My wife and I go out only about twice a year. Most recently we went to see you and the Yellowjackets. I can not tell you how great the evening was for us. To be able to see the Yellowjackets in a small venue like that was just incredible. The fact that Bobby McFerren was in the audience and sat in made it even more memorable. I was curious to know where the monitors were.

We did have monitors for the vocals and my Electronic Wind Instrument (EWI).  They were hanging from the ceiling, I believe.

How does that venue compare to most of the places the Yellowjackets perform?

We play all different size venues for 100 to 50,000 people. Honestly, sometimes the little ones are more enjoyable, but not always.  It really depends on the particular audience and the sound on stage. You know, how well we are able to hear and feel each other.

I can completely circumvent the entire interview process by just directing readers to BobMintzer.com. Virtually every piece of information regarding your long and varied career is posted there. It must have been a forbidding task to assemble all that information for the website. Tell me how that got started.

The webmaster is a gentleman named Allan Hirt who lives in Boston. With all due respect, it’s Allan who put it all together and maintains the site. He has dug up all kinds of recordings and information that escapes my recollection in some cases. He’s really diligent about hosting the site and, being a musician himself, knows how to present the information in a sensible and creative way. He’s been incredible about the whole thing.

It’s so comprehensive. There is so much there. I’m sure you must have provided him with some of the information.

I really didn’t provide him with much.(Laughs) He found all this information on his own! It’s amazing.

You have been very prolific in the past 30 years or so. Do you feel a need to share your music and teaching? Is it a basic need for you?

I think so. Music is a mode of communication. It’s what musicians DO. Whether it is in a performance situation or in a teaching environment, the need is there. Lots of important information was passed down to me by older, more experienced musicians.  I attempt to pass things on in the same way.

I’ve read that you create compositions as a bed for you to improvise and play saxophone over.

That’s one motivation for being a composer and arranger. I’ve always appreciated the opportunity to use composition as a means of implementing my playing into the various bands I’ve been associated with. You also are able to consider who you are playing with, and write accordingly for them. The other motivation for me is the joy that comes with putting the pieces of the musical puzzle together, so to speak, when writing compositions and arrangements. There is gratification in trying to construct an interesting and compelling musical work.

From my own college days I am familiar with several of your charts for big band. At the University of the Arts I had the opportunity to play many of your charts. One of my favorites was “Flying” from The Incredible Journey” CD. That’s a great arrangement and wonderful tenor feature. Let’s talk about the arranging process for some of your own big band compositions. I know you have been nominated for several Grammys. You won a Grammy for Homage to Count Basie.  How long does it take you to construct a piece like “Flying”?

It’s hard to say. I generally work on big band pieces for a week or two. I’ll usually work on them a few hours at a time. With a busier schedule you kind of sneak in some writing whenever you can. The initial ideas come quickly but then the real work involves going over the piece many times to revise, refine and hone the thing into something that is shapely and beautiful.

Do you prefer paper and pencil or the computer?

About two years ago I started using the Sibelius software with a laptop. I’m using Sibelius 3. I have Sibelius 4 but haven’t loaded it yet.

What made you finally take the plunge into using notation software?

It was fate! I ran into Bruce Munson from Sibelius out in Los Angeles at the Mancini Institute. He gave me his card and told me to give him a call if I wanted to check out the software. Two days later Jeff Jarvis, editor of Kendor Music (who publishes much of my big band material) emailed me and said, “You are one of the last guys who is not sending us Finale or Sibelius files.” I thought it must be a sign from up above. So I contacted Bruce and got a copy of the version 3 software. I was about to embark on an etude book called “12 Contemporary Jazz Etudes”, and got started using Sibelius that way. After that, I wrote several big band arrangements for Kurt Elling. He and I did a project in Frankfurt Germany for the radio band there. Next I did a couple orchestral pieces for the Metropole orchestra, two sax quartets, more big band, another book , and on from there. The bottom line is that since I’ve gotten that software I’ve written an awful lot of music because it makes composing and arranging so very easy and accessible. You can write on planes, train and automobiles.

