Every jazz musician struggles to find their voice. Who are they? How are they meant to show up? What does it mean to be me? What am I actually contributing? How am I pushing the craft forward?

I don't want to make any assumptions, but that sounds a lot like the rest of us. No?

• Well, how do jazz musicians find their voice?

• They aim higher and emulate the greats.

• They fail.

• They realize they cannot even dream of becoming their ideal. And through all of the failures and all of the suffering, they find their voice.

Conan O'Brien once observed, "It is our failure to become our perceived ideal that ultimately defines us and makes us unique."

Don't be afraid to aim high.
Fail as often as you possibly can.
Learn from each fall.
Eventually you will find what you're looking for - your voice.