Jazz Monthly.com Interview with Jon Faddis

“Jazz Monthly Feature Interview”

Jon Faddis

Smitty: Well, it’s always a pleasure to welcome fantastic musicians to JazzMonthly.com and my next guest is no exception. He has embraced the true essence of musical excellence and now he has redefined it in so many ways. He’s one of the few pure trumpeters in the business. His latest new record is called Teranga and we’re gonna talk about this great record and his fantastic career as well. Please welcome Koch recording artist, the amazing Mr. Jon Faddis. Jon, how ya doin’?

Jon Faddis (JF): I’m not sure after that intro. (Both laughing) Well, thank you very much for the kind words. I’m doing fine, Smitty.

Smitty: Excellent. You’re very welcome.

JF: How are you?

Smitty: All right, I’m doing great. It’s great to talk to you. As I was just saying before we started recording here that even though we’ve never really had a conversation. It’s great to talk with you now, but I feel like I have met you long ago after listening to this wonderful record.

JF: Well, hopefully it reaches a lot of people in that same way, that there’s a familiarity and a welcoming aspect to the music that makes people feel at home.

Smitty: Yes, indeed.

JF: That’s the meaning of Teranga as well.

Smitty: Yes. And it’s great that you said that because the things that you identify with this record are the things that we identify with in general in everyday life, but you bring so much emotion to your music and it really piques the emotions, and I love that.

JF: Well, I think all music can do that, one way or another, and music is really something special as far as reaching those emotions. I remember going to hear Art Blakey play and Art Blakey used to say that as jazz musicians the music is going straight from the Creator through the musician to the audience. And I really believe that there is truth to that.

Smitty: Absolutely. Let’s talk about Jon Faddis, and we’ll come back to the record because I really wanna talk about some of the deeper things of this record, but let’s talk about you first, for those that perhaps are not familiar with your music or not as familiar with you yet, though I can’t see how anyone would not have learned about you over the years. So, why did you select the trumpet? It appears at that time you could’ve selected and excelled with any instrument you wanted to try. Why the trumpet?

JF: (Laughs). Well, I was about seven years old when my parents [Millie and Woody Faddis] asked me what I thought was just an innocent question, and the question was “Jon, if you could play an instrument, which one would it be?” And I thought, well, I don’t want to play the piano because my sister plays the piano. I don’t want to play the saxophone or trombone because there were two brothers down the street, one played the saxophone, and one played the trombone. I don’t want to play the bass because I think somebody else down the street played the bass. Then all of a sudden I had this image of Louis Armstrong playing the trumpet … I still remember this like it was yesterday.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

JF: I remembered having seen Louis Armstrong on the Ed Sullivan Show, so I just blurted out “Trumpet!” The next thing I knew, my parents had bought me a trumpet and were making me start taking trumpet lessons on Saturday mornings. And at the age of seven, Saturday mornings are special; for a kid, that’s Saturday morning. That’s when you get to go out and play and hang out with your friends and go explore and do things, and instead, I had to take trumpet lessons.

Smitty: (Laughs.) Spoken like a true musician. Those days weren’t as significant as we thought they would be later on, but those were significant times for ya, you know?

JF: Yes, and about three years later I got a different trumpet teacher. My first teacher, John Lambert, left the music store and I’m not sure why. So this new teacher came in, Bill Catalano, and it turned out he was a trumpet player who had had a lot of experience in jazz and was playing with Stan Kenton’s band and played with a lot of the acts that came through San Francisco, and he’s the one that really turned me on to practicing and the trumpet, and especially Dizzy Gillespie and his music.

Smitty: Yes. So was Dizzy Gillespie your first recollection of a recognizable person as far as music goes, the music that you heard? Was that your first recollection of that?