I couldn’t agree with you more. You must have been like a kid in the candy shop after getting into the computer for notation.

I still am. I’m real excited about it. It also has enabled me to write without a piano, which is definitely a better way to go.

You mentioned the newest etude book. I have the first three etude books you wrote. Your books are an invaluable aid in teaching jazz saxophone. I’m sure you must hear that a lot in your travels. Do you get a lot of feedback when you got to high schools and colleges?

Yes. I do. People seem to get a lot out of those books. The idea was to come up with a book of pieces that fall somewhere between a transcribed solo and an Abersold-like vehicle for working on improvisation. With these etudes folks can learn the notes,  then go on to explore articulation, general shape, sound, various theoretical information. There’s the play-along CD with a slammin rhythm section, and a version of myself  playing each etude. There is also an explanation that sets up each etude, covering various musical devices to look for.

They are wonderful for the rest of us who are out here trying to maintain good saxophone technique as well as teach it to others. My students really love your stuff.

My feeling is that you can tell a student what to play but they’re not going to really know what to do with the notes unless the have heard the sound and shape of the music. You can tell them what notes to play, but it’s not only about the notes. It’s the treatment of the notes that bring the notes to life. That’s why listening is such and integral part of learning how to play. Listening to all the detail in the music, as in articulation, attack, sustain, decay, vibrato, glissando, etc.  The idea of these books was to have something to listen to, see the notes go by and kind of see what one might do with those notes.

Some of the things that stand out in my mind in those etudes I’d like to talk about. You use simple pentatonic melodies with very hip changes. I’m curious to know what came first the chicken or the egg. What I mean is did you write the pentatonic melody first of the hip reharmonizations come first.

I think it all arrived pretty much at the same time. I think some of the etudes were written at a piano, but most of them were written on airplanes, just listening to the sounds in my head. You wind up having lots of free time when you fly all the time.!There were certain shapes and progressions that I use over and over, and I was able to draw upon this information in harmonizing the melodies. Several of the tunes were based on frequently used jazz harmonic form.

One of the nice things I like about some of the contemporary jazz and especially your etudes. When you have a bed of changes that the pentatonic scale works over, both advanced and less experienced players can have fun playing over them. Of course the etudes develop into more melodic and harmonic devices but initially just about any player can tackle these. Is that something you learned along the way? I’m talking about simple melodies on top of more complex chord changes.

I don’t know. That’s what I do. It’s just the way I hear things.
I like simplicity, I guess. Actually, before we move on…let me address the fact that one’s ability to compose is in great part determined by influences in that person’s environment. I grew up in New York playing with all kinds of musicians. From working with Steve Gadd, Don Grolnick, Will Lee, John Tropea to playing with Thad Jones,  The New York Philharmonic,  Tito Puente,  and eventually my own ensembles …There was a certain New York sound and shape to things that was very influential on my writing  in the etude books. Playing with Buddy Rich,  Jaco,  Mel Lewis,  the Yellowjackets, and all the great musicians in and out of jazz I’ve been fortunate enough to work with have all had a profound effect on how I hear, play  and write . Everyone has their own particular influences. Through the process of  hanging out, writing and playing with other bands, listening to music,  ultimately leading your own band, and experiencing life’s twists and turns, you use your experience to develop musical ideas into something you can call your own.

Your book “Playing the Saxophone” which predates your playalong books has also been very helpful to many of us. You mention in there something about guys who putt too many ornaments in their playing. Diddlydoo or something like that?

Oh yeah, “the huddleyadahs” (sings huddleyadah and laughs) You know, that refers to all the Sanborn and Brecker imitators who wind up being a caricature of the original. This way of doing things doesn’t really capture the essence of the player. It merely takes some of the obvious devices the original guy used and  beats them to a pulp. Look, everyone copies someone along the way.  There’s a way to do it, thought, that  melds that players devices into what you are already doing without being too obvious.

That made me laugh when I read it.

You are a composer, arranger, saxophonist, educator and band member. Could you be happy  doing just one of those things? If so, which one gives you the most satisfaction or joy?

