March 2, 2020: The pianist kicks off the intro to Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man. The drummer and bassist come in, bringing a deep, in-the-mud groove, a nice combination of the Takin’ Off (1962) and Head Hunters (1973) versions of the tune. After 16 bars of the vamp, a common chord progression in jazz, blues, and funk, it is time for me to come in with the melody.
It is a Monday night after a long school day, but that is no excuse to forget the head to the classic Hancock tune in front of a packed bar. In this moment, I feel the most disconnected from my Gibson Les Paul I have felt in my twenty gigs this year. This was my final gig sitting in with the house band at Prohibition NYC before coronavirus hit New York City, and it took a toll on my musical headspace this summer.
For days, weeks, months, that feeling of being out of control over the instrument on which I have spent 15 years working tirelessly to hone my skills continued to haunt me. If I am not content with my performance at a regular gig, I always have the next one to woodshed and look forward to. But this time it was different.
At first, I spent hours a day obsessing over little phrases that gave me trouble, but the lack of a goal to work towards tormented me. I knew I had to change my mindset: forget the stress and revisit the music that inspired me to play in the first place. I returned to 2112 by Rush that I first learned on my Cordoba classical guitar. I even dared to learn Some Skunk Funk at live version speed. These accomplishments excited me to sit down and play, making this one of the most refreshing and productive musical summers yet.