JF: Well, in terms of trumpet, other than Louis Armstrong, yes, I think it was the first to really resonate with me. From about the age of seven to ten, I’d sit home and practice, and we had albums by Pops, and Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Nat Cole and Ella Fitzgerald, and we saw and heard them on television. I’d also play in the school bands. But in school we were playing little things like “Mysterious Mike.” That’s what they called it, but there wasn’t really much happening with me for music in school as far as any recognizable talent or influences or anything like that. It’s just going through the motions and I liked being in the school band because I could get out of other classes.

Smitty: (Laughs.) Oh, great opportunities in the beginning, huh?

JF: Yeah, but from the age of 10, that all did a 180-degree turnaround. I started to listen to Dizzy’s records and I started to practice seriously and my teacher would give me these exercises, and that was it! When I was 12, I had gone to see Dizzy in a club, but I petrified; I was too afraid to say anything to him. So I said to myself, “the next time I meet Dizzy, I’m gonna talk to him.” When I was 15, I went to the Monterey Jazz Festival and Dizzy was appearing and I took all of my Dizzy Gillespie records down, about 50 of them.

Smitty: Wow.

JF: And my mother said, “There’s Dizzy.” I said “Mom, go get the records!” So she ran to the car, brought back the 50 records, I was talking to Dizzy, and he sat down and autographed each and every record.

Smitty: Wow, how beautiful was that?

JF: I still have the records. The experience was amazing. As he was signing the albums, he would say, “I don’t remember this record.”

Smitty: (Laughs.)

JF: When he would do that, I’d say, “Yeah, that’s the one where your solo goes …,” and I started singing his solo to him on it. He looked at me like I was crazy and “dizzy.”

Smitty: (Laughs.)

JF: And then, not too long after that, he was appearing at the Jazz Workshop, a famous club in San Francisco, and I went over and took my horn. And actually no minors were allowed in the club, but I somehow talked my way in and my horn ended up in Dizzy’s dressing room, and during “A Night in Tunisia,” Dizzy walked past the table where I was sitting with my mom, and I said “Dizzy, are you going to play the ending?” He said “You’ve got your horn. You do it.”

Smitty: (Laughs.)

JF: So I ran downstairs to the dressing room, got my horn, ran back up and played the ending, and then Dizzy invited me to play a couple of tunes with the band and sit in. His band at that time I think included saxophonist James Moody…

Smitty: Oh yeah…

JF: Who has since become a very close and dear friend, and also included pianist Mike Longo.

Smitty: Oh nice.

JF: And Jymmie Meritt was playing bass and I believe Candy Finch was playing drums, so I went up on stage and sat in with Dizzy on a couple of tunes, and I still remember being so nervous, just standing next to Dizzy; I felt like the room was spinning around.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

JF: But I knew from that moment on, that music, and being a trumpet player, a jazz trumpet player, was what I wanted to do with my life.

Smitty: Wow, that’s an incredible experience.

JF: It was something very special.

Smitty: Wow, can you imagine, some 15-year-olds were barely getting an understanding about the future, and there you were with a legend and had already fixed in your mind that this is your future, as far as a career is concerned. That’s incredible.

JF: James Moody still laughs at me because he said “Here was this tall skinny kid with a big afro going in and telling corny knock-knock jokes.” (Both laughing.)

Smitty: You had a legendary band there on stage at that age.…

JF: Well, that was Dizzy’s band and I didn’t know I was gonna play. I was just taking my horn to try and get a single lesson or something like that. Dizzy didn’t give me a lesson that night; he gave me a lot more.

Smitty: You and Dizzy became great friends from that point on and when I think about that, that was eight years from the point that you got your first horn and look where you had come in eight short years. That’s amazing.

JF: Well, I don’t know about eight short years. I think the people who were hearing me practice at the beginning probably thought that the practice sessions and scales and stuff were going on forever. The dog was howling, I mean, people were covering their ears. They said, “Oh, Jon’s practicing the trumpet again.”

Smitty: Well, Dizzy had some wonderful things to say about you later on that really makes up for all of that. I read a quote somewhere where he said that you were the best ever, including him. That’s quite a compliment.