That’s hard to say. It became apparent to me early on that in order to stay busy as a musician you really had to explore a lot of different avenues. That’s what I’ve always done. I enjoy the diversity of all the different things I do. I like writing as much as playing. I enjoy teaching. I like a variety of styles of music which kind of makes my composing and playing somewhat eclectic. That’s just who I am. It’s not for everybody but that’s the path I’ve chosen.

THAT’S JUST WHO I AM!

I got into the drums a few years ago. You said, “we’re all drummers from previous lives.” Many jazz saxophonists have a special relationship with drummers or drums in general. What do you have to say about that?

Gosh.

Trane and Elvin?

I was definitely thinking of them. The long extended solos Coltrane would do, where the piano player would lay out. were amazing. Jimmy Garrison would hang on for a while, and eventually fall off the truck. There’d be Coltrane and Elvin flailing away. When I was a young man coming up in New York we’d frequently wind up playing duo with  drummers for hours. Maybe we couldn’t find a bass player or piano player at that particular time, so we’d just play duo. I’ve always approached playing the tenor saxophone in a very rhythmical way as a result of a keen interest in drumming. It’s been a big focus of what I do - hence the phrase, “I’ve think I was a drummer in another life. I’ve always been so taken by the drums, rhythms, patterns and grooves. It’s an integral part of being a composer, player, and band leader anyway. Being able to communicate with a drummer and know that language makes it all fit together with far more clarity and ease of execution.

You have played with some Latin jazz greats. Where did you cultivate that initial interest?

I’ve played with a LOT of drummers., period! As I think back there was Buddy Rich, Mel Lewis, Louis Bellson, Tito Puente, Don Alias Mongo Santamaria,  Ray Mantilla, Joe Chambers, Al Foster, Art Blakey, Pete LaRocca,  Peter Erskine, Will Kennedy.

Do you have certain kinship with the drummer on stage? Obviously you need to listen to the changes and tonality but do you feel you interact with the drummer more?

Well, I feel like whatever it is that I play must interact with the rhythm section in a rhythmical and percussive way as well as in a melodic and harmonic capacity.  This is particularly true in jazz music, where there is a strong emphasis on groove and rhythmical interaction.  By knowing something about the language of the drums I am able to better find my place in the overall scheme of things, being able to focus on tambre,  motivic development, and shape.
Mel Lewis used to talk about which ride cymbal he’d play to accompany a trumpet solo versus a saxophone solo. It’s good to know about these things.

You don’t see a certain event or band that attributed to your interest in rhythm? It was more the accumulation of working with so many great drummers and rhythm ensembles?

Well look, any of the great jazz groups had a real strong grasp on rhythm and would inevitably do very interesting things with those rhythms. It’s always been a focus in jazz. All the drummers listed above would surely make you take notice of the drums! I’m the kind of person that likes to know how things work, in a detailed way. That’s why I went out and got a drum kit 30 years ago.

You grew up in New Rochelle. I won’t ask you if you knew Rob Petry. (Dick VanDyke Show reference). Laughs.

He didn’t live in New Rochelle. He lived in Hollywood. Son of Sam lived in New Rochelle. He was there! Stayed a few blocks from where I grew up. There were some real maniacs, but mostly perfectly normal people like anywhere else. It was actually kind of like a little New York. City. There was quite a bit of diversity in that community, which was a good way to grow up. There was also a substantial middle class, something you see less and less of nowadays.

Middle class whom you hardly see anymore there in New Rochelle or in general?

In general.

Yes. I read your latest blog on BobMintzer.com. You obviously have some strong feelings regarding political and sociological matters.

Yeah. It’s staring you in the face. When I grew up my father was a bookkeeper for the County of Westchester and my mother was a teacher. They didn’t make a lot of money. We lived in a modest house. I shared a tiny little bedroom with my brother. We both went to summer camps, did family activities in the summers, and went to college. We didn’t live extravagantly, but you could live in a reasonably comfortable and fulfilling way back then without being a millionaire.  Things are quite different now. The middle class is all but extinct.

