All I can say is in my years of playing starting in the Air Force in Japan in the 60's through now here in LA I can't think of anyone who doesn't read. That has to be a couple hundred players. Here in LA virtually every one of them read better than I do. I've done gigs with a bunch of studio session players for example and discussed this. If you don't read, you don't work period.

That Joey D article I mentioned he says he was hired to fly to London to do an album. A limo picked him up from the hotel and when he got to the studio he was handed a book of charts. That's when he told the producer he doesn't read so please just play him what they've done so far and he'll play it by ear. Since he's Joey D, that wasn't a problem but for anybody else....? Btw in case someone doesn't know who I'm talking about it's Joey DeFrancesco probably the best jazz organist in the world right now. He's also some kind of savant, he can listen to the most complex thing and start playing it perfectly in a few seconds in all keys, right now, on the spot. Who here can do that?

It's all about where you're at and what you're trying to accomplish.

Bob

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