The way jazz works is that we take a theme, and then we write using the same structure, same chord changes, and then we can do different tunes.
One thing about playing the real jazz is that you can't count it.
Jazz scares me. I've witnessed so many incredible singers and jazz musicians. Pop and soul music have always been the things that I felt like I could do.
Writing is a question of finding a certain rhythm. I compare it to the rhythms of jazz. Much of the time life is a sort of rhythmic progression of three characters. If one tells oneself that life is like that, one feels it less arbitrary.
Coltrane would do what you'd get a Roland Pro Tools module to do but with a group of jazz musicians.
I'm comfortable singing jazz. The only thing I was concerned about is that everybody, even in jazz, has their own style. To me, the queen of doodling was Ella Fitzgerald, and scatting is something I never thought I could do.
It's pretty rare in jazz to have a full-on steady band.
When I heard Charlie Parker, I knew that that was going to be the new wave, the new way to play jazz. From that point on, I was sold with... the idea of bebop.
In essence, I feel I'm more jazz guitar player because I write vehicles geared for improvisation.
You can start from any source material, and you can approach it with a jazz ear, and then it will become a jazz moment.
