(Ep3mis5) What are the worse jazz mistakes?

• not playing music at all but only making noisy sounds
• not knowing where you are in a song. John Coltrane said Monk's music could do this too him. It could feel like falling down an elevator shaft.
• not knowing where the beat starts on the one.
• playing the wrong chord changes.
• being incompetent on that musical instrument.
• poor listening to yourself and other musicians you are performing with
• out of tune
• out of rhythm

Less bad mistakes:

• making one bad note! such as hitting one wrong key on a piano, in an otherwise flawless performance.
• playing something odd, but saving it by playing it twice or using it in a creative way during the performance. Herbie Hancock, in his book Possibilities, opens the book by telling a story about where he played a horrible note just before Miles Davis had to solo. Miles gave him a funny look, but then produced an interesting solo based off of this unusual entrance note delivered by Herbie. Miles did not see it as a mistake by Herbie, but instead as an opportunity and challenge to produce a successful musical product from this awkward and difficult situation.