D C DowDell

Practice as if you are the worst, play as if you are the best!

One shouldn’t be in the habit of quoting oneself.

From hard rhythms of Be-bop, the mellow harmonies of Cool, to atonal forays of Free and the Straight Ahead delivery of Modern, it’s all Jazz.

While many forms of music may use the dynamic of improvisation, Jazz exemplifies the unique characteristic of collective improvisation.

Jazz improvisation is the art of collective negotiated expression.

The true value of this music lies in an artist’s individual creativity and that unique process of expression which is Jazz.

I love it when people hear my music but can’t figure out what instrument I’m playing.

If you hit a wrong note, then make it right by what you play afterward.

Get around, be on the scene, play it clean, be seen, be keen and be over eighteen.

Music activates the brain at a high level.

You know why I quit playing ballads? Cause I love playing ballads.

The sign of a mature musician is knowing what not to play.

You could go out and eat and come back and the note would still be playing.

Actually, I think the more Ben [Taylor] sings, the less like James he sounds.

The beauty of Jazz is that it’s malleable. People address it to suit their own personalities.

As far back as I can remember, singing was in my blood. My parents loved music, and I loved to sing. I was scatting at an early age.

I am at my core a singer/songwriter a la James Taylor or a la Billy Joel. It’s not that I don’t want to work with people, but I do just love doing my own thing.

Love is sweeping the country.

That’s a great thing about jazz. We leave it a little space so that we have the opportunity to go where the moment takes us

[on B. B. King] Very seldom does he talks about the way he play, man. He always wanna talk about young women. And I fuss at him sometimes, I say, ‘Man I wanna know what did you do here!’

A Jazz performance centers upon the process of creation. The final objective is not only the finished product, but the path and process taken towards it.