THE DOCTOR’S ADVICE, OR PLAY WHAT YOU KNOW [:60]

RUFFIN: NOW A JAZZ MOMENT

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Play what you know, and play what you feel, and you’ll be happier.

Think up, under

NEA JAZZ MASTER LONNIE SMITH’S BRILLIANT ADVICE FOR MUSICIANS SEEKING A CAREER IN JAZZ.

Dr. Lonnie Smith: Everyone gets to that thing where they don’t enjoy themself. You playing, and you say, “Aw, I sound terrible.” But you don’t give up there, because that’s your learning space. That’s where you push a little harder. Be hard on yourself. Push a little harder. Don’t stop. Therefore, when they hear something, a guy playing, and they sound like oh, wow, oh, I wish I could play like that. No, you don’t. No, you do not. Because you learn things from everyone. Everybody that you hear … it stays here. It’s up there, all compressed. You going to be playing one day, and ah, it comes out. Because everybody’s great within themselves.

Excerpt of “Think” composed by Aretha Franklin and Ted White and performed by Dr. Lonnie Smith, from the album THINK!, used courtesy of Blue Note Records (Universal Music) and by permission of Fourteenth Hour Music Inc. [BMI]