We have all heard musicians speak in terms of playing
“behind the beat” “a little on top of the beat” ,etc. Having had a 26 year relationship with Dizzy Gillespie I can tell you that he would laugh at these ideas. In fact he once referred to this type of thinking and playing as “masturbation” in a conversation I had with him. There are three distinct levels of playing in my humble opinion. Let us refer to them as: 1) The Imitative stage; 2) The Realized stage; and 3) The Mature stage. What Diz was referring to would be musicians in the “imitative stage.” In other words, musicians trying to “feel” it rather than playing it. What does this mean exactly? I think Dizzy would describe it as the following: The perception of someone playing “on top” or “behind” etc is not created through a conscious effort on the part of the musicians playing but rather being in a place the music has put them in as a result of the particular tempo they are playing. In other words the “music does that” if one is playing properly from the correct time and rhythmic concept. To find out more about what is referred to as “The Realized stage” you can check out, if you are so inclined, a DVD series called “The Rhythmic Nature of Jazz” at www.jazzbeat.com.