TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp On Jazz.
Every musician is the sum of the voices they’ve listened to, and my sound is shaped by the artists who came before me. Miles Davis taught me the power of space and reinvention. Clifford Brown showed me clarity, warmth, and joy in every note.
Wynton Marsalis set a standard for discipline and respect for tradition, while Terence Blanchard showed how jazz can speak directly to the world we live in. And Dexter Gordon—his sound, his storytelling, his time—taught me how to say something personal and true.
Some lessons came from recordings worn thin from repeated listening. Others came on the bandstand—through a nod, a raised eyebrow, or a perfectly placed solo that said more than words ever could.
This has been Rapp On Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by Layman Publishing Partners, celebrating 50 years of expert content creation, authoritative information management, and standards-driven print and digital production.