We played Symphony Hall in Kawasaki and there were 1,100 or 1,200 people there to see a trombone quartet. It was an amazing experience!
To hear Clifford Brown two years after you start playing the trumpet in Montana was pretty eye opening . . . to say the least!
It boils down to playing music, talking about music, listening to music.
The phone rings in my office. It’s Rudy Van Gelder! He says . . . did you write Basically Blues . . . yes I did . . . well Buddy Rich just recorded it. Where do we send the check?
Playing with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra is definitely one of the highlights of my life.
I started teaching before I even had a teacher. For me teaching is a joy.
Freddie’s feel, his time, his sound, just the spirit and essence of his playing. . . if I could play one phrase as great as what I just heard, that’s it! I could just retire!
I gravitated to the weird kid instruments. Euphonium. . . . what’s that? I’ll play that!
Creative music will only really work in the marketplace if you’re a good businessman.
In those days, the only people listed on the album were the rhythm section guys. For a year or more (after recording the flugelhorn solo on Paul McCartney’s Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey), I was the most famous unknown trumpet player in the world.
