"Meaningful improvisation - in athletics as in music - signals an artist."
- Mark Kriegel. Author of Pistol: The life of Pete Maravich
I'm reading this book right now and it's great. The writing is great, the story is great and there are a ton of life lessons that can be applied across the board.
But this sentence jumped out to me. Many musicians out there can jam, can play a good solo. But not all can improvise with meaning. Derek improvises with meaning.
We often talk about Derek as a guitarist and as a musician, but rarely as an artist. Based on this definition, he's one of the finest artists in the world.
He certainly paints a musical masterpiece damn near every time these ears hear him.
What really impresses me about Derek besides his obvious sometimes nearly otherworldly talent is how humble he is. He is so real & down to earth. He is a great example of how a human being should conduct himself. To have his amount of talent and not let it go to his head. I hope that never changes. I have read countless interviews and never heard him talk trash. He follows his muse. He took the foundation for Delaney & Bonnie, the Dominos & Mad Dogs and put his own spin on it. In the Allmans, he channeled Duane, but never "played Duane's guitar part" or cloned his solos. His playing is always evolving. I liked how after he added Alecia in the first Wheels of Soul tour he referred to "my choir". He takes his influences, gives a totally in the moment performance and is always reaching. Kind of like witnessing the past, present and future simultaneously. I distinctly got that feeling during the final ABB Beacon run when he was tearing up Statesboro on Duane's gold top. Hair raising & spine tingling. Chicken skin music.
Hair raising & spine tingling.
His playing somehow gets to the core - it touches something deep inside.
What really impresses me about Derek besides his obvious sometimes nearly otherworldly talent is how humble he is. He is so real & down to earth. He is a great example of how a human being should conduct himself. To have his amount of talent and not let it go to his head. I hope that never changes. I have read countless interviews and never heard him talk trash. He follows his muse. He took the foundation for Delaney & Bonnie, the Dominos & Mad Dogs and put his own spin on it. In the Allmans, he channeled Duane, but never "played Duane's guitar part" or cloned his solos. His playing is always evolving. I liked how after he added Alecia in the first Wheels of Soul tour he referred to "my choir". He takes his influences, gives a totally in the moment performance and is always reaching. Kind of like witnessing the past, present and future simultaneously. I distinctly got that feeling during the final ABB Beacon run when he was tearing up Statesboro on Duane's gold top. Hair raising & spine tingling. Chicken skin music.
JS, that's so deep and so true! Thank You!
