Trey Anastasio on "The Scene"

[John Stamos]

To Tonyrage:

"Furthermore, who the fuck cares if someone can write a song if they can play a great show. Song writing is a very western-centric approach to making music. Think of japanese, javanese or Indian music. Or just think about jazz. The head is the least important element in so much jazz. It is all about the blowing."

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Really?

I don't know about that. I think a great song really sets the stage for a good jam in that alot of times it can evoke different and/or deeper feelings ... say for example Eyes of the World.

which can have a big impact on the jam.

Conversely, I've heard alot of times where bands

just totally slaughter their "composed" part of a great song, yet go on to have incredible jams

(YEM, Uncle John's Band, etc...).

My thoughts are just not to underestimate the power of a song. Not necessarily that to have a good jam, you need to have a good/well played song, but that a well written song/melody can really assist the band in getting to "that space".

[bTW - I am stealing this from a interview I read from Keith Jarrett talking about free improv ... it just makes total sense to me.]

Stamos