WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 Imagine making your grand debut as a jazz musician 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:05.679 in New York City. The lights are glaring, the 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:07.519 critics are, you know, sitting right there in 00:00:07.519 --> 00:00:09.179 the audience with their note paths. Oh yeah, 00:00:09.339 --> 00:00:12.000 the pressure is just immense. Exactly. Now imagine 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:14.619 doing that for the very first time at age 60. 00:00:14.740 --> 00:00:17.260 Right. Like after spending the previous three 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:20.059 decades designing electronic circuits in a cubicle 00:00:20.059 --> 00:00:23.460 in Colorado. It's wild. It completely defies 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:27.059 the standard timeline of how a successful life 00:00:27.059 --> 00:00:31.399 is supposed to unfold. It really does. Welcome 00:00:31.399 --> 00:00:33.219 to the Deep Dive, everyone. If you're joining 00:00:33.219 --> 00:00:35.640 us today, and a warm welcome to all you fellow 00:00:35.640 --> 00:00:38.119 learners out there listening, our mission is 00:00:38.119 --> 00:00:40.640 to explore one of the most fascinating, entirely 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:43.399 non -linear paths you'll probably ever encounter. 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:46.399 It really forces us to rethink the entire concept 00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:48.340 of momentum. I mean, especially in the arts. 00:00:48.719 --> 00:00:50.259 Right. We're pulling our insights today from 00:00:50.259 --> 00:00:52.920 a single, deeply compelling source, which is 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:55.799 the Wikipedia biography of American jazz tenor 00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:59.329 saxophonist Henry Bertholf Robinson. or as he 00:00:59.329 --> 00:01:01.850 was universally known, Spike Robinson. Born in 00:01:01.850 --> 00:01:04.849 1930, passed away in 2001. Yeah, and he left 00:01:04.849 --> 00:01:07.709 behind this legacy that teaches us, honestly, 00:01:08.310 --> 00:01:10.569 as much about patience as it does about music. 00:01:11.349 --> 00:01:13.829 OK, let's unpack this. Where does this incredible 00:01:13.829 --> 00:01:16.430 journey actually begin? Because we really can't 00:01:16.430 --> 00:01:18.909 appreciate those 30 years he spent in an engineering 00:01:18.909 --> 00:01:22.230 cubicle without understanding the absolute artistic 00:01:22.230 --> 00:01:24.609 high he was walking away from. We have to start 00:01:24.609 --> 00:01:27.170 in Kenosha, Wisconsin. where Spike was born in 00:01:27.170 --> 00:01:30.500 1930. Like a lot of players of his generation, 00:01:30.560 --> 00:01:33.239 he actually started out on the alto saxophone. 00:01:33.540 --> 00:01:36.379 Oh, not the tenor. No, not at first. The alto 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:39.719 is a bit smaller, higher in pitch. It's often 00:01:39.719 --> 00:01:42.420 easier for a young student to handle before making 00:01:42.420 --> 00:01:44.260 the switch to the tenor sax. Right, the tenor 00:01:44.260 --> 00:01:46.659 being larger and deeper. Exactly, which would 00:01:46.659 --> 00:01:49.239 eventually become his signature voice. But he 00:01:49.239 --> 00:01:52.099 had the horn in his hands by age 12. The real 00:01:52.099 --> 00:01:54.819 catalyst, though, came in 1948 when he joined 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:57.459 the U .S. Navy as a musician. OK, so for a kid 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.359 from Wisconsin, in the late 1940s. The military 00:02:00.359 --> 00:02:02.859 was basically a primary ticket out into the wider 00:02:02.859 --> 00:02:05.640 world. Oh, absolutely. And the Navy didn't just 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:08.479 send him anywhere. By 1950 they stationed him 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:10.879 in the United Kingdom. Which is where the story 00:02:10.879 --> 00:02:13.060 really accelerates, right? Because he's overseas, 00:02:13.419 --> 00:02:15.659 but he's not just, you know, staying on the base. 00:02:16.060 --> 00:02:18.840 playing military marches. Far from it. He finds 00:02:18.840 --> 00:02:21.159 his way into the very heart of the London jazz 00:02:21.159 --> 00:02:23.340 scene. The source material points out that he 00:02:23.340 --> 00:02:26.199 was regularly jamming at these legendary venues. 