JF: It is. I don’t know how true what he said is or not, because there are some very fine trumpeters. But Dizzy was someone who was not threatened by any other trumpet player being on the bandstand. There are some trumpet players who get on the bandstand, or you get on the bandstand with them, and all of a sudden, it’ll turn into a battle or something like that. Dizzy wasn’t like that in any way. He was a very supportive adult role model for me, a very good friend, a very good mentor, and he was someone very special in that he helped guide me and helped to make me the man that I am today. He was a surrogate father and a then friend, and then our relationship evolved even more and we became more like brothers.

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 and Clark 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.

Smitty: Yes. When I got this record, I was just amazed at the construction, even from the liner notes. These are great photos of Clark Terry, Gary Smulyan, Frank Wess, Russell Malone, Abdou Mboup, Alioune Faye, Dion Parson, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, and David Hazeltine. And this is a great record. And when I got home I started to read your comments, and I immediately got so involved that I had to put the record on again. I said “I wanna read this while I’m listening.” And it just brought on a whole new meaning; it just raised the level of what I was reading. It speaks from the heart. I could feel your heart in this one because the music itself, I think, climbs into your heart and just takes over. But to read the comments and really get an understanding of each of the songs, I think, is just a beautiful thing. This is so well constructed, very nice.

JF: Well, thank you. A lot of the production work was left up to me. Koch Records’ David Wilkes was very trusting in me and the choices I made, so I could go into the studio I wanted and get the musicians I wanted and write the music I wanted to write and master where I wanted to master; Koch Records were very hands off overall, very respectful of what I was doing, and let me come up with everything. As far as the photos, my wife Laurelyn, who has a track on the CD named for her, was very instrumental in helping to put a lot of the post-production things together, and the Koch Records staff were really wonderful too.

Smitty: Yes, Dave Wilkes is a great guy and a friend, and Laurelyn did a fantastic job!

JF: It all came together. I went to a great mastering facility up in Maine, Gateway Mastering, and just to try and get the best sound possible …. and Laurelyn and I, we went through photos at the session, and also the photographer, John Abbott, came to the college where I teach, Purchase College, so the cover photos with the green background were done there … it’s all natural lighting, streaming through a skylight above a truly green wall in the Performing Arts Center there; what happened is right when we started to take these photos, the sun came down and reflected off the trumpet, and John Abbott created this series of photos that are just absolutely astounding.

Smitty: Wow, that’s beautiful. Location, location, location.

JF: You know, it was just one of those moments, and he’s great at making the best of whatever the situation is. He took dozens of pictures within about a half an hour, and they were all stunning; he is a superb photographer, and I’m glad he’s also a real friend.

Smitty: This one on the cover … you selected a great one because I see that reflection off the trumpet and then you’re sort of the silhouette in there. And it’s a beautiful photo, great choice. Well, my congratulations to Laurelyn. She did a great job.

JF: Well, thank you. And also Neil Tesser, who did the liner notes, has been a friend for many years. He’s based in Chicago. But one of the things I was going to say about liner notes … you mentioned how you started to read the liner notes and then went back and listened to the music maybe a little bit differently.

Smitty: Yes.

JF: And that’s really one of the things that’s missing these days in the world of music and digital downloads.

Smitty: Yes, I like that. You’re right, you’re absolutely right.

JF: Downloading music from the internet or something like that, you miss the liner notes and the insight they can provide when they are done well. I was in an Apple store because I have Mac computers and I said “Look, you guys ought to have it where you could download the pictures for the album on the CD, so you can see what it looks like, and you ought to have the situation where people can download the liner notes for a dollar or something like that.”

Smitty: Yes.

JF: “… and give some of that money to the writers and then people could learn a little bit more about the music.” The guy said “That’s a good idea. You should write our corporate headquarters.”

Smitty: (Laughs.) But that’s an excellent point. That’s an excellent point because I go back to even the days of the LPs and that was so much a part of getting the record, to sit down and put the record on and read everything on the album sleeve, look at the pictures, and I still do that to this day. I have to pull out the liner notes, put the music on, and I’m identifying and I’m really getting deep into it by listening and reading at the same time. I think you’re “right on” with that. That’s a good point. I hope they do that.

