“I think people should dance,” jazz legend Ray Brown once said. “There are enough musicians in the world that a certain percentage of them shouldn’t worry about being great soloists. They should play in jazz bands and get people dancing again. If the people like it enough to dance, then they’ll enjoy playing.”
Ray had seen a lot in his time, playing for the likes of Benny Goodman, Dizzy Gillespie, and Charlie Parker, and his words still ring true. Sometimes the bass world idolizes soloists – often musicians playing for other musicians – when the rest of the world just wants to dance.