00:02:26.479 --> 00:02:28.960 Like Club Eleven and the Downbeat Club. And Studio 00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:31.900 51, and to put that in context for you, these 00:02:31.900 --> 00:02:34.180 weren't just random pubs with the stage in the 00:02:34.180 --> 00:02:37.599 corner. In 1950, London was experiencing this 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:40.159 massive cultural shift. Post -World War II, right? 00:02:40.400 --> 00:02:44.020 Exactly. There was this huge hunger for the new 00:02:44.020 --> 00:02:47.259 radical sounds coming out of America, specifically 00:02:47.259 --> 00:02:51.860 bebop. And bebop was fast, complex, heavily improvised, 00:02:52.439 --> 00:02:55.120 and frankly, Kind of rebellious. It was the absolute 00:02:55.120 --> 00:02:57.400 cutting edge of music at the time. And Spike, 00:02:57.580 --> 00:02:59.840 this 20 -year -old Navy kid, is right there in 00:02:59.840 --> 00:03:02.120 the epicenter. He's trading solos with the leading 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:04.659 figures of the British bebop movement. Wow. Yeah, 00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.000 guys like Tommy Pollard, Johnny Dankworth, and 00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:09.979 this is important, a young prodigy named Victor 00:03:09.979 --> 00:03:12.039 Feldman. We'll definitely come back to that name 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:15.080 later. And he even ends up recording for Carlo 00:03:15.080 --> 00:03:18.099 Kramer's Esquire label, right? Which is a really 00:03:18.099 --> 00:03:20.360 vital independent jazz label back then. He did. 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:22.319 It's basically like. It's like an international 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:24.259 study abroad trip where you just wander into 00:03:24.259 --> 00:03:26.400 a local club and accidentally become a rock star. 00:03:26.539 --> 00:03:28.879 That is the perfect way to describe it. You're 00:03:28.879 --> 00:03:32.219 accepted by the elite players of a major global 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:35.659 capital. You're making records. You are living 00:03:35.659 --> 00:03:37.879 the dream. And he had a safety net too. Right. 00:03:37.879 --> 00:03:41.080 He was insulated by his military. income. His 00:03:41.080 --> 00:03:43.439 nights were purely about the art. He didn't have 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.580 to worry about whether playing complex bebop 00:03:45.580 --> 00:03:47.759 would sell enough tickets to, you know, buy his 00:03:47.759 --> 00:03:50.759 dinner. The Navy was feeding him. Total artistic 00:03:50.759 --> 00:03:54.139 freedom. Exactly. But then the deployment ends. 00:03:54.400 --> 00:03:57.639 The reality check. Yeah. The Navy transfers him 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:00.319 back home to the U .S. and he gets demobilized. 00:04:00.680 --> 00:04:03.020 Suddenly he's thrust back into civilian life, 00:04:03.319 --> 00:04:05.400 specifically into the Chicago area music scene. 00:04:06.140 --> 00:04:08.460 And the sources are very clear about this. He 00:04:08.460 --> 00:04:11.400 was deeply unhappy with it. The contrast must 00:04:11.400 --> 00:04:14.120 have been incredibly jarring. Oh, it had to be. 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:17.040 In London, he was part of an avant -garde movement. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:20.540 Back in Chicago in the early 1950s, as a civilian, 00:04:21.019 --> 00:04:24.540 he suddenly had to face the brutal, uncompromising 00:04:24.540 --> 00:04:27.740 economics of being a gigging musician. Because 00:04:27.740 --> 00:04:30.240 the post -war music economy was shifting, right? 