If you want to really get good at something, then you have to do it in front of people and be willing to fall on your face repeatedly and suffer some serious humiliation. It’s particularly true for Jazz but I think it applies to any kind of profession, be that cooking, writing (ahem), or whatever. But particularly Jazz. This is not an art form you perfect before you bring it out in the public. This is an art form that can function much like a language and “social skills” comes into play; just as you can’t rehearse and practice the art of conversation by yourself, you can’t get good at this form of communication if you don’t get out into the real world, i.e. gigs, sessions,  and try it out. 

Yes, it is necessary to spend hours alone to master your craft. Definitely. But that would not take you to the next level.  (This is why I think the current model of Jazz funding, which is a classical model, is problematic but I’ll write about that at a later date.) You can also flip that and say this: if you are willing to put yourself out there and endure public embarrassment and truly open to learn from these experiences, you’ll get so much better so much faster. When it gets real, you really have to bring your A game and use your creativity and gust to figure it out how to do it.