Giulio asks me a question and I answer “Yes” without hesitation. I’ll spend the next few months of my life wondering what I’ve got myself into…
Let’s backtrack a bit.
Guilio’s a bass player, friend, and regular musical collaborator. I’d flown out to Florence to celebrate his wedding. Nothing else on my mind — just enjoying the occasion, beautiful places, and interesting people.
When his mobile rings towards the end of my visit I think nothing of it as he talks for a while. Then he hangs up and turns towards me…
It seems that was the owner of a mountain refuge perched high up in the nearby Alpi Apuane. They’ve finally asked him to play there with his local band — a gig he’s been trying to line up for ages. Only there’s a small problem…
Turns out there’s no electricity up at the Rifugio. And that makes it impossible for his band to play the gig.
So Giulio asks me if I’ll play the gig. Just the two of us. Him on double bass and me on guitar.
And I say ‘Yes’.
Which all sounds pretty straightforward. Until you understand the details…
You see, I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never done anything like it before.
It’s always been a dream of mine to front a jazz trio. Just me, bass and drums. But I’ve never felt I had the skills or repertoire in place to do it. Not even for a couple of tunes.
And here I am saying yes to an even more exposed lineup. And we’ve got to fill a whole evening — way more than just a couple of tunes.
So I felt pretty nervous even as I said it. Knowing that more ‘worries’ would be sure to come after.
But I was confident I’d done the right thing. It was too good an opportunity to turn down. And I knew I’d find a way to make it work.
And it turned out I was right…
So many other good things followed that would never have happened unless I’d given that initial Yes.
I put together a whole concert’s worth of material and was able to keep playing it for years after. I developed the ability to lead a group and play without the support of a drummer or a chordal instrument. I arranged a whole set of new tunes and not only did a good job… I also discovered how much I enjoyed this (which I hadn’t previously suspected). And a whole lot more besides.
This wasn’t easy.
But that’s the whole point. I never would have put in the time and effort required unless I’d said Yes right at the start.
Most of my free time over the next few months was devoted to choosing material, arranging it, and then practising until I could actually play it properly. But once I was committed to doing it I was able to knuckle down and make it happen — slowly, but inexorably. It was a huge step forward, a massive success, and an experience that I wouldn’t have missed for the world.
Sometimes it’s not about saying ‘yes’ when you’re ready. Sometimes you need to say ‘yes’ in order to become ready.