Out in L.A., things relax even further than they do in Chicago. There's such a looseness to it, and there's a potentially refreshing advantage to that.
I spend upwards of 200 nights a year on the road.
You can start from any source material, and you can approach it with a jazz ear, and then it will become a jazz moment.
I'm a guy who has more slapstick than Joe Cool moments in his day, so I'm not taking myself so seriously.
Music is a physical expression that has a physical impact upon the listener. Sound travels in waves through the air. This is not abstract. This is scientific fact. And it makes physical contact with the eardrum... and with the heart... and with the rest of the body.
Sometimes, with vocalese, I'm dealing with something, a great solo from the past, which is so iconic I can't presume to change it or mess with it.