You’ve seen more change than I have. Did you have a chance to see Trane play live in sixties?

You know, I sadly missed that opportunity. I started getting involved with jazz right around the time that Trane checked out. 1967 was the year that I really took notice of John Coltrane in a big way.  He seemed to encompass so many different elements that were indicative of what was happening in the world at that time.

The first Coltrane cut I remember hearing was at my sax lesson in high school. My teacher at the time, Jim Odgren took me over to his parent’s stereo and played Giant Steps. It was an eye-opening experience for a 17 year old hearing this for the first time. Were you introduced to John Coltrane’s earlier recordings first as I was?

My first introduction to Coltrane was some of the mid-sixties stuff on Impulse. It was stuff from ‘63 or ‘64 like A Love Supreme, Crescent and an album simply called Coltrane.

You really dug that stuff at first?

Yeah. Yes indeed.

It’s possibly a matter of taste or perhaps an acquired taste. The later stuff recorded by Trane is harder for me to listen to and enjoy. I absolutely love his stuff from the late 50s and very early 60s.

I’ll tell you what. At that time I was playing rock and roll on electric guitar and piano. I was very fond of Jimi Hendrix and some other 60s rock bands. I found a parallel between what Coltrane and Hendrix were doing during that period. There was definitely a correlation there. From there I went both back and forward. I figured I needed to really know this guy’s music. Trane, like Miles Davis, traversed such a wide spectrum from the beginning of his career through to the end. His later stuff was highly evolved and forward-thinking.  He attained the highest level of artistry possible in such a short time. It boggles the mind to think about what he would be playing like today if he were still around.

You have said you try to keep it fresh. How do you remain positive? How do you keep it fresh?

I just try to keep moving forward. I keep writing and considering new possibilities in terms of creating a vehicle for my playing. I’m always listening to different kinds of music. I try to learn something and get another perspective on things. I try to play every day. Either play the piano or play something, sit at the computer and write something. I’m always trying to find  new pathways. I try to take a germ, or seed, as we call it in the Yellowjackets, and work it through to a point where it may be the basis for a new composition or something new to play.

I read that you don’t practice saxophone as much as you’d like to these days. Is there a warm up you are dedicated to everyday despite your lack of time to practice?

No, not really. Although if I haven’t played for a while I wind up playing slow, legato passages for a while to re-orient myself with the horn. If the air is moving right, then things generally line up properly.
Thankfully I get to play pretty much every day, even if it’s just playing piano or drums with a student. It’s all related.

To you feel that the clarinet or bass clarinet require more daily attention or are “less forgiving?”

In some ways, yeah.  The embouchure requires more support, which utilizes facial muscles in a more strenuous way. My tenor playing involves a much more relaxed approach when it comes to embouchure.
                   As far as the practicing-composing situation, one has to make certain choices. One of my choices very early on was to commit to spending a good deal of time on composing and arranging. Unless you’re going to stop eating and socializing completely you maybe have to let the practicing thing go a little. You can’t do it all. I’ve chosen to focus on the writing more than some of my saxophonist brothers.

You have snorkeled in Hawaii. Do you take vacations when the horn stays home?

Yes, several times a year. I work really hard, and need down time with my family to regroup. It’s nice to come back to it fresh.

I’ll present a scenario. You’ve been on a vacation and it’s time to get back into playing with the Yellowjackets. What do you do to get everything working again?

Well, I want to make sure that I have decent reeds. That’s an ongoing process. I’ll get to sound check early and warm up, play a little bit, get my fingers and the air moving, and just re-connect with the horn.  When you play with the Yellowjackets,  the energy and spirit of that band will make you play, ready or not. I’m always amazed at how quickly it all comes back, including remembering fairly complex compositions.  The main thing is to stay relaxed and let the music come out.

No real regimen for you though?

I’ll sort of go off on a tangent occasionally. The last time I picked up my horn I wound up playing through rhythm changes in all 12 keys as a little brain teaser. I might happen upon a standard and play on that a little bit or I might improvise on a melodic motif and manipulate it and fool with it. I might play some Bach. You never know.

