[Dixielandjazz] Playing with Professionals & Practicing

[Steve Barbone]

Dear Bob:

In all of your diatribe about nothing, you continued to omit one any
discussion about the overriding salient FACT. I said:

> There is no contradiction there except that you wrongly inferred from my
> statement that I said playing with a professional band, BY ITSELF, will
> make one a competent jazz musician. I thought it would be obvious that one
> first has to know how to play the instrument which means practice.

and about the "only way"

> That statement does not exclude the other prerequisites, like picking up an
> instrument, learning to play it, and practice which is how one learns to play
> it.

Please forgive me for assuming that it should be obvious, to everyone in the
world, that in order to perform with a professional band, one has to be able
to play. And to be able to play, one must have practiced.

Repeat after me:

1) Practice makes one a competent MUSICIAN.

2) Performing with a professional jazz band is the ONLY WAY (if you like,
   insert "for a competent musician" here to understand more fully) to
   become a COMPETENT JAZZ MUSICIAN.

DO YOU GET IT NOW??????

If not please write me off list and I will continue to attempt to explain it
to you.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

PS: Did you see my compliment to you in the "letters" section of the current
American Rag?