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:33.439 Big bands were dying out. Exactly. Smaller combos 00:04:33.439 --> 00:04:35.779 were fighting for scraps. And to make a living, 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:37.959 a saxophone player often had to play commercial 00:04:37.959 --> 00:04:40.360 dance music or back up pop singers or just play 00:04:40.360 --> 00:04:42.439 in styles they didn't creatively respect. The 00:04:42.439 --> 00:04:45.300 Daily Hustle. taking gigs you hate just to make 00:04:45.300 --> 00:04:49.100 rent, dealing with shady club owners, the constant 00:04:49.100 --> 00:04:51.360 travel, the instability. I mean, I get why that's 00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:53.959 draining. But I still don't get it, though. What 00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:56.079 do you mean? If you love music so much, why not 00:04:56.079 --> 00:04:58.980 just like move to New York, get a day job teaching 00:04:58.980 --> 00:05:00.939 music, and play the clubs at night? Why make 00:05:00.939 --> 00:05:03.120 a massive pivot completely out of the industry? 00:05:03.300 --> 00:05:05.220 Well, because teaching music still ties your 00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:07.939 financial survival to your instrument. Oh, interesting 00:05:07.939 --> 00:05:10.819 point. If you teach all day, you're still exhausting 00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:14.279 your musical energy to pay the bills. Spike decided 00:05:14.279 --> 00:05:16.980 to use the GI Bill and go to university for electronic 00:05:16.980 --> 00:05:20.399 engineering. By choosing a field completely unrelated 00:05:20.399 --> 00:05:23.360 to the saxophone, he protected his art from that 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:26.139 corrosive anxiety of survival. That makes a lot 00:05:26.139 --> 00:05:29.300 of sense, actually. And why electronics specifically? 00:05:29.639 --> 00:05:32.360 Electronic engineering in the 1950s and 60s was 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:36.680 an exploding field. It required deep focus, meticulous 00:05:36.680 --> 00:05:39.399 problem solving, and a highly logical mind to 00:05:39.399 --> 00:05:42.639 understand circuits and transistors. Plus, it 00:05:42.639 --> 00:05:45.579 offered immense stability. So he makes this profound 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:49.120 shift from the smoky basement jazz clubs of London 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:51.879 to the brightly lit engineering classrooms of 00:05:51.879 --> 00:05:54.449 the American Midwest. And he really commits to 00:05:54.449 --> 00:05:56.810 it. For the majority of the next three decades, 00:05:56.850 --> 00:05:59.209 he lives and works as an electronic engineer 00:05:59.209 --> 00:06:02.050 in Colorado. 30 years. Yeah, 30 years. He's a 00:06:02.050 --> 00:06:04.550 corporate guy building a stable life thousands 00:06:04.550 --> 00:06:06.769 of miles away from the music industry epicenters. 00:06:06.930 --> 00:06:08.910 But, and this is the crucial detail the biography 00:06:08.910 --> 00:06:11.089 provides, he never actually stopped playing. 00:06:11.610 --> 00:06:14.449 No, he didn't. He didn't just lock the saxophone 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:16.970 in a case in the attic. He continued to play 00:06:16.970 --> 00:06:19.829 tenor saxophone at local clubs in Colorado. So 00:06:19.829 --> 00:06:22.589 he kept his jobs up. And he wasn't just, you 00:06:22.589 --> 00:06:24.620 know, playing alone in his basement either. The 00:06:24.620 --> 00:06:27.139 records show that a constant musical companion 00:06:27.139 --> 00:06:30.160 during these Colorado years was Dave Gruesome. 00:06:30.519 --> 00:06:33.139 Yes. Dave Gruessen? And for anyone listening 00:06:33.139 --> 00:06:35.699 who might not know that name, Dave Gruessen would 00:06:35.699 --> 00:06:38.959 eventually go on to become a massive Oscar -winning 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:41.980 film composer, an absolute titan in the music 00:06:41.980 --> 00:06:43.959 industry. Right, so Spike is still surrounding 00:06:43.959 --> 00:06:47.399 himself with staggering talent, just in a localized, 00:06:47.579 --> 00:06:49.839 low -pressure environment. Let me push back on 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:51.980 the standard narrative for a