I’ve played my 46th score for John Williams as first trumpet. Most recent was the last Indiana Jones movie. The first was The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing in 1973 with Burt Reynolds.
John Belushi told me he was going to make me the most famous trombone player since Jimmy Dorsey. I didn’t have the heart to tell him Jimmy was the saxophone player.
The line of horn players waiting to sit in with Elvin Jones looked like the line of people waiting to buy fish at Zabar’s.
Woody Shaw was an intense person and that’s why his music had that intensity. He believed in what he believed in and wasn’t scared to say it. He was 100% focused!
Whenever you have a choice between the facts and the legend, always go with the legend. Whatever you’ve heard is true.
I saw the Tijuana Brass TV specials and thought the trombone player was really cool. He was in the background and then he would jump out and play a solo. I thought that would fit my personality.
It was interesting being part of the Teamsters union. You learned how to say ’What the . . .’
We have that saying that studio/orchestra work is 95 percent boredom and 5 percent sheer terror for brass players.
I gave my notice to Buddy and he said to me, ‘Kid . . . I’ll make sure you never work another day in your life.’ I made more money that first night in Vegas than I did for a week on Buddy’s band.
If you want to play small group you better start playing in a big band.
At one point, I wanted to be a professional trombone player. Then I realized if I wanted to be a successful trombone player I’d have to be like one of the 10 best in the world and if I wanted to be a successful businessman I just had to be good.
When push comes to shove, I have no idea what Phil Smith and Joe Alessi are thinking.
