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THE JAZZ MUSICIAN'S PERSONAL MISSION STATEMENT
(From musicians who are going places; to the children who want to be.)
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Q:
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WHAT ARE MY GOALS AS A JAZZ MUSICIAN?
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A:
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...To become a saxophone player [bassist, drummer, etc.] of the highest calibre imaginable.
...To form my own group.
...To simultaneously become the leading jazz composer-slash-bandleader of my generation.
...To win a dizzying amount of accolades and awards.
...To play with every important living jazz musician.
...To become rich.
...To play with living jazz musicians who have become important since the time I played with that first crop of musicians earlier.
...In the absence of accolades/awards/money, to find happiness in art, or in personal integrity, or New Age Religion.
...In the absence of being the leading jazz composer-slash-bandleader of my generation, or in the presence of failing record sales, to second-guess the wisdom of choosing a career in music at all.
...Upon total reevaluation of my musical existence, to cast narcotic dependence aside and emerge reborn—like a phoenix up from the ashes of addiction and doubt—and devote my life to jazz with such dazzling ferocity that my music replaces all hopes I had for human progeny and my friends and loved ones barely recognize the man I’ve become.
...To grow a beard.
...Finally, after decades of toil and busting ass, to once again become a saxophone player of the highest calibre imaginable, and also the leading jazz composer-slash-bandleader[...], and also the winner of a dizzying amount of accolades and awards, hailed as a genius and so on, and also rich.
...To die content. Content, a musical genius, and rich at last.
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