second. Standard 00:06:51.980 --> 00:06:54.600 bios might say he abandoned music for 30 years, 00:06:54.879 --> 00:06:57.579 but did he? Or did he just figure out a genius 00:06:57.579 --> 00:07:00.000 way to fund his passion without the stress of 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.019 the hustle? What's fascinating here is the psychological 00:07:03.019 --> 00:07:05.819 benefit of this era. By taking that engineering 00:07:05.819 --> 00:07:08.339 job, Spike removed the pressure for his music 00:07:08.339 --> 00:07:10.519 to be a commodity. Yeah, that's a huge dist - 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:13.300 When your art doesn't have to feed you, you only 00:07:13.300 --> 00:07:15.339 play what you want to play. You don't have to 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:17.519 chase trends, you don't have to play aggressively 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:20.600 to stand out in a crowded New York club. He was 00:07:20.600 --> 00:07:22.920 unknowingly using those 30 years in Colorado 00:07:22.920 --> 00:07:26.060 as an incubator. Exactly. He was refining his 00:07:26.060 --> 00:07:28.959 sound, maturing as a human being, and preserving 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:32.680 a pure - uncorrupted love for the melody. So 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:35.639 he spends 30 years building circuits by day and 00:07:35.639 --> 00:07:38.600 playing local gigs by night. But a holding pattern, 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:41.500 even a comfortable one, only works if you eventually 00:07:41.500 --> 00:07:44.560 break out of it. What was the catalyst that finally 00:07:44.560 --> 00:07:46.379 pulled him back into the professional spotlight? 00:07:46.699 --> 00:07:49.560 Well, that brings us to the late 1970s and early 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:52.480 1980s. The engineering career has provided for 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:54.720 him, his skills have stayed razor sharp, and 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:56.680 the past finally comes calling in a way that 00:07:56.680 --> 00:07:59.399 feels almost scripted. Right, because in 1981, 00:07:59.500 --> 00:08:01.660 he returns to the professional recording studio 00:08:01.660 --> 00:08:04.180 to make the album Spike Robinson Plays Harry 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:06.399 Warren. And pay attention to who is in the studio 00:08:06.399 --> 00:08:09.939 with him. On bass, he has Ray Brown. Ray Brown, 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:12.500 Ella Fitzgerald's bassist, a member of the Oscar 00:08:12.500 --> 00:08:15.259 Peterson Trio, arguably one of the greatest jazz 00:08:15.259 --> 00:08:17.949 bassists to ever live. The fact that Spike could 00:08:17.949 --> 00:08:20.750 step into a studio with Rhea Brown after 30 years 00:08:20.750 --> 00:08:23.810 away speaks volumes about the level he had maintained. 00:08:24.589 --> 00:08:27.410 But the truly significant name on that record... 00:08:27.290 --> 00:08:30.529 is the pianist. Victor Feldman. Yes. The exact 00:08:30.529 --> 00:08:32.909 same Victor Feldman he was jamming with in the 00:08:32.909 --> 00:08:36.070 London bebop clubs back in 1950. Here's where 00:08:36.070 --> 00:08:38.470 it gets really interesting. Look at the beautiful 00:08:38.470 --> 00:08:41.149 geographic and interpersonal symmetry here. It 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:43.850 is profound. Victor Feldman was there at the 00:08:43.850 --> 00:08:46.190 genesis of Spike's artistic awakening in the 00:08:46.190 --> 00:08:49.029 UK. They spoke the same musical language as kids. 00:08:49.330 --> 00:08:52.389 And three decades later, Feldman acts as the 00:08:52.389 --> 00:08:54.690 bridge back into the professional recording world. 00:08:54.870 --> 00:08:56.990 Wow. So it's not just a reunion. It's a validation. 