One of my favorite moments as a trumpet student was listening to Clark Terry warm up back stage before a performance. He is also responsible for helping to shape my view of music and becoming a musician. In a master class his quote to the class about improvisation was “first you must imitate, then you can innovate.” As a young musician I thought I should apply this to every facet of music in my life.
He was amazing.
NPR’s – A Blog Supreme has a great piece about him and his career.