I prefer music where melody, harmony and rhythm come together and no one element overshadows the other. Jazz at its best is a democracy of creativity.
Jimmy HeathPreparing to improvise is at a level commensurate with mastering the structure in a European classical piece. Another way to define improvisation is spontaneous melody. In order to improvise, a player first needs to have memorized and analyzed the harmonic structure of so many pieces.
Jimmy HeathIt's the hardest thing for a young player to develop. At the same time a young player also has to deliver their musicality to the audience. I'm still developing my own sound, because you can never know all the music.
Jimmy Heath