00:08:57.149 --> 00:09:00.149 Exactly. Feldman's presence essentially signaled 00:09:00.149 --> 00:09:02.509 to the jazz world that Spike Robinson was the 00:09:02.509 --> 00:09:05.049 real deal, like an unearthed treasure. So the 00:09:05.049 --> 00:09:08.450 spark is lit again. The 1981 album happens. And 00:09:08.450 --> 00:09:11.750 a few years later, in 1984, a British fan encourages 00:09:11.750 --> 00:09:14.629 Spike to come back and tour the UK. The very 00:09:14.629 --> 00:09:17.149 place where the magic started. Right. And it's 00:09:17.149 --> 00:09:19.129 like finally launching the passion project business 00:09:19.129 --> 00:09:20.710 you've been tinkering with in your garage for 00:09:20.710 --> 00:09:23.529 30 years and having it become an overnight success. 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:27.019 Because he goes over and the tour is a runaway 00:09:27.019 --> 00:09:29.759 success. He's playing with top -tier British 00:09:29.759 --> 00:09:32.659 Jasmine people like Dick Morrissey, pianist Bill 00:09:32.659 --> 00:09:35.779 LaSage, bassist Alec Dankworth, drummer Bill 00:09:35.779 --> 00:09:39.559 Iden. And the reception is so overwhelmingly 00:09:39.559 --> 00:09:42.740 positive that Spike finally makes the ultimate 00:09:42.740 --> 00:09:45.500 leap. He takes early retirement from his engineering 00:09:45.500 --> 00:09:48.340 job in Colorado to pursue music full -time. He 00:09:48.340 --> 00:09:50.480 cashes out of the pragmatic life to return to 00:09:50.480 --> 00:09:52.639 the artistic life, but the key difference is 00:09:52.639 --> 00:09:55.500 that now he's doing it on his own terms. He isn't 00:09:55.500 --> 00:09:57.980 a starving 20 -something forced to play gigs 00:09:57.980 --> 00:10:00.899 he hates anymore. No, he's a fully formed, financially 00:10:00.899 --> 00:10:03.700 secure adult stepping onto the stage purely for 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:05.620 the love of the craft. I really want to track 00:10:05.620 --> 00:10:09.179 this late blooming stardom because he was incredibly 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:11.620 prolific once he made that leap. Through the 00:10:11.620 --> 00:10:14.279 1980s and the early 1990s, he's performing at 00:10:14.279 --> 00:10:17.399 clubs and festivals all over the UK, across Europe, 00:10:17.480 --> 00:10:19.600 and back in the US. Yeah, the source notes that 00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:22.480 he made his New York debut at Christmas in 1990. 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:26.200 At 60 years old, that's just incredible. Yeah. 00:10:26.460 --> 00:10:28.320 And he was recording extensively during this 00:10:28.320 --> 00:10:31.620 period for respected labels like HEP, Discovery, 00:10:31.779 --> 00:10:34.740 and Concord. He essentially crammed an entire 00:10:34.740 --> 00:10:37.000 career's worth of output into his later years. 00:10:37.080 --> 00:10:39.799 He was playing as a band leader, but also recording 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:42.379 alongside other deeply respected figures. Right. 00:10:42.399 --> 00:10:44.120 The biography highlights collaborations with 00:10:44.120 --> 00:10:46.440 people like guitarist Louis Stewart, trumpeter 00:10:46.440 --> 00:10:49.360 Harry Edison, and fellow saxophonists like Al 00:10:49.360 --> 00:10:52.259 Cohn, Roy Williams, and Claude Tessendia. He 00:10:52.259 --> 00:10:55.440 even moved permanently to England in 1989. He 00:10:55.440 --> 00:10:57.399 went back to the geographic location that had 00:10:57.399 --> 00:10:59.580 always nurtured his sound. Yeah. And he kept 00:10:59.580 --> 00:11:02.419 pushing boundaries too. In the year 2000, when 00:11:02.419 --> 00:11:05.399 he is 70 years old, he forms a band called Young 00:11:05.399 --> 00:11:08.779 Lions, Old Tigers. With UK saxophonist Derek 00:11:08.779 --> 00:11:12.019 Nash, drummer Pete Kader, bassist Rob Rickenberg 00:11:12.019 --> 00:11:14.700 and pianist Nick Weldon. They release an album 00:11:14.700 --> 00:11:17.120 and it wins Jazz CD of the Year in the British 00:11:17.120 --> 00:11:20.440 Jazz Awards. Which is huge. Winning a major national 00:11:20.440 --> 00:11:22.779 award at 70 years old is a testament to the fact 00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:25.259 that his playing wasn't just some nostalgic novelty. 00:11:25.419 --> 00:11:27.960 He was objectively brilliant, contemporary and 00:11:27.960 --> 00:11:30.340 deeply resonant with audiences and critics alike. 