Traveling the Highway of Success: Three (3) Common Routes

Carving out a career for ourselves is a little like negotiating highway traffic—not excluding the occasional burst of road rage!

Route 1: We can choose to take the congested roads, equipped with bumper to bumper traffic, not going anywhere in a hurry.

Route 2: We can choose alternative routes that might take longer, but at least we’ll arrive at our destination in a good state of mind.

Route 3: We can choose to wait things out, until the proverbial traffic dies down, and opt to embark on a journey that’s more strategic.

I consider Route 1 to be the default choice of most. We tend to feel safer when we’re traveling the road most traveled. And when we do, we must also accept the consequences of potential stagnation and the possibility of getting lost in the crowd. But it’s not all bad. The flip side is that there are more people to learn from and with whom to make positive and fruitful connections.

For those of us who could do without the hassle, Route 2 might be the choice for us. While it’s true that traveling an alternative road can take longer and can be more isolating at times, some find the peace of mind gained, a well worth it trade-off.

Route 3: In many cases, this road is taken because we have no choice. Route 3 can oftentimes reveal itself as a disguised blessing--even if not viewed as such, initially.

Years ago, I had a conversation with Matt Balitsaris from Palmetto Records about doing a follow up Global Unity recording. Sensing that I wanted to record, not because I inpsired to, but because I felt I needed to, he told me that sometimes it’s OK NOT to record—especially when the industry was going through the kinds of changes it underwent in 2003. Personally, I was glad I waited until the industry traffic died down. When I did decide to get back on the road again, it was on my terms. I went to where I wanted to go, not where others and my insecurities felt I should venture.

Balloon Improvisation

My fascination with balloons is no secret these days. It started off very innocently with me an as amateur balloons twister. I never attempted to do this for money or tried to use it as a side hustle. I really just loved the idea of taking these pieces of elastic, filling them with air, and shaping them into very surreal looking figures.

Over the years, I've become increasingly intrigued by the idea of using them as improvisatory aids.

Balloons have a very unique sound, especially when you place materials inside of them that create a rattling effect when you shake them. My two materials of choice are dry rice and small white beans. Dry rice creates a bright rattling; whereas, small white beans create more of a darker sound.

Below are some examples of different ways I've used balloons as a part of my improvisation over the years.

Example 1: The Shaker Technique

Here, I've attached rice-filled balloons to the bell of the soprano saxophone. This inspires me to explore more deliberate movements of the instrument. And this morphs into the Steve Lacy composition "Deadline."

Example 2: The Puppeteer Technique

Here, the rice-filled balloons are attached to my fingers. And as my fingers move, sporadic sounds are set into motion. This technique is called the puppeteer technique because it reminds me of two non-descript things having a conversation being manipulated by me.

Example 3: The Explosion Technique

This example exploits the unique sound that balloons make when you pop them. Using a small sewing needle, my goal was to pop the balloons to a specific rhythm.

Example 4: The Sax/Drum Technique

This example is less about the inflated balloon, but more about using the elastic material like a drumhead when placed on the bell of the soprano saxophone. You can't see it in this video, but I'm using a foot pedal to mark the time.

Example 5: The Puppeteer Technique: Part 2

In this example, I'm using the puppeteer technique in conjunction with playing the soprano saxophone using a toy trumpet as a mouthpiece.

Example 6:  The Puppeteer Technique: Part 3

This example features me playing duo with guitarist Sandy Ewen. My saxophone is also prepared with a small tube extension.

Example 7: Ensemble Balloon Improvisation

* Here's something by bassist/composer David Menestres. This is from his piece is called "Between Know and Then - Part 4: Little Toes." This piece commemorates Sun Ra's 100th arrival day.

On this piece, David and his ensemble are exploring many of the balloon's sonic aspects:

1) The inhaling and exhaling breath patterns heard as the balloons are inflated and deflated.

2) The ringing timbres heard when you strike them.

3) The difference sounds that can be extracted when you tug, pull, and scrap the balloons.

Shaking Up the Status Quo: Three Stages of Acceptance

Shaking up the status quo is no easy task. The status quo usually has but two goals:

1. To stay the same.

2. To keep those trying to change it, out.

Also, the concept of status quo, changes. During the 1970s, black men shaving their heads bald was radical. Today it's commonplace. There was a time when only hardcore bikers sported tattoos. Today, you see them on school teachers and librarians. 

If you are one of those adventurous souls who finds him or herself going against societal norms, here are three (3) stages of acceptance you might want to keep in mind.

Stage 1: First, they DOUBT you.

Stage 2: Then they LOVE you.

Stage 3: Then they IMITATE you.

Ornette Coleman fits this idea perfectly. When he first appeared at the Five Spot in 1959, it was hardly a hero's welcome. He was yelled at, physically assaulted, and someone even set a car on fire in front of the club in protest.

However, some critics and few forward-thinking musicians praised his adventurous explorations. And soon many started to come around. This was quickly followed by a whole free jazz movement inspired by his musical vision.

 So as I said:

Stage 1: First, they DOUBT you.

Stage 2: Then they LOVE you.

Stage 3: Then they IMITATE you.

If you are shoving at the shoulders of the status quo or knocking over a few pins of everydayness, and folks are doubting you, just remember that stages 2 and 3 may not be far behind.

