Learning taste.

I was watching a video with Vinnie Colaiuta playing in a fusion brass band. Vinnie, if you don’t know him, is one of the great drummer that ever lived. He has played famously for Frank Zappa or Sting among many, many others.

He’s a great technician, for sure, but that is not the purpose of my blog today. What I want to talk about is his taste. He’s able to fit into the most complex musical architecture as well as strip down his playing to cater to a Sting pop titbit. My question is: how does he know what to play when?

Before we move any further, I will admit that I do not know the answer. I think it is impossible to know because it is so very personal and that a player A will approach a situation one way while player B will approach it very differently, and both will be great.

But, the question is actually a bit different than just what to play when? I think it is more can you recognize the musical situation you’re in, does it echo with something inside you and can you put into notes that very echo? I think that’s a better compass.

I’ll give you a for instance:

When I came to Chicago I discovered the blues. The Chicago blues. I had played and studied that art form before, but once I was in the Second City, I wanted to learn it a little more thoroughly. So, I went and saw bands. I listened to blues music. I remembered the names of the players whether locally or internationally. As I was doing all that, I could appreciate the diversity of the style, and I could also deconstruct some of the technique I needed to play the style. All of that helped when it got time to step onstage and play.

Now, that’s me at my level. The astonishing thing about Vinnie Colaiuta is the amount of information he has to retain to be able to play so well ANY style of music. Here’s the video: