Bone2Pick Interviews

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.

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!

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.

To me, Pat Metheny is without question the most important artist in jazz of our lifetime.

Unless you come to town playing like Ryan Kisor, Greg Gisbert or Nicholas Payton, you need to have a work ethic. Your work ethic has to be on point.

There I am with Bruckner and Bernstein . . . I was pretty freaked out.

We’re looking for badasses!

You can create a lot of great opportunities for yourself as a musician if you just make stuff.

As much as I love Thad Jones, he did everything right except leaving the band in a healthy way.

Freddie told me there were two trumpet players that scared him, Booker Little and Woody Shaw. Can you imagine scaring Freddie Hubbard?