Be Yourself: Affirmations of Self-Acceptance

Years ago, I was one of the judges of a saxophone competition at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) located in Mexico City.

Everyone was very talented. But one thing I tried to stress to all of the contestants was that jazz competitions were slightly different from classical music ones.

In classical music, it's not so much about navigating your way through a set of chord changes and idiomatic authenticity, as it is about instrumental command and your ability to interpret the piece with the composer's intent. The person with the weakest technique will never win a classical music competition; whereas, in jazz competitions, accuracy is rarely your competitive edge.

This is a generalization of both, but you get my point. 

When offering the students advice at the end of each of their performances, the one thing I told them all was to be themselves.  I explained that at my age and level of experience I've heard the saxophone played as fast as humanly possible; I've heard saxophonists who could play louder than trumpet players; I've heard skillfully executed chord change playing; and I've heard musicians that could effortlessly weave in and out of the vocabularies of different players. But the one thing I haven't heard...is them. Allowing me to hear them would be the most impressive thing they could do at that moment. It seemed to resonate with them. And many of them seemed to take it to heart. 

Since that day, my Be Yourself spiel has grown into a five-line mantra. It goes something like this:

 BE YOURSELF

Someone will ALWAYS have more technique than you. So BE YOURSELF.

Someone will ALWAYS have a better and bigger sound than you.  So BE YOURSELF.

Someone will ALWAYS be able to play more stuff than you.  So BE YOURSELF.

Someone will ALWAYS have more talent than you. So BE YOURSELF.

But NO ONE will EVER be able to BE YOU better than YOU.  So BE YOURSELF.

Three (3) Levels of Consciousness While Playing Jazz (or Improvising)

I’ve always felt that playing music is an ongoing juggling act between total awareness, losing yourself in the music, and all of the micro-steps in between.

Here are three levels of consciousness we want to always have at our disposal when playing music--especially improvised music.

1. Self-consciousness

2. Group-consciousness

3. Sub-consciousness

Let’s unpack this further.

Self-consciousness: This is the first place we want to start—with an awareness of what YOU can create musically. The more clearly you can define YOU and what YOU do, the more easily others can negotiate what YOU do in a group context. 

Group-consciousness: Here, you’re moving away from ME-centered ness to WE-centered ness. It’s not solely about what you can do individually, but collectively. It's about taking your energy and creating synergy with others.

Sub-consciousness: Now, we’re getting into a space of just being. It’s not about ME-centeredness or WE-centeredness, just simply being Centered. 

Losing oneself in the music with little to no awareness takes practice. And the best practice is simply playing. I usually say, “If you’re thinking about being in this state, then you’re probably not.”

Ultimately, what you want to do is bounce back and forth between the three. Each will enable you to tap into a different dimension of your artistic expression. And most of all, have fun!

The Era of Squandering

Getting someone’s attention is not a big deal these days. Social media has made this process considerably easy. Keeping and earning someone's attention and trust...now that’s a different conversation. We can make most folks look our way at least once--or like us or retweet us. But because we often squander this trust, they, too, will eventually ignore us. We will be treated like the Jehovah's Witnesses of social media.

I've often said that this period in time will be known as "The Era of Squandering." The year 1928 was the time of the Great Depression. The year 2019 is the Great Disconnection.

We have access to millions of people for free, and what do we do? Show up empty-handed. Show up with nothing to say (At best, having something nonsensical at our fingertips ready to be typed into cyberland!). We show up, leaving no good reason to be invited back into folk's social media homes again.

The problem with most is that they don't know life without all of these modern social media platforms for connection: Facebook, Snapchat, Linkedin, Twitter, Tumbler, Blogger, YouTube, Skype, Vimeo, Flickr, you name it. I knew of a time when folks would have paid top dollar to have access to these kinds of databases.

Back in the 1990s, folks would pay several hundred dollars for mailing lists containing only a few thousand names. Or as I like to call them: potential spamm(ees). Just look at Twitter, for example. There are over 126 million active users. You can post as many words (280 characters), pictures, and videos as your heart desires. And it’s FREE. But many squander this opportunity to connect; this opportunity to make a difference. Opting to do like Jerry Seinfeld and put on "a show about nothing."

These free social media platforms things won't last forever. And will probably become monetized at some point (I suspect...) And many will look back on this time and say "should have," "would have."

The good news: The story does not have to end like this. We can start by doing something worth doing, saying something worth saying. Today. Tomorrow. Tonight.

To quote Charlie Parker, "Now's the Time."  And it's free.

Teachers Versus Role Models

Throughout our lives, we often seek the guidance of teachers and role models. Even though I'm sure I could greatly benefit from a teacher, at this point in life, I'm more interested in role models. 

Here are a few reasons why:

• Teachers give us maps to follow;
• Role models provide us with a compass.

• You can only have a limited number of teachers at a time;
• Role models can be unlimited.

• Teachers often cost money for their guidance;
• Roles models are often free.

• Teachers take us through their specific methodology;
• Role models allow us to find our own methodology.

• Teachers show us their way;
• Role models help us find our own way. 

Lastly:

• Teachers often make us feel like students;
• Roles models inspire us to become teachers.