It has been my experience that it takes musicians of this caliber before you get players that can lock to a track without it being insanely loud in their monitors (hopefully in-ears!), and I hate to say it, but even here there are times when the piano is pushing a bit compared to the rhythm..!

That’s why I am pretty adamant about not mixing the two unless in a highly rehearsed and very professional situation with very flexible monitoring. Anything less than this, you get people drifting away from the arranger’s tempo and it rapidly becomes a train wreck that sucks the enjoyment of jamming together, and don’t forget, that’s why we played with those other people in the first place!

My advice was largely aimed at the home players here, but many of the pros here may not have played with a band in decades either, and it’s important to reconnect with how to play well when the ONLY thing you play is your part.

I loved the concert, that must have been a fun gig!