JJ: How would you describe your school music experience?

BM: My background was pretty typical through junior high school and much of high school. I played in the concert band, marching band, and there was a big band. Now, in high school an interesting thing happened. The band director had very little interest in big bands, but a math teacher named Charlie Komanoff started a big band. There was an interesting connection there. His sister, Ruth was a vibraphonist who played with Frank Zappa. Through this connection, Charlie was acquiring big band arrangements from Frank Zappa’s book, as well as some Gil Evans arrangements. So, it was a pretty interesting introduction to jazz and big band music. During my senior year of high school I attended the Interlochen Arts Academy and worked with Dave Sporny. It was a wonderful band, a great level of musicianship, and Dave was a terrific director. We really got to play a wide spectrum of big band literature and it was very enlightening. Peter Erskine was the drummer in that band. The experience was several notches up from what I had experienced prior to then.

For college, I went to Hartt School of Music, but there was hardly a big band there yet. Jackie Maclean had just arrived there and things were just getting started. Later, when I came to Manhattan School of Music, it was much the same. There was a big band, but the school offered more in the way of the classical idiom. Later, they really expanded their jazz program.

JJ: So at that time, you had to search for opportunities to learn about jazz.

BM: Yes. We were sitting around listening to recordings whenever we could and played wherever we could. There were jam sessions in lofts. Basically, I was doing a lot of my jazz playing outside of school.

JJ: At this point in your development, had you made a decision about whether you would pursue jazz or were you interested in all types of music?

BM: I hadn’t really made a decision at that point. I was interested in lots of music – rock and roll, blues, classical, and Latin music. I liked all kinds of music. Each one was intriguing in a different way, and I didn’t feel, at that time, drawn to any one genre. I was like a kid in a candy shop – there were all these different sounds, concepts, and rhythmic approaches.

JJ: How would you compare the opportunities you had as a student with those of today’s music students?

BM: I think my opportunities were average until I went to Interlochen Arts Academy. That was a turning point because it’s a specialty school. I think there are selective strong programs in public schools, but there are questionable programs as well. I was fortunate enough to be removed from a questionable program in public school and placed in the Interlochen program. Had I not done that, I’m not sure what would’ve happened. All it takes is a director that knows the music, knows how to teach it, and communicate with kids.

The two universities I attended had small jazz programs that were in their early stages. Case in point: Manhattan School of Music, which now has one of the premier jazz programs in the country. Jazz education has come a long way, partly because jazz has been recognized as an important art form that demands a course of study comparable to classical music. With the multitude of great players and teachers on the jazz scene today, the university jazz programs have exploded into solid vehicles for the advancement of the music. I see this happening all over the world as well. Along with this you can find all kinds of information in print on the subject of playing and writing jazz music.

JJ: Did you know at that time that music was going to be your career path?

BM: No. I had aspirations, but I really had no sense that it would be my life’s work. I wasn’t sure if the scene would welcome me – I really had a lot of questions. I knew that I was very passionate about music and learning to play, but I had no idea where it was going to go.

JJ: When did you discover you were equally interested in becoming a composer?

BM: I think it was early on that I was interested and involved in both. I played piano by ear at a very early age – figuring out the chords to songs. I was very much intrigued by the sound of a piano – moving things around and discovering passageways and chord progressions. So I was writing in a simplistic, basic way from about third grade on.

JJ: For students aspiring to become professional saxophonists, is woodwind doubling important?

BM: It opens up more work possibilities, like playing Broadway shows and recording sessions. And to play in a big band, you need to be proficient on flute and clarinet. The key is to find a way to do this so it’s not overwhelming in terms of time. You can really get hung up learning flute and clarinet to the extent it takes too much time away from your saxophone playing. Clarinet wasn’t too much of a problem for me because I was a clarinet major in college. Flute was tougher for me. I studied with about four teachers before I arrived at a balanced way of integrating flute into my doubling.

JJ: You have a sound and approach to your playing that is instantly recognizable. Can you offer some advice on how one would develop a personalized sound?

BM: I think when you are dealing with composition in tandem with playing you subconsciously or consciously create an environment in which to play. The relationship is a fertile ground for discovering you own sound or voice. In essence, when you improvise you’re composing, so there’s a real correlation between the two. When you’re writing, you have control over your environment. If you’re strictly a player, you’re at the mercy of your environment, such as who you listen to, or who you’re playing with. My writing has also influenced my playing. When I improvise it’s very compositional. I’m trying to compose a piece during my solo.