JF: Maybe one day they will. Today, you download something and you might see listeners’ comments. But it’s not the same as somebody who is a writer and really loves the music and they’re putting their passion into the writing like we put our passion into the music.

Smitty: Yes, absolutely.

JF: I think that’s something that Neil Tesser did wonderfully on this CD.

Smitty: Yes he did. My compliments, because it really enhanced my appreciation for the music, that’s for sure. Well, let’s talk about the opening track, “The Hunters and Gatherers.”

JF: (Laughs.)

Smitty: It’s a great tune, but I know there’s some serious meaning because I got to read it in the liner notes, but I wanna share this with all of your fans.

JF: Okay.

Smitty: So just talk a little bit about that meaning of “The Hunters and Gatherers.”

JF: Well, my theory is a little bit sociological and psychological and it’s that, thousands of years ago, the male of the species used to go out and hunt, like the tigers and things like that. And nowadays between the male and the female the roles have changed quite a bit.

Smitty: True.

JF: Men don’t like to shop. (Laughs.) Well, as a generalization, men don’t really like to go out and go shopping like women do, and women not only shop for things for the family, but women also go out and search for different truths, I think, from a softer perspective than the male perspective, which is sometimes a little bit too macho.

Smitty: Mm-hmm. I totally agree.

JF: You know, women go out and really work and contribute on so many levels. Especially single mothers, who have the most difficult job of all. It’s tough being a mother and it’s tough being a mother without a male supporting. So this is dedicated to those single mothers and mothers who go out and bring truth and joy back to their families regardless of the hardships.

Smitty: That’s a very heartfelt thing to recognize and then to put that into music and to dedicate it to these individuals, because it is a very real and true thing that we face today. Very cool. And I really got so deep into the title track, “Teranga.”

JF: Mm-hmm.

Smitty: The length for one, because I love it when a great song just keeps going, and it’s just got that whole positive thing working and it just takes you to so many different levels. For those that may not be familiar with the meaning, talk about “Teranga,” and why you composed the song this way.

JF: Well, I had actually composed the song before I came up with the title. As you know, on the CD, there are two Senegalese drummers, two master percussionists, Abdou Mboup and Alioune Faye. I was talking with Abdou after I had been looking on-line and reading about Senegal, and asking myself, “What can I call this tune?” And then I started to read about Teranga and the whole meaning of what Teranga is. And for the readers that are going to read this, Teranga is a way of life in Senegal; it’s a value that means hospitality and sharing and brotherhood and sisterhood. It was I think created by the mothers in Senegal to ensure that their child would never be left wanting or wandering; so, if their children were ever away from home and in need, there would be a place for them to go. And this goes throughout the country, and the Senegalese are very, very proud of this. The way it works is that if someone comes to your home, you treat them like family. You take them in and you feed them and clothe them if they need it or whatever they need, and “karmically,” it plays out when your child is away from home, so it’s a really a beautiful manifestation of the “Golden Rule.” When I asked Abdou about it, he thought naming that tune, and the album, Teranga, worked well too.

Smitty: Yes, that’s amazingly beautiful. And “Waltz For My Fathers & Brothers” is a beautiful tune with an amazing meaning too.

JF: It’s something very close to my heart; three years ago my father passed away and ten years before that Dizzy passed away. They both passed away in January, but then I had a very good friend who passed away and I had several male figures that were in my life who suddenly passed away, all in the same year. One was my chiropractor, one was my trumpet teacher Bill Catalano, one was my therapist from the days when I was going to therapy, and it just made me think of how … one never knows what’s going to happen. And I’ve been very close to a lot of musicians that have helped me and I wanted to do something and dedicate it to them, because sometimes they get a little bit forgotten. It’s important for people, especially men, to be able to say “thank you” and to acknowledge the love and respect that exists and sustains us, and it’s a lot better to do that when we’re all in the world, and this dance of life continues.

