Herb Ellis on being a professional musician

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Herb Ellis discusses the Concord Records label

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Herb Ellis discusses the importance of practicing

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Q: “That must have been a pretty wild concept [aspiring to be a professional jazz musician] because you would certainly never had seen a professional musican…”

A: “No, it was a wild concept and people would say, "I know her," but you know the neighbors, "but what are you going to do for a living." I said “That's what I'm going to do.” And they'd laugh and say, "There’s that crazy Ellis kid." You know, they thought I was really psycho, but I knew I was going to play. I knew I was going to be good and I knew I was going to be a success. That's not ego. I mean, I really knew it. That was all set. All I had to do is get there.”