JJ: Along the same lines, your writing is very original, very unique. What makes your charts sound so distinctive -- so cutting edge?

BM: Everybody has a different take on how they assemble the components of music – namely melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic considerations. I’m a saxophone player, and most of us are drummers from another life! I have a special relationship with rhythm. I’ve explored African and Afro-Caribbean rhythms. I believe this emphasis on rhythm has influenced the big band charts I write. And also I like small group playing, so I approach big band writing as if it were a small group. There is a good amount of spontaneity, interplay, soloing, background figures, etc. The bands I’ve worked with – Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Thad Jones-Mel Lewis, Jaco Pastorius, and the Yellowjackets influence my big band writing. All those sounds are in the mix. And I do a lot of listening to artists like Herbie Hancock who are big proponents of obscuring the four-bar phrase with overlapping and hemiola-like phrases. It’s nothing new, but it’s interesting to incorporate such devices into large ensemble writing. I think that as composers we have visions of the music that made an impression on us. For the longest time I’ve had this vision of incorporating a funk sensibility such as James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, or Tower of Power, with a really sophisticated harmonic sense – like Debussy or Ravel in classical music, or Gil Evans and George Russell in jazz music – and then sprinkle in some mambo. There’s a lot of interesting possibilities that result from these various styles.

JJ: Describe the process of Bob Mintzer writing a new composition? Do you write at a keyboard, using your sax, or a combination of the two?

BM: I try to imagine a feeling, an event, a person, a place and I think in terms of shapes, tempo, key, groove – You don’t really need an instrument for that. You need a vivid imagination.

JJ: I read on your web site about a trip to Hawaii, where colorful tropical fish you saw while snorkeling provided you with inspiration for future composing. Do you often transfer visual imagery to your compositions?

BM: Yeah. That’s the first step. From there, you can go a number of ways. You can sit at the piano with some manuscript paper and sketch out a skeletal tunes with little snippets of ideas. Then it becomes a fluid process with a lot of changing, revision, and moving things around. The real grunt work comes after you’ve imagined the shape, but now must assemble the
piece.

JJ: Do you ever get fragments of ideas that get filed away for later use?

BM: I do, but generally don’t have the luxury of putting too many of them away because I’m always writing. I often come up with a few ideas, then select one and go to work on it. I may write a tune in 3/4 time, then it becomes a Latin tune or a swing tune in 4/4 or 5/4. Sometimes by changing the underpinning of a tune, it gives it a whole new spark.

JJ: What impact did your time with Buddy Rich’s band have on your playing and writing?

BM: It was one of the first bands where I played every night, so I got to learn a lot about playing music in general. It really took playing every night to get over stage fright and insecurities about my playing. I got to see how a sax player fits in with a rhythm section, how to construct a solo, and I was introduced to arrangements by a lot of fine writers that wrote for Buddy’s band. It was ultimately a big influence on my writing. And the grand finale was writing my first nine or ten big band charts for that band and having them played on a nightly basis – which was painful at times because I got to hear all the things I swore I would never do again, over and over! [laughing] But a great learning experience came with each subsequent arrangement I wrote. I made improvements and figured out how to do things in such a way that made things more interesting and musical.

JJ: The Yellowjackets have always been a very exciting group, but when you joined the band it signaled a whole new direction. Is it fair to say that your contributions helped the band stretch out musically?

BM: What’s amazing is that a band like the Yellowjackets can last for twenty years, while keeping the music interesting and changing, moving forward, and keeping pubic interest alive. I think one way to do that is to re-invent what you’re doing periodically. When I joined the band there was a huge shift based on my background. The band was able to try some new things. Jimmy Haslip and Russell Ferrante, who are the nucleus of the original group, are very open-minded, forward-thinking people. They’re just amazing artists. It’s such a great experience to associate with them and be a part of a collective, democratic band where everyone has input as a player and composer.

JJ: What happens when a member of the Yellowjackets brings in a new tune?

