Music and ego

Any musician, performer or composer, amateur or professional, is sending a message, telling a story through the music created.

It is true about any music; it is true about jazz - or any impovised music as well.

Sometimes, actually very often, the story is someting like: “I am so great, my chops are fantastic, I am so technically advanced, my sound is so good, you just have to admire me!”

If the musician is really good, it could be very effective, enjoyable and even inspiring - just like watching gymnastics or figure skating could be.

And then there could be a different kind of story when the musician, using the sound, technical abilities and other musical skills tells us about sadness and joy, happiness and suffering, laughter and tears, love and fear - about human experiences common to us all, but told in his own personal way from his own point of view.

Then musical skills of the musician become the tools to deliver the message, not the message itself.

I am not telling you which is better. Every approach has its place, there is gymnastics and there is ballet. And, of course, in reality these two approaches could be and very often are mixed together in different proportions.

Here is my personal experience: the farther I am able to move away from satisfying the demands of my ego and towards serving the higher purpose of music, the better my music becomes.

I am Alexei Zoubov and I approve of this message.