The Best Compliment I Have Ever Received
by Drew Holmes
When I have the opportunity to interview someone on a video or podcast, one of my favorite questions is “What is the best compliment you have ever received?” Too often we remember the negatives that are said to or about us and not the positives, so I am always curious as to what people find meaningful.
Years ago, I was paid what at first would seem like a backhanded compliment. In reality it was some of the highest praise I have ever received as a musician. I was sitting 3rd trumpet in the Just for Kicks Big Band and Todd Brubaker, a fantastic trombone player and all-around musician, referred to me as “the best section trumpet player in town.” Now, a lot of trumpet players (including my younger self) would have taken offense at such a statement, but I immediately recognized it for the high praise that it is.
While on the track team at East Bridgewater High School, I focused on the field events, specifically the javelin. I enjoyed the challenges of throwing the javelin since success depended as much on correct form as strength. The weight room and I were not well acquainted at that stage of my life, so my lack of outright arm strength was a definite hindrance. But through learning the proper technique I was able to compensate and was able to throw unexceptional but respectable distances.
Inevitably new members of the team would come and try to throw javelin. Typically, this would be someone who played on the football in the fall and were doing track as a spring sport to stay active. They almost always had the arm strength I was lacking and could throw almost as far as I could with brute force alone. Trying to be the best teammate I could, I would show them the basics of the form and help them get down their steps. In short order, every one of them equaled and surpassed any distances I could throw.
At first this bugged me. I had worked hard to learn how to do this! Now I was giving them the knowledge I had worked so hard to acquire and they were outdistancing me.
Then it hit me: I was never personally going to consistently win at this event, but I was making the team better by helping coach my teammates in the event. Track is a team sport made up of individual events and individual accomplishments. My contributions, while more indirect than throwing for distance, were still vital to the overall success of the team.
When Todd complimented me as an outstanding section player, the parallel to my days on the track team was easy to see. I am not a spectacular lead jazz player, nor is the solo chair right for me. But I am a valuable member of the ensemble. My natural strengths are in support of the section, filling out the sound and improving the overall performance of the band. When I do that well, the whole ensemble benefits.
Being in the spotlight as an elite athlete or a soloist is not always the best fit for our individual skill set. Sometimes the less visible supporting roles are where winning happens. Those athletes and soloists got there not only because if their individual efforts, but also because of the support of the team around them. We may not always get to share the spotlight, but we should be proud to contribute to the overall success of the ensemble.