![]() ![]() “You have skill, you have the groove, you have creativity, you have knowledge, you have technique. Improv draws upon that knowledge, Jemmott says. I always say that knowledge is useless if you can’t use it.” Now it’s more focused on the purpose, my abilities, the time and place, what’s apropos, and having access to information. “Coming from total ignorance and then being somewhat enlightened as to how music works, I’ve come up with a lot of things as a teacher to facilitate playing in general,” he says. Improvisation is a central theme in Jemmott’s instruction. He says that it has helped him to channel what he calls his “lifelong paranoia of ‘not copying anyone’” into the creation of tools for his music reeducation system, one that has been proven effective with his students. Jemmott says that Buddhism has affected his approach to music as well. As I look back at my life, the ins and outs, it has given me that stability to understand you suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy, and live with wisdom to be able to make a difference.” ![]() “Buddhism gave me some support while I was struggling, and it’s continued to this day. I’m not back to who I wanted to be,’ and I couldn’t progress any farther.”Ī friend suggested he start chanting. “I started getting all this work – with Herbie Mann and Lionel Hampton and Bette Midler – but I couldn’t sustain it. Things seemed okay, but something was wrong. “I was going through a whole thing after the accident,” he says. The catalyst was another car accident, this one in 1972. ![]() Jerry Jemmott’s life path eventually led him to Buddhism. “He’d be stuck playing what I played before!” “Then, when the red light would go on, I would switch up and play something different,” he says with even more laughter. “Purdie would lock in with me, and I’d think, ‘He’s taking my idea! It don’t feel the same now that he’s playing the same thing I’m playing.’” Jemmott decided the way to get it right was to trick the drummer. “My thing is to create a separate line and not necessarily lock in with the drummer,” he explains. “He’s a great drummer, but he’s such a pain the ass!” The drummer’s style wasn’t a natural match for Jemmott. Jemmott laughs heartily as he recalls working with another one of the greats, Bernard Purdie. “And Herb Lovelle was the one who had it all,” he says. He names Charles “Honeyman” Otis, Idris Muhammad and Reggie Ferguson as some of his favorites. And as a bassist, he pays special attention to what drummers do. In addition to recording and releasing a trio of solo albums, Jemmott has produced a number of instructional videos, written several books – including a memoir in progress titled I’m That Guy – and currently offers clinics and instruction on improvisation.Ĭoming from the jazz tradition – with its emphasis on improvisation – but working extensively in soul, blues, and pop, Jemmott’s reputation for bringing something different has always come naturally. Jemmott also got into arranging, work for theater, and instruction. Starting in 1978, Jemmott’s group, Souler Energy, played a mix of styles that showcased the range and versatility of its rotating cast of players. ![]()
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