What ever makes it interesting, right?

Yeah, you just try to make some music – spin a tale.

Anyone can pick up a Jamey Aebersold CD and book called “Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys.” In your early days you said you would jam in lofts in Manhattan. Even when I was coming up we would routinely have jam sessions. The young players today have a greater amount of educational resources for playing jazz. Do you think there is anything lost by learning through books and Cds instead of the old fashioned jam session?

I learned jazz from playing with people. I think that’s what people still do to this day. Yeah, there are books and a lot of information out there to get you started. The thing to do is to focus on an aspect of something in a book and work it into your playing by expanding upon it, developing the idea to make it your own. Ultimately though, you have to get together with other players. A major portion of playing any kind of music well is based upon how you are able to integrate your playing into an ensemble.

Do you feel there are still ample opportunities for that?

Well that’s another issue, but I think one really needs to know how to play with people. A good buddy of mine says, “Be sure to play with the people you’re playing with.” The idea is to get together with people. I think the more successful musicians are those who are able to instigate playing situations. That’s done either through sheer tenacity, showing up and sitting in with people, putting a band together, writing tunes and gathering people together to play them – whatever.  When you are young it is advisable to establish musical relationships that you can sustain and develop over time. The Yellowjackets have been at it for 25 years! My big band has been fairly consistant personnel-wise for the last 23 years.

You seem very positive in you outlook. You always take the high road, focussing on the good, not the bad. Have you always had that kind of an attitude?

No. Being positive and grateful is something I worked on and learned about through experience.  It took me a minute to be accepting of what is happening in the moment, to just let it be rather than try too hard to control things. It sure is easier to think this way.
Easier for those around you as well. 

You are pretty diligent about working out and taking care of yourself.

Everyday. It’s taken a while to get to that point, but I’ve always been involved with physical exercise. In the last few years, though, I’ve been really diligent about hitting it everyday. It is really helpful to be in good physical, mental, and spiritual condition when you are busy as a musician. That includes eating right, getting enough rest, and taking quiet time.

Is there a person you have not worked with yet that you’d like to?

I love to work with the people I’m working with now! (laughs) I would have liked to have played with Elvin Jones. He called me twice to play with his band, but I was not able to make it.
I never got to work with Miles Davis, not directly anyway. Indirectly we worked together. We played on the same movie soundtrack and he sat in one time when I was playing with the Mel Lewis Big Band.

It sounds cool. Was it as cool as it sounds?

It was insanely cool! It was beautiful. This was during a period in the early 80s when Miles wasn’t playing very much. He was just hanging around the clubs. He’d come to the (Village) Vanguard on Monday nights. He just felt like playing. He grabbed one of the trumpet player’s trumpet and started playing the blues. He played for a   l  o  n  g   time. It was great!

This would have been just before he put together his funky band featuring Mike Stern, Bob Berg and Marcus Miller. Was he playing straight ahead on the blues?

Yeah.

The house must have gone wild.

We all went wild! It was like being transported back to 1958 in a time capsule!

I saw that Vanguard band in the mid to late eighties. We would make pilgrimages from Atlantic City up to New York on our off nights to see and hear some great jazz in the city. Billy Drews and Joe Lovano were playing tenor on at least one occasion. I remember being impressed by the fact that Billy Drews sounded very much like Trane. I was obviously in New York, a place known for having many talented Coltrane-influenced tenor players.

Actually, Billy Drews has his own sound these days.. All of the saxophonists of that era were checking out Sonny Rollins, Joe Henderson, Dexter Gordon, and on and on, as well as Coltrane. There was a little club which I was part of that was emulating certain components of Coltrane’s playing, to be sure. We all took that influence and went somewhere else with it. There was Steve Grossman, Dave Liebman, Mike Brecker, and Bob Berg – The Jewish Tenor Mafia.

(Laughs) I’ve heard that reference before! I guess there’s some truth to the story of that alliance formed back then in New York. Now I mentioned Joe Lovano as well. He didn’t really subscribe to the Trane influence and that didn’t appeal to me as much.