00:11:30.539 --> 00:11:33.139 Sadly, though, we know from the text that Spike 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:36.360 passed away the following year, in October 2001. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:39.440 In Riddle, England, at the age of 71. Right. 00:11:40.019 --> 00:11:42.799 But he left behind this incredibly rich discography 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:46.679 and a very specific, universally praised playing 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:49.080 style. Let's actually dig into that style because 00:11:49.080 --> 00:11:51.860 the sources describe his playing with a few key 00:11:51.860 --> 00:11:55.740 phrases. A mellow tone. An unaggressive approach. 00:11:55.950 --> 00:11:58.870 and a deep affinity for the classic American 00:11:58.870 --> 00:12:01.750 songbook. Yeah, broadly speaking, he was categorized 00:12:01.750 --> 00:12:04.850 as part of the Lester Young School of tenor saxophonists. 00:12:05.100 --> 00:12:06.820 What does that actually mean for the listener 00:12:06.820 --> 00:12:09.279 who isn't, you know, jazz historian? Well, when 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:11.899 you think of a saxophone, you might picture the 00:12:11.899 --> 00:12:14.480 aggressive, rapid -fire, almost frantic playing 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:16.720 of someone like John Coltrane or Charlie Parker. 00:12:16.840 --> 00:12:19.279 Sure, lots of fast notes, very loud. Right. That 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:21.240 style is about pushing the physical limits of 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:23.259 the instrument. But the Lester Young School, 00:12:23.259 --> 00:12:25.860 which includes players like Stan Getz and Zoot 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:28.960 Sims, is the opposite. OK, how so? It's about 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:30.919 floating over the rhythm. The player doesn't 00:12:30.919 --> 00:12:33.179 bite down hard on the reed. They let the air 00:12:33.179 --> 00:12:36.500 flow smoothly. it creates a breathier, lighter, 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.759 more relaxed sound. Got it. It's a style that 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:43.539 favors beautiful, lyrical melodies over showy, 00:12:43.779 --> 00:12:46.139 complex acrobatics. So what does this all mean 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:48.860 for you listening right now? Think about the 00:12:48.860 --> 00:12:52.419 physical mechanics of that style. Does a mellow, 00:12:52.720 --> 00:12:56.059 unaggressive, breathy tone perfectly reflect 00:12:56.059 --> 00:12:59.360 a man who spent 30 years patiently waiting? If 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:01.840 we connect this to the bigger picture, it's impossible 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:04.159 to separate the sound of his horn from the shape 00:13:04.159 --> 00:13:06.860 of his life. His playing was unrushed because 00:13:06.860 --> 00:13:09.879 his life ultimately had become unrushed. He had 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.080 an engaging, patient voice on the saxophone because 00:13:13.080 --> 00:13:16.000 he had spent decades living a patient, meticulous 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:18.279 life as an engineer. That's a great point. An 00:13:18.279 --> 00:13:20.559 engineer has to respect the logic and flow of 00:13:20.559 --> 00:13:22.720 a circuit board. You can't just force electricity 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:25.830 to do what it doesn't want to do. Exactly. Similarly, 00:13:26.149 --> 00:13:28.490 Spike didn't try to force the music. He mastered 00:13:28.490 --> 00:13:31.470 the classic American songbook because he literally 00:13:31.470 --> 00:13:33.990 lived alongside those melodies for 70 years. 00:13:34.049 --> 00:13:35.870 You wasn't trying to prove his technical dominance 00:13:35.870 --> 00:13:38.129 with frantic playing? No, he was just expressing 00:13:38.129 --> 00:13:41.149 a deep, mature understanding of the song. And 00:13:41.149 --> 00:13:43.769 you cannot fake that kind of relaxed mastery. 