If you ever played in a band, you know that it requires to permanently communicate with each other. Usually the tune played builds the overall framework. In a rock band, the drummer and the bass player usually contribute the main part to belt together the rest of the band. Of course that’s not enough and would only lead to a huge amount of notes accidentally stuffed together. Instead, all musicians need to communicate, need to “feel” each other.
I remember a scene on a video DVD of ELP, performing “Pictures at an exhibition” in the early 1970th. There’s one short moment where Greg Lake seems to have lost track, while Keith Emerson continues to treat his keyboards. As a musician, you are used to it and you just jump back into the groove. No big deal.
The situation gets worse if it comes to Jazz, especially to its solos. If the bass man or the drummer plays the weirdest things on earth, how is it possible for the others to still throw in some well dosed riffs at the right moment? Chick Corea tries to answer this very question on his Notes From the Road blog.
