Yeah. I asked him a lot of questions, but the main thing that came out of it was phrasing and articulation; basically, over-emphasizing phrases to make them more 3 dimensional, if you will.
He got me to improvise, then played what I played in the same way. He then played the same thing again using strong articulation and it sounded completely different as well as sounding fantastic. I know it seems really obvious, but actually hearing it right in front of you makes it very clear.
He also talked about how important timing is, and how this can be a weakness with horn players. He gave an example of good timing by showing how Stan Getz would count in the band - by playing a solo 4 bar intro on the sax, completely in time.
In the 5 days he was here, he met with local musicians as well as the world-class musicians he was playing with. He had time for everyone and came across as completely geniune.
A great dose of inspiration!
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