"So, practice, particularly after you've attained a job, any kind of job, like playing with a four piece band, that's... an opportunity to develop"
About this Quote
Rich is sneaking a work ethic sermon into the casual language of the bandstand. The quote starts with that throwaway “So,” like he’s just continuing a conversation, not delivering doctrine. Then he doubles down on “practice” and immediately pivots: not the romantic, pre-career woodshed fantasy, but the unglamorous reality “after you’ve attained a job.” That’s the key move. For Rich, employment isn’t the finish line; it’s the new rehearsal room, with higher stakes and fewer excuses.
The phrasing “any kind of job” is deceptively democratic. It levels prestige. A small club date, a four-piece band, a modest gig you might dismiss as paying bills becomes, in his framing, a laboratory. The subtext is almost combative: if you’re waiting for ideal conditions, you’re already losing. Rich’s own legend as a ferocious technician and notoriously demanding bandleader sits behind every word. He’s not praising patience; he’s calling out complacency.
That mid-sentence stumble - “like playing with a four piece band, that’s...” - reads like a musician thinking in real time, reaching for a concrete example instead of platitudes. It’s also a glimpse of the jazz economy Rich came up in: constant gigs, constant adaptation, constant scrutiny. “Opportunity to develop” lands softly, but it’s a hard message: your job is not to prove you’re good enough to be hired; it’s to keep getting better while the world is listening.
The phrasing “any kind of job” is deceptively democratic. It levels prestige. A small club date, a four-piece band, a modest gig you might dismiss as paying bills becomes, in his framing, a laboratory. The subtext is almost combative: if you’re waiting for ideal conditions, you’re already losing. Rich’s own legend as a ferocious technician and notoriously demanding bandleader sits behind every word. He’s not praising patience; he’s calling out complacency.
That mid-sentence stumble - “like playing with a four piece band, that’s...” - reads like a musician thinking in real time, reaching for a concrete example instead of platitudes. It’s also a glimpse of the jazz economy Rich came up in: constant gigs, constant adaptation, constant scrutiny. “Opportunity to develop” lands softly, but it’s a hard message: your job is not to prove you’re good enough to be hired; it’s to keep getting better while the world is listening.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work Ethic |
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