In our last lesson, we talked about the virtues of being the "worst"—i.e. the least experienced or knowledgeable—musician in a band. Playing with better musicians simply makes you better. Today, though, I want to take a look at the opposite situation: What happens when you’re the "best" musician in the room? This can also be a great learning opportunity, provided that you’re willing to do a lot of work.
I should probably be more specific, though. Sometimes the strongest musicians are simply brought into a musical situation as “hired guns”—they play a specific role in a band, but someone else is directing the music. That’s not what I’m talking about today. If you’re the best musician in a group that plays together regularly, eventually the other band members will turn to you for guidance. And that’s where a unique opportunity for growth appears: the challenge of leading a band.
One of the most important skills for a band leader to have is the ability to listen to the whole group, even as he concentrates on his own instrument and parts. And just like any other skill, it can be practiced and developed. You must learn to divide your attention between yourself and your band mates. Of course, the better you know your own parts, the easier it is to listen to the other instruments as you’re playing. This is a tremendous skill to have, since your own playing will become more informed by the music being created around you. Your level of musical communication and interaction will deepen considerably.
As you become more comfortable dividing your attention between your own musical responsibilities and the sound of the band as a whole, you’ll start to notice areas that need to be improved. Maybe the groove just isn’t strong enough in one particular tune, or the comping on another tune is too muddled. Here is where another key skill of a band leader is required: the ability to diagnose musical problems.
This can be trickier than it might seem at first. It may be fairly obvious that the rhythm section isn’t tight enough, but figuring out why that’s the case can take a lot of careful listening and analysis. Maybe the drummer’s swing feel is slightly different from the pianist’s. Or maybe one of the horn players is rushing a bit during his solos, and the bassist is following him but the drummer is not. There are dozens of variables and possibilities, but a skilled band leader will be able to root out the problems. Sometimes this is too great a challenge to overcome in a live situation, so recording rehearsals and concerts can be a great help (see lesson 11: A Mirror for Your Ears). Figuring out what exactly is creating your band’s musical problems will sharpen your ears and greatly raise your overall awareness.
Once you’ve identified what needs to be changed, you might also have to help your band mates do the actual changing! Your pianist and guitarist may be stepping on each other’s toes harmonically, but they might also be so used to playing a certain way that they don’t know what to do differently. And here is another learning opportunity for you as the band leader: To help the other musicians, you’ll have to learn their parts. Knowing exactly what the pianist and guitarist are playing will give you a new perspective on your own instrument and role within the band. As you help your band mates improve, you’ll also be making yourself a better musician.
Action Step: Play regularly with musicians who are not as knowledgeable or experienced as you. Once you’ve earned their trust as a source for guidance, start to listen for musical areas that can be improved. Try to hear the band as a whole even as you’re concentrating on your own parts. Think about what needs to be fixed and how you can go about fixing it. You’ll learn a lot about how bands work and how different instruments approach the music.
Some of you might be wondering how I can advocate being the worst musician and being the best. It’s simple, really: all playing situations are learning opportunities. You should take advantage of as many of them as you can—whether you’re the most knowledgeable musician, the least knowledgeable, or somewhere in between. Try to grow as much as you can no matter where you find yourself playing. It’s the surest path to becoming a monster jazz musician.

Chris Punis is an active jazz musician in the northeast. He is founding member of the critically acclaimed group Gypsy Schaeffer and a member of renowned saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase’s group The Explorer’s Club. Chris is also an accomplished jazz educator and author of “The Monster Jazz Formula”. For more information about his teaching methods and to receive your free lessons, “21 Great Ways To Become a Monster Jazz Musician”, visit www.learnjazzfaster.com