Joe Lovano took my place in that band. I was there around the late seventies. Thad (Jones) was still there in ’78 when I joined the band. Joe Lovano’s dad was an old-time tenor player. Joe’s has really incorporated the Coleman Hawkins/Ben Webster thing with something extremely modern. The end result is something very fresh and interesting.

You have a lot of sensitivity that comes out in your playing as demonstrated at the recent Yellowjackets performance in Philly. You have mentioned recording things at a lowered volume in the studio as well. The dynamic contrast shared by the members of the Yellowjackets was very obvious to me. Sitting at only the second table from the stage, I didn’t witness any obvious visual or verbal cues when the dynamics would change. How do you communicate that on stage with the Jackets?

I think the 4 of us in the Yellowjackets have learned to breath
and phrase together over time. We all subscribe to playing music with shape, contrast, and dynamics. The natural flow of the music
dictates where and when things get loud, soft, gentle, or aggressive.
As a soloist I make a concerted effort to leave space in my playing so as to establish a sense of conversation and interplay in whatever ensemble I play with. If you let the music unfold in a relaxed fashion,
generally things like dynamics and development will occur on it’s own. It also doesn’t hurt to think about dynamics and shape in the practice room when you take an inventory of your playing.

This is the 25th Anniversary of the Yellowjackets. I can tell you that my wife and the other couple we dined with that night in Philly are not musicians. They enjoyed the evening just as much as I did – if not more. It’s really a tribute to the musicianship, quality and artistic achievement of what you guys were doing that night. I’m sure you do that over and over again. You’ve been with them for the last 15 years or so. Prior to that Marc Russo and his very distinct alto sound were featured within the group. The band had a “sound” with Marc Russo on alto. That sound changed dramatically over time with your addition to the group. How did you find your voice within the group?

That’s the nature of a band like the Yellowjackets. When you change personnel the sound is going to change based upon what the new member brings to the table. It’s a collaborative effort. It is a democratic band without a leader, and the music is fashioned around four individuals and the way they interact with one another. When I first came on the band I was trying to be respectful and fit in. I tried to feel my way along.  Eventually I figured out how to play with the other guys, to be on the team, if you will. The Yellowjackets have a secret code of sorts in the way they play. I needed to get comfortable with that way of playing before I could play the right way with them.
Being a good listener is a major part of being in a band!

I saw you playing tenor sax and EWI the other night. Tell me about the new EWI.

I guess I’m one of the guys who plays their instrument who is in the public’s view on an ongoing basis. Akai was sold to an American outfit. At that time they were looking around for someone to provide some exposure for the new instrument. They found me. And a few other guys. It’s a great instrument. I’ve always liked EWIs. This new one sort of feels like the first one. It has a lot of the properties of the EWI 1000 sound module. The sound module is built right into the controller, making the instrument very transportable and easy to deal with. It’s a great little instrument.

You obviously use it as another voice. Do you write specifically for EWI or does the instrumentation play out after the writing of tunes?

Sometimes I write for the EWI. Other times is just becomes apparent in the process of working on a tune that I should play the EWI in that particular case.

On the subject of the EWI, Mike Brecker said, “It makes the saxophone fresh.” I find that true for both the player and the listener. You agree?

I would agree.

Are you doubling much on flute and straight clarinet?

Hardly at all. I did at one time. I just don’t really have the opportunity or the time to do so these days. I’m mainly focussing on the tenor, soprano, EWI and writing.  I haven’t been playing a lot of soprano with the Yellowjackets lately either. That’s mainly because it is prohibitive to carry tenor, soprano and EWI on an airplane. But I miss playing those instruments.

You were playing on a Seinheiser 441 the evening I say you. There are several pictures of you standing in front of that mic. Is that you’re preferred mic?

That’s the band microphone that I always play on. I like that Seinheiser 441 al lot for live playing. It has a warm sound and doesn’t pick up the other instruments on stage too much.

Do you have a wireless setup?

 I’m not really interested in doing that. I like being able to change the distance from the microphone to the bell of my horn. I don’t like accoutrements. I don’t really want anything hanging off of my saxophone or a wire going from my belt back to the hornt. I’m a clumsy person. I would ultimately or inevitably end up tripping or yanking something out.

