Patience

Waiting requires patience
It means don’t push

I recently read an interview with saxophonist Colin Stetson. In the interview he is telling about a suggestion from a former teacher of his. The suggestion was to pay attention to how Anthony Hopkins plays his role in The Silence of the Lambs.

I didn’t know what he was talking about. I watched that movie so many times. But I really didn’t understand what the fuck he was talking about, until way too recently. What he was getting at was patience (…) When I was younger, everything had to be explosive—every solo I played, every piece of music I wrote, had these huge arcs. Everything was just blowing up left and right. I don’t think I had the wisdom for the slow burn, or the patience to keep something and to really look at the minutiae of a situation or scene. (…)¹

There is not enough Anthony Hopkins in the field of improvised music.
Too many have too much to say.
Or they are at least saying a lot, and yet almost nothing at all.
Or they have too little patience.

Note to self: Try to be more like Anthony Hopkins