Smitty: Yes, I know what you mean.

JF: Some of the others include Milt Jackson, Sweets Edison, and Milt Hinton. And a friend of mine who was like a brother to me, Danny Moore, who played trumpet with Oliver Nelson and Thad Jones, but isn’t here anymore. James Williams, the pianist who was in my first serious group, passed away suddenly. Michael Brecker, who thankfully is very much still here, but is fighting a life threatening disease. And people like Clark Terry. You know, the list goes on and on; I’m glad of that. I try to remember as many as I can and I dedicated this song to them because they were, and are, truly my fathers and brothers.

Smitty: That’s very nice. And you selected some great musicians to assist you in recognizing and remembering these great musicians and these fathers and brothers. I think your band is incredible, with Russell Malone and Frank Wess, and these musicians are true professionals and they know how to capture the moment and capture the music, and you really went out there and got some great musicians to assist you with this great project.

JF: Well, thank you, and I was honored that Russell, Gary Smulyan, Abdou and Alioune, and especially Frank Wess and Clark Terry, would join me on the CD. Frank and CT are both octogenarians, and they’re people that I have admired since I was a young musician and first really aware of jazz, and it’s good that they’d come and play on my recording with me. When I called Frank and asked him if he’d play an alto flute, all I had to say was, “I need ya.” He said “Okay, where do you need me?” (Both laughing.) And that’s all.

Smitty: How beautiful is that, huh?

JF: And Clark Terry was the same way. “Clark, I would like you to do a tune with me on my new record.” “Really? Yeah, I’d be honored.” You know, he was like thrilled to be able to do that.

Smitty: Isn’t that something? He looks like such a classy guy. Looks like you could just have a great time with him. I’ve never met him, but he looks like just a fun person.

JF: Yeah, he is, and you can hear it in his music.

Smitty: Talk a little bit about your regular quartet, with David Hazeltine, Kiyoshi Kitagawa, and Dion Parson. Talk about this band and what they mean to you and this music that you’ve composed.

JF: Well, Dion Parson, the drummer, has been with me the longest; he’s been with me since about 1992, something like that. And David has been with me a long time, too. It’s funny because I met them all through word of mouth. You know, somebody would say “You should try this guy out, check out his sounds.” David played with me on the CD that I did, the 1998 release Remembrances; he was recommended to me by Slide Hampton. Slide Hampton played a gig with him and said to me, “Man, you ought to hear this piano player.” In my piano chair before was Renee Rosnes, who was at that time a young Canadian pianist; she’s a great pianist who has a great set of ears. As her career has advanced and developed, she’s been doing more things (including playing with the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band, now the Jon Faddis Jazz Orchestra of New York) and leading her own group, which is great. But it was more challenging to schedule her for a lot of my gigs, so David came in, and he and I have been working together since I think the mid to late 90s. And Kiyoshi Kitagawa also came in through a recommendation. I think this is one of my finest rhythm sections, and I’ve been lucky enough to have some of the best. This one really works together very well.

Smitty: That’s excellent. I must say that I got just a sterling review from my two friends and colleagues, Donna Vaupel and Joe Kurasz, who were present for your performance at The Jazz Standard club in August in New York. They were just blown away by the rhythm section and Abdou and Alioune. Yes, they were so touched by the whole gig, how you cats just blew everybody away, and it was such a wonderful night that they had to e-mail me and tell me the whole story about how nice it was, and how you so beautifully explained the meanings of some of the songs. They had you down word for word.

JF: Oh my goodness.

Smitty: So they just had the time of their life. They said “You’ve gotta come to the Jazz Standard and hear him” because it was just a wonderful night and they just loved the whole gig that you all performed there. So you truly have a great rhythm section. And in particular, they were impressed with “Laurelyn,” the person and Laurelyn the song. They said it was so melodic and beautiful. Those were their exact descriptions of that song.