00:13:44.009 --> 00:13:47.889 It requires life experience. It requires a maturity 00:13:47.889 --> 00:13:50.750 that you simply do not possess when you're frantically 00:13:50.750 --> 00:13:52.690 sprinting through your 20s trying to make a name 00:13:52.690 --> 00:13:54.850 for yourself. And that is the true value of the 00:13:54.850 --> 00:13:57.870 30 -year detour. The art needed the artist to 00:13:57.870 --> 00:14:00.649 go live a normal life for a while. He had to 00:14:00.649 --> 00:14:03.289 go experience the routine of a day job, the discipline 00:14:03.289 --> 00:14:05.669 of engineering, the quiet evenings in Colorado. 00:14:06.070 --> 00:14:08.190 All of that life experience accumulated so that 00:14:08.190 --> 00:14:10.009 when he finally picked the instrument back up 00:14:10.009 --> 00:14:12.450 in a professional studio, he actually had something 00:14:12.450 --> 00:14:15.549 meaningful to say. Just to synthesize this incredible 00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:18.289 arc we've been exploring, Spike Robinson went 00:14:18.289 --> 00:14:22.889 from a teenage saxophonist in the Navy to a dazzling 00:14:22.889 --> 00:14:25.669 bebop kid at the center of the London jazz scene 00:14:25.669 --> 00:14:29.169 to a practical meticulous electronics engineer 00:14:29.169 --> 00:14:33.299 in Colorado for 30 long years. and then completely 00:14:33.299 --> 00:14:35.460 rewriting the rules of how careers are supposed 00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:38.600 to function, he reemerged in his 60s and 70s 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:41.240 to become an award -winning international jazz 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:44.200 star. He lived three distinct lives and every 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:46.559 single one of them was a necessary prerequisite 00:14:46.559 --> 00:14:49.519 for the next, which leaves us with a really vital 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:53.639 question to consider as we wrap up. Today we 00:14:53.639 --> 00:14:56.720 live in the era of the creator economy. There's 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.200 this immense societal pressure that says if you 00:14:59.200 --> 00:15:01.879 have a hobby, a passion, or a talent, you must 00:15:01.879 --> 00:15:04.220 instantly monetize it. Oh, absolutely. You have 00:15:04.220 --> 00:15:06.600 to turn it into a side hustle, build a brand, 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:09.379 market yourself, and hustle until it becomes 00:15:09.379 --> 00:15:11.500 your full -time job. Right. The idea that an 00:15:11.500 --> 00:15:14.279 unmonetized passion is somehow a wasted opportunity. 00:15:14.399 --> 00:15:16.659 Which is exhausting. It really is. But Spike 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:19.519 Robinson's life asks us to reconsider that entirely. 00:15:19.850 --> 00:15:22.809 What if the pressure to constantly monetize our 00:15:22.809 --> 00:15:25.629 passions is actually killing our potential for 00:15:25.629 --> 00:15:28.809 true mastery? What if, by keeping his music completely 00:15:28.809 --> 00:15:31.710 separate from his financial survival for 30 years, 00:15:32.049 --> 00:15:35.649 Spike Rodinson achieved a level of pure, uncorrupted 00:15:35.649 --> 00:15:38.350 artistry that the modern creator economy makes 00:15:38.350 --> 00:15:40.850 almost impossible? That is something to think 00:15:40.850 --> 00:15:43.389 about. As you go about your day, ask yourself, 00:15:43.929 --> 00:15:46.029 is there something in your life that you love 00:15:46.029 --> 00:15:49.159 doing? that might actually benefit from being 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:52.120 hidden away, kept entirely for yourself, unhurried 00:15:52.120 --> 00:15:54.960 and unmonetized, until you are truly ready to 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:57.580 share it with the world. A reminder that sometimes 00:15:57.580 --> 00:16:00.080 the best thing you can do for your art is to 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:02.620 just go get a day job. Thanks for exploring the 00:16:02.620 --> 00:16:05.220 brilliant, wildly nonlinear life of Spike Robinson 00:16:05.220 --> 00:16:07.320 with us today. Keep learning, keep listening, 00:16:07.700 --> 00:16:09.279 and we'll catch you on the next Deep Dive.