Effortless Mastery

by Kenny Werner

I experienced the transition between fear-based listening and listening with love when, as mentioned earlier, I was listening to Horowitz with my teacher in Brazil. I suddenly noticed how twisted and tense my body was. Being released from my ego at that moment allowed me to experience the joy in his playing. You should listen the same way that you play, practice or teach: with love and openness. In this way, you become absorbed in the moment and lose yourself in the music. You may find that your playing has changed through osmosis. This point has been proven to me many times. There is a radio station in New York City that celebrates the birthdays of various musicians by playing their music all day, or sometimes all week. One time they were playing Art Blakey for several days. I had the radio on that station all weekend. Day and night, listening or not, Art Blakey was drifting through my ears. Sometimes I would sit and listen, other times I would be busy. It occurred to me that I had never listened to so much continuous Blakey before. Monday night, on my way to the Village Vanguard for my regular gig with the Mel Lewis Orchestra, I was still listening to him on the car radio. When we started to play, I noticed that everything felt different. I had automatically absorbed Blakey’s groove, and I was playing things with a different gait. Others in the band acknowledged the change in feeling. Effortless listening is like breathing. It nourishes you without your even knowing it.

Transition from fearful to love