left. Again, FINE technician, but man, playing maybe THE most expressive instrument on the tree and he plays like the whitest dude in America. Back in his Jeff Lorber days, when he played tenor, THEN he played with some soul. But on soprano, with those long, fluid scales and circular breathing that he manages to work into EVERY song.... my god he is boring. It's like Mariah Carey and her 7 octave range. It is impressive, but don't show us everything you have in every song.

And that's what the new breed of musician is, eager to hit every club in the bag on every hole. Well, some holes don't require the 3 wood and the 4 iron. Hit those clubs only when you need them. (I hope everybody golfs to get that metaphor.)

I am like you, Mario. I learned from a taskmaster who would not let me touch an instrument until I could show him on a little plastic fake keyboard which note represented the dot he pointed to on his blackboard. 6 weeks of theory before I was allowed to play. But now, 61 years later as of next month, I am so grateful for that approach.

I am using the new 1040XTRAEZ form this year. It has just 2 lines.

1. How much did you make in 2023?
2. Send it to us.