Good musical sense is the ability to know, without being directed, what to play and where to play it and, just as importantly, when not to play at all. Jazz genius Miles Davis used to preach that music is always a combination of sound and silence, that’s the source of the dynamic, and the silence, or the phrasing caused by the silence between notes, is as important as the notes of the sound. That, in brief, is musical sense and not all musicians have it.
Since my return to Guyana, I’ve done some work with local musicians, at various times, and with three, in particular, who have good musical sense. In my relationship with those three gentlemen, I feel free to make suggestions or comment on various aspects of a musical career – including song-writing and recording – but it is a subject I avoid with performers
