Smitty: Yes. But wouldn’t you say that’s what a true mentor is? Because that title sometimes can be loosely given to someone.
JF: Exactly.
Smitty: But what you just described there about Dizzy, that’s what a true mentor is. Those relationships build into other aspects of life other than just the music itself because music can be a significant element of life when you think about it.
JF: Yeah. Diz was a very special person.
Smitty: That’s wonderful. Not everyone can say that they had those experiences coming up. As you began to move forward in your career, you got some great opportunities as you moved on. When you were eighteen, you moved to New York from California, but you know what I’m really curious about is what the music scene in the San Francisco area was like during that time in your teenage years, and whether there was something about it that really impressed you, something that you often reflect back on that’s totally different today?
JF: Well, I remember a pretty healthy music scene when I was growing up, one where I was able to get out there and go to clubs or play gigs or sit in. But one of the things that was very important in my development was that my trumpet teacher, Bill Catalano, made a habit of taking me to big band rehearsals. And that was when I was 10 or 11 years old forward; he’d just sit me in this trumpet section in the middle of this big band, and I would be in the middle of a big band rehearsal for three or four hours. And then as I would hear the music, he would look at the notes and say, “Here, play this part,” and he would point to one little section and the band would keep going, and he’d keep saying, “Here, play this.” And, over the course of a few years, I became the person that would sit in if somebody didn’t show up; I would just sit in on their chair and start playing the book. Eventually, in this way, I became one of the members of the band.
And then I had another teacher by the name of Bill Atwood; he used to hold weekly jam sessions at his house with the professionals from around San Francisco. I would go over there and just learn tunes, start playing tunes, so that was pretty healthy. Aside from the club scene and people like Dizzy or Kenny Dorham with Joe Henderson or the Modern Jazz Quartet coming through and playing in clubs, there was that jam scene as well. So I think it was pretty healthy, especially for up and coming young musicians.
Smitty: But you moved to New York.
JF: Well, yes. After I graduated high school, I joined Lionel Hampton's band on the road and it wound its way back to New York. And so I started to meet a few musicians there that I’d met in California who were from New York, in particular Lew Soloff andClark Terry, who were very instrumental in helping get me established in New York. They were great about getting me started and spreading the word about me when I came to New York; the funny thing about it was that Clark was spreading the word about me but had never heard me play.
Smitty: (Laughs.) Now, that’s a true love for your music.
JF: Yeah, just based on word-of-mouth, he was telling people about this young kid who’s playing with Lionel Hampton’s band, and that kindness of CT’s led to some very important musical collaborations, concerts and performances for me.
Smitty: Wow. What was it like working with Lionel? He’s such a legend. When you talk about jazz legends, you have to include him because of what he did, what a legacy, he revolutionized the whole vibe thing. Talk about your experience of working with him, some of the more standout moments with him.
JF: I don’t know if I could tell you those.
Smitty: (Laughs.)
JF: But this was my first time away from home. I was leaving home at 17, right after my high school graduation, and my parents were understandably concerned, even though they were proud of me and the opportunities coming up. My mother was crying, and my father went up to Lionel and said, “Keep an eye out for my boy, will you?” And the arrangement was when Lionel got a hotel room, he would get a suite, so I would stay in the living room on the couch. And that was an advantage for me as opposed to some of the other musicians in the band who had to pay for their own room. I got a little bit of a free ride there, but one of the things that I remember most about Lionel is he loved to play.
Smitty: Oh yeah.
JF: He loved to play, he loved to rehearse, and I didn’t really see it back then because he would sometimes do some things that I thought were a little bit strange, and the other band members thought were a little bit strange, but it was his way of doing things. I remember we played a concert one night at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, and when we finished the concert, we got on a bus and headed for Chicago and Lionel stayed in the city, got up the next morning, had a good night’s rest, hopped on a plane, got to Chicago. And when we got off the bus after this 16-17 hour bus ride … I don’t even remember how long it was ... Lionel’s waiting on the curb in front of the venue where we were to perform, and the door opens and we start to walk out and Lionel says, “Rehearsal, boys!”