You have a very pretty horn that seems to be gold plated. I know you like Mark VIs from the mid 50s. There are other pictures of you playing another, funkier looking VI. Do you still have that one?

That’s a 66,000 and this one I’m playing now is a 53,000. It’s one of the first Mark VIs actually. They were made right after the Super Balanced Actions. It’s funny. When I had that horn gold plated all of a sudden people were saying, “You sure sound good.” (Laughs) I think they were more impressed by the fact that the horn was shiny!

You had it gold plated?

It’s a bit of a complicated story. The horn belonged to an ex-student of mine named Al Goelz, who died when he was 30 years old. His wife thought that he might have wanted me to have his horn. It sat in my closet for a little while until I decided to  get the horn playing again. It has been a good way to remember my friend, and to have a good instrument being played instead of sitting in a closet. Since I had always been curious about playing on a gold horn, I had Oleg oversee the process of gold-plating and overhauling it. It turned out to be a wonderful instrument. I’ve been playing this horn for the last 11 years with no plans to stop any time soon.

Do you have a big following in Japan?

I don’t know. I’ve done a few recordings for Japanese labels. I’ve been to Japan many times. One of the most memorable trips was with Jaco Pastorius. We played the Buddokan in Tokyo with the Word of Mouth Big Band for about 10,000 people. Quite an experience.

Do you go to Japan much?

Not so much lately but at one time yes. The Yellowjackets have gone but again not so much lately.

The Japanese jazz audience has really embraced American jazz artists. I thought you may have been a lucky recipient of their admiration.

Well, I’ve been over there 11 or 12 times. I’ve always felt welcomed there. The fans are great.

Those must have been colorful times. You must have a lot of war stories.

Yes. There’s plenty of war stories. But what I remember most is having had the opportunity to play every night, write tunes and arrangements,, work with great musicians, learn about other cultures and philosophies, and travel the world.

Are you a spiritual person?

Yes
 
Does that come out in your music?

I would like to think so.

Do you still teach at Manhattan?

Yes. I take a couple saxophone students each semester. In the past I did some ensemble coaching as well. But with my busy schedule it’s difficult to do too much there.

Over the years, who have been the most influential teachers you’ve had?

               Neil Slater who now runs the jazz department at North Texas was a mentor of mine in my early musical life. He was very encouraging and a good role model. He’s a great musician, composer, player and teacher. He was in there, on the scene in New York, writing and playing with all the great cats. He also was a dedicated educator, initially in the town next to where I grew up. I attended a little jazz workshop he taught after school to junior high kids. After that I went to Westchester Music and Arts Camp in 66 and 67 and Neil was there as well. He later taught at the University of Bridgeport and I was going to Hartt College in Hartford. I would come down and play with his big band. We’ve kept in touch over the years. He’s a good friend and a great musician.
                  I got to hang with Jackie Mc Lean at Hart College of Music. Jackie was a beautiful human being, and someone who was right in the middle of jazz history, having played with Monk, Miles, Trane, and Charlie Parker.  His inspiration and presence was invaluable.

Is there a question that no one has ever asked you that you would like to address?

Folks generally ask insightful and considerate questions, both on my web site and at school visits. I’ve heard just about every question there is.  The best questions are usually those that suggest the person has some idea what I’m getting at musically, and wants to delve deeper into the process. The harder questions to answer are the more generalized questions, like, “how do you play that thing like that?”
Or “how do you write music like that”.  Thad once told a student that his voicings came from “eatin’ that greasy meat”.

You live outside NY, right?

I live in Hastings on Hudson, New york. Mike Brecker, John Pattitucci, and a whole slew of other cats live her as well.

Anything else?

It  is truly a gift to be able to write and play the music you hear in your head and soul on a regular basis.  I don’t take it lightly, and I thank my lucky stars every day.

That’s a very interesting combination.

You’ve been an inspiration to many of us.

“Thanks. I’m tryin’ hard.”