Dan Knight

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I love jazz, especially mainstream jazz, because it provides me an opportunity to re-create myself (and the music I play)every time I play it. Playing a jazz standard is especially satisfying, because it means that you and your audience get to go on a musical journey together. I was first exposed to jazz by my Uncle Charley, who used to play his 78 rpm recordings of Meade Lux Lewis and Teddy Wilson for me. The biggest early influence, however, was Captain Kangaroo. Captain Kangaroo used to do this thing with white gloves on a black background, and the music behind it was Dave Brubeck's "Unsquare Dance." The experience of hearing that music changed my life. I met Dave Brubeck for the first time in East Rutherford, New Jersey, at a convention sponsored by "Jazz Times" magazine. I thanked him for my life. Literally. The first jazz record I bought was an album of 78 rpm recordings. It was Art Tatum, solo. The album was "Get Happy," on the Decca label. My advice to new listeners is to research the musicians whom you like. Find out who their particular influences might have been, and listen to those people yourself. Have your own experience with their music. Jazz musicians owe it to their audiences to take them along on the ride. It's become much too self-indulgent. The art form was never meant to be that way. It's an intimate experience, sure. But it's an intimate experience shared with an audience. Never forget that.

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