Smitty: (Laughs.)
JF: Oh, man. (Both laughing.) As another example, there was a time I was playing up in Saratoga with Lionel Hampton; the band that we had then was three trumpets, there weren’t any trombones, and I think there were two or three saxophones, and I think there were five in the rhythm section … guitar, bass, drum, piano, and then Lionel on vibes … so it was sort of a mini-big band. So, we went up to Saratoga to play the gig; it was summertime, and at the racetrack, yet we had on tuxedos because that was our uniform. So, here we all were, at noon, in about 110 degrees down on the racetrack, and we’re all wearing our “penguin suits,” dodging piles of horse poo (both laughing) laying on the track. It was a funny juxtaposition.
Smitty: Looking at the work ethic of Lionel Hampton, do you see yourself incorporating any of that in your routines today?
JF: Well, I don’t know if it’s so much with his work ethic. Hopefully, one of the things that I do incorporate is his passion for music.
Smitty: Yeah. He always had that smile when he was playing. You could tell he was in such a beautiful zone. He was just loving life and loving music.
JF: Well, even at the very end when he could barely lift a mallet to play the vibes, it was something that he had to do. He had to be a part of that music.
Smitty: Yes.
JF: And for many people it was very sad to see, but for others, including myself, I think it was a very special feeling, one to respect, knowing that the music was keeping him going and keeping him alive.
Smitty: Yes, absolutely. We really miss him, but aren’t we happy that we have his legacy in the music?
JF: Of course.
Smitty: Absolutely. Now, let’s talk about Jon Faddis music and your first project. What was that like, after you’d been working with all of these great cats, for you to be the cat on the scene, and to say, “This is my first project, my first band”? What was that feeling like?
JF: I would say my first album was called Youngblood.
Smitty: Yep.
JF: … which was recorded for Norman Grantz in about 1975 or 1976, somewhere in there, and I had just done an album with Oscar Peterson, a duet, and I had also, the year before that, done an album in Japan with Billy Harper when I was on tour with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra. And Norman Grantz had asked me if I would like to do a record, so I talked to Dizzy about it and Dizzy said “Yeah, you know, he’s one of the few honest cats you’re gonna meet in this business.” I did the Youngblood recording for Norman Grantz on Pablo Records. On the record, we had Kenny Barron, George Mraz and Mickey Roker.
Smitty: Wow! That’s a pretty heavy line-up.
JF: It was a quartet record; I don’t really listen to it anymore. (Both laughing.) Because that was so long ago, some 30 years ago.
Smitty: Was that a stepping-out kind of feeling for you?
JF: Well, I think it was … there was a stepping-out feeling to it, but I think underlying that stepping-out feeling, there was also a feeling of fear of what it all mean, what might come next. After I completed the recording session, Norman Grantz asked me to put together a group so he could book us and take us on the road. And here is Norman Grantz. He’s managing Ella Fitzgerald and Oscar Peterson, and, oh man, Norman is doing all of these things, yet I said no.
Smitty: Oh, so what was it? The fear?
JF: Well, I was afraid at that time.
Smitty: Well, just reflecting on your music, deep within yourself, I can see the reasons for fear, but everyone else, I’m sure, didn’t see that and wanted to hear what you had to present.
JF: It didn’t really matter what others thought; the fear was overriding.
Smitty: And that’s the way it is sometimes. We see things differently from what others do, especially the emotional side sometimes, but there was a lot of confidence in you to do that, even to be asked. That’s quite a compliment.
JF: It was, and sometimes I could still kick myself because … (Both laughing.)
Smitty: Oh yeah, but there’s a learning curve with all of that as well.
JF: There’s a learning curve, and there are things that you do that you’re not always happy with, but you have to stick with the decision that you’ve made.
Smitty: You’re so right. I just want to thank you for all that you’ve done musically and beyond because I know you’ve given back so much. You’ve worked with so many musicians coming up in the business, and I think that’s a beautiful thing, and I am just celebrating with you with this new record.
JF: Well, thank you. It’s a record that I’m definitely very proud of.