BM: We all write for the group’s recording projects based on discussions we’ve had regarding directions we’re taking -- which is never etched in stone. It may change as the music comes together. We submit pieces in demo form, everyone listens and there’s a little vote that goes on. When a piece is chosen, we write out some parts and play through it. Things can change dramatically during every step of this process. A funk tune can become a swing tune. You just never know what’s going to happen. I call it “Jacketization”! [laughing] Everyone has strong opinions on where the music can go, and I just love the process. Even when I don’t agree with what somebody has to say, I’m excited about the outcome once everybody has put in their two cents. It’s very cool. You’ve written a tune, but once everyone in the band has gotten done with it, it sounds like the Yellowjackets.

JJ: Since the group is based on the West Coast and you reside on the East Coast, is there or was there any adjustment necessary to compensate for the perceived East and West Coast styles of playing?

BM: No. I never detected any rub in that regard with the Jackets. In fact, I never have period. The “cool school” that’s associated with West Coast players is sometimes prevalent in New York players, and there are hard-core burning players in L.A. What I can say is this; the members of the Yellowjackets are strong players and what attracted me to the group is the same thing that keeps me there – which is this eclectic quality to the music – something I’ve always enjoyed and pursued.

JJ: Your big band has recorded eleven projects with DMP (Digital Music Products), among them being your Grammy Award winning, “Homage To Count Basie”. Those recordings have always had a natural, satisfying sound, due in no small part to the players. Did DMP owner/engineer Tom Jung use different or unusual techniques when recording your big band?

BM: Tom’s approach was always one of minimalism. Most of those records were recorded with one, or a few microphones placed in such a way that the sound going to tape had a acoustic blend of instruments, versus close-miking every instrument then putting it all through an electronic mixing process. I don’t think one or another [process] is better or worse. Each way of
recording has its merits. What I really think made these recordings work is that the players in my band are real hard-core ensemble players from the New York studio scene. They really know how to get a blend and make a beautiful sound. That, in conjunction with Tom’s minimalist way of miking, made for very pleasing sounds. The problem with recording that way is that when things get loud, a sort of distortion occurs. I found that this situation made me write a certain way. Throughout these twenty years [with DMP] I have started writing softer, lowered brass ranges – the screaming trumpets went away – and in the last recording, “Gently”, there was a good deal of woodwinds writing, use of brass mutes, and generally quieter writing.

JJ: Your work with the Yellowjackets and the Bob Mintzer Big Band, and your travels as a guest soloist with professional groups around the world must make practicing difficult to schedule. How do you handle this challenge?

BM: Well, practicing has a lot of components. What practicing means to me is keeping my interest alive and fresh. I want to be excited about playing. If I lose that excitement I think I’m going to change professions. To keep that excitement alive I do a lot of listening. I listen to young players to see what sounds interesting to me. And I listen to all kinds of music. That’s part of practicing to me – and I’ll occasionally take a snippet of what I’ve heard, then “get inside of it” and try to incorporate it into what I’m doing compositionally or as a player. Also, I spend a fair amount a time playing the piano every day, trying to find a little progression or an idea that might lead to something I will compose or play. I do that a lot. With saxophone, I practice to stay comfortable on the instrument and to find some new sounds, some new avenues – but there never seems to be enough time to do it as much as I’d like. I tell kids to take advantage of that time while they have
it! Then again, if you’re getting to play a lot, there’s something very inspiring about that. I’ve done a good bit of growing when playing a steady gig. When I’ve done a month at a time with the Yellowjackets, I’ve found some great stuff to play. With familiarity of the material, you can discover new ways to solo on tunes you’ve been playing for a while.

JJ: You have a manic schedule between touring, teaching, and being a family man. Do exercise and diet come into play as you manage this lifestyle?

BM: Very much so. I try to exercise every day. At home I vigorously walk our dogs along a pretty hilly route, I do push ups, sit ups, and work with dumbbells. On the road I have a 25-minute routine I do in my hotel room. I eat nutritious foods, drink a lot of water, I don’t drink alcohol, don’t take drugs, and I try to stay calm. I don’t think I could do what I do were it not for taking care of those areas. Traveling really takes a lot out of you and you need to be in good physical, mental, and
spiritual condition. One time I played with a big band in Portugal, then flew from Lisbon via Paris to Guadalupe, where I met the Yellowjackets – an 18-hour process. Upon arrival, I played a concert. The next day, I flew \from Guadalupe through San Juan and New York to London, where we opened that night at Ronnie Scott’s. It was kind of psychedelic but I got through it – in fact, I was fine. Some of it is that we love what we do! We live to play music and to be part of the music scene. That, in and of itself, is a very energizing thing.