JF: Well, I too am impressed with “Laurelyn,” but not so much the song, but the person.

Smitty: There you go, yes, they spoke very highly of her.

JF: When I wrote the song, I was just trying to capture her the best I could, you know, at least a little bit of who she is. Yet with art we can’t always capture the soul or the spirit totally; if we capture a little bit of that essence, though, that’s something.

Smitty: Yes, indeed, absolutely. Jon, I have thoroughly enjoyed this record. I like the photo on the back of the liner notes on the tracks.

JF: Oh, that was taken behind Bennett Studios … you know, Tony Bennett’s son has a beautiful studio here in Englewood, New Jersey, which is about ten minutes from my home. And we went outside to take pictures, with John Abbott of course. One of the fun aspects of the studio is that there are these railroad tracks right behind the recording studio. The recording studio itself was once the depot station for the railroad, with a restaurant and arrivals/departures area, and all that stuff. The studio is great, natural lighting and wood throughout, spacious, and some very good jazz photographs on the wall, too. During the end of one of the songs … and I don’t know if you can hear it unless you listen very closely … there’s a very, very low rumble from a train passing by that fit perfectly with the end of the tune. The timing, I don’t know how it could’ve been better.

Smitty: (Laughs.)

JF: It went by right when we hit the final chord on “Transitions,” and sometimes, you have to go with things like that, because it just fit. The engineer said “You wanna do another take?” and I said “No, no, no. Leave it in. We have to leave that in.”

Smitty: I must listen closely again.

JF: And it’s the very, very end.

Smitty: I will do that. Oh, that’s nice, that’s real nice. Well, I can’t say enough about this entire project from the beginning to end. It has such great melodies, just such a great vibe, and the whole reflective vibe of it is what I really appreciate because it really invokes the reflective way of thinking and the tunes are just fantastic. And I must congratulate you once again for the work you’ve done with this project, and your fellow musicians as well. My compliments. I highly recommend this CD. Everyone should hear this one. Regardless of what music you prefer, I think this is true music and I think everyone should hear this record.

JF: Well, thank you for those kind words.

Smitty: Yes indeed, my friend, and I think “Teranga” itself just really sums it all up for this record. What a great title. You couldn’t have selected a better title for this record.

JF: You know, a lot of people have been waiting for me to do a new recording. I gave one to a friend who is a pretty well known trumpet player and he has a very, very nice BMW X5 and he was driving it and he put it in. Called me up, saying, “Man, the sound, the sound!”

Smitty: Yes indeed. The sound is just fantastic. That’s why I love to take night drives with the music and it just brings out everything. There’s something about that.

JF: Yeah. Quiet time, yeah.

Smitty: Yes, I love that. It’s just me, the road and the music.

JF: Me and the road and the music, la-da-da-da-da-da-da. (Both laughing.)

Smitty: Oh my goodness. Jon, my friend, thank you so much for this great music, for spending this time; I didn’t originally think we would have such an extensive interview, but when you get to talking about beautiful things and you’re talking with beautiful people, sometimes the minutes just take off on you. But I can’t thank you enough for this great time to spend with you and for this music that I will have for a long, long, time.

JF: Smitty, it is a pleasure and an honor, and I thank you for what you do for the music as well.

Smitty: Yes indeed, and my sentiments exactly. It’s a pleasure and an honor, and this is the spice of my life. I really enjoy the music and I really enjoy talking with wonderful people like yourself and really getting a stronger feel for the music, so it’s my pleasure, my friend. All right, we’ve been talking with Koch Recording artist, the amazing Mr. Jon Faddis. He’s got a great new record out, it’s called Teranga, you must get into this record, it is a beautiful book of music, I highly recommend it. Jon, thanks again, my friend, and best of everything in 2006 and beyond.

JF: Thank you, Smitty.

Baldwin “Smitty” Smith

For more information, please visit www.jonfaddis.com or www.terangajazz.com and www.kochrecords.com.