Benny Green Workshop

Benny Green teaches jazz workshop at Drake University:

“If you want people besides your friends and family to listen to you, you have to make it a pleasing experience for them. Otherwise, it won't be fun, they'll go see what's on MTV, and you guys won't be able to work as musicians.”

"If you can't hear every note everyone else in the band is playing, you're either playing too loud or playing too many notes — I guarantee it. Play what you feel like, but try to make it colorful."

“Charlie Parker used to say that if it hasn't happened by the second chorus, it's not gonna happen,” said Green.

“What I want to hear is you serving the song: either support the melody or don't play, OK?”

"You have to listen to the original recordings — it's a matter of learning the vocabulary. Art Blakey was always preaching the importance of that; he would tell young players, 'Don't cut corners — that's how the music gets watered down.'” "

"Like countless piano teachers before him, Green broke out a metronome and directed his student to play the song at half-speed. “You need to find a comfortable practice tempo. Look, you have to have patience and honesty: patience to get to where you want to be, and honesty to admit to yourself what you have to do to get there.” "