Trombone Shorty photographed in 2017

Trombone Shorty

Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS/Getty Images

Interview

Trombone Shorty Is Big On New Orleans, Music Education & Rap

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GRAMMY nominee reveals how he found his groove with new album 'Parking Lot Symphony' and how music education can save lives
Tim McPhate
GRAMMYs
Sep 19, 2017 - 12:18 pm

Whether the subject is his latest project, touring, his storied hometown of New Orleans, or education, Trombone Shorty — born Troy Andrews — beams with confidence and pride. Lucky for him, his No. 1 passion threads it all: music.

Trombone Shorty: New Album, Red Hot Chili Peppers

Released in April 2017, Parking Lot Symphony represents arguably the GRAMMY nominee's most passionate project to date. Designed to capture the spirit and the essence of The Big Easy, Trombone Shorty looked to create a more spontaneous, live atmosphere in the studio. The organic results yielded bluesy numbers like "No Good Time," jazzy instrumental cuts like "Tripped Out Slim," and spirited covers of Allen Toussaint's "Here Come The Girls" and the Meters' "It Ain't No Use."

In an exclusive GRAMMY.com interview, Trombone Shorty goes long on the live feel on Parking Lot Symphony, touring with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, what you'd find on his rider, rap influences, and saving lives through music education.

You've stated you wanted to capture more of a raw feel with Parking Lot Symphony, compared to your prior albums. What led you in this direction?
When we are in the studio doing the records, sometimes we really try to be extremely tight and try to be very clean. And we've never tried to do a live take in the studio, with the energy. So we just wanted to do that, because most of my career and most of our success is because of the live element. And I just wanted to go in there and see if we could just play — to have the arrangements really tight but not hold back on the energy. And we never approached that in the studio. Whenever we go in the studio, it's always, "Oh, we need to be tight. We need to do this." So I said, "Let's learn the material; let's get it as tight as we can. And let's play like we do it during the show." And I think we captured that [on Parking Lot Symphony].

I understand that the album title Parking Lot Symphony is based on a lyric phrase from Alex Ebert from the Magnetic Zeros. Why did the title make sense for the album, and what does it represent to you?
Well, we got together and wrote the song, and he said, "It's Parking Lot Symphony," I just thought it was great because it represents what we do New Orleans. Most of the music in New Orleans is heard on the street and that's where I came up, playing in the street parades. I just thought, "It really is a parking lot symphony in New Orleans," marching through the street for four or five hours, every Sunday or every other day, and I just thought it fit perfectly with my story.

You're recently coming off a tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Back in the day, the Chili Peppers were known for some crazy antics. What's the strangest thing that happened on that tour?
(laughs) Well, you know, I think they're a little older now so they've calmed down a lot. There was nothing really crazy. Flea gets up there and Anthony takes off his shirt — I don't think that's crazy. But it was a lot of fun, we learned a lot from them. It was a great tour for us because we listened to those guys growing up. And our music is very influenced by them. We just have horns, but you can hear certain rhythms in [that are similar] because they are also influenced by the Meters, who we grew up listening to in New Orleans.

I saw some videos before we went on the road — I thought they'd do some crazy stuff so I could try and steal those antics from them. But they kept it really cool on this one.

You jammed "Give It Away" with them.
Yeah, we did "Give It Away" in New Orleans. That's one of my favorite songs, and they brought up the Rebirth Brass Band, George Porter from the Meters and Ivan Neville. We had a big jam session onstage at the Smoothie King arena in New Orleans and that was just like a monumental moment for all of us.

Speaking of touring: What are the most surprising things that would be found on Trombone Shorty's tour rider?
(laughs) On my rider? Probably ramen noodles in a cup. That's probably the craziest thing. But my band really puts some weird things on there. I just ask for coconut water. Well, I do also ask for Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Before the show, we might have cereal or something like that. They take care of the rest, so there's all types of ginger beer and M&M's. We're really cool. We haven't completely lost our minds yet.

You are a huge proponent of music education through the Trombone Shorty Foundation. Why is music education so important for our nation's youth?
Well, think about this, music education is very important because I've realized that, [through] traveling and touring, every place is not New Orleans. It's cool to play music, it's cool to play instruments, it's cool to play tuba and trombone and trumpet, or even tap dance. When we get off the plane in New Orleans, about five minutes later you'll see someone playing. So I wanted to give back to the neighborhood because a lot of great musicians in the city did that for me because they saw something in me as a kid. They'd go on tour and the would give me something to practice, and then they would come off tour and come back to my house and ask me if I had been practicing and then they'd give me another lesson.

I've had great teachers throughout my life and it's an unspoken tradition that we pass things down. In New Orleans we have a lot of kids that grow up playing by ear and some of them never get formal training but they become professional musicians. And what I wanted to do is give them the right tools to be able to come out to L.A. or wherever it may be and be onstage with anybody, and not have anything hold them back. And also, in New Orleans sometimes we know how to make music and play music, but we may be lacking in the music business side of it. So I wanted to introduce that to the kids before they get to it, so it's not a complete random thought when they actually have to do some contracts or have to manage themselves. We have a lot of great musicians and great kids down there. And I think in the bigger picture, it can be a passport for them to see the world. And maybe even save some of their lives.

From down and dirty funk to jazz, blues and hip-hop, your influences are eclectic. Staying with hip-hop: What are your top hip-hop albums of all time and who are some of your biggest influences?
Yeah, I think Juvenile 400 Degreez is one of my favorites. He's one of my favorite rappers coming from New Orleans. There's Mystikal, his albums he did with No Limit. And I have to say Lil Wayne with Tha Carter, what he does on that. Growing up in the city, we all listened to that music. And still today, we still listen it. That's where most of my hip-hop influences comes from, being in the city. I worked with Mannie Fresh when he was doing some things with Cash Money. I worked with him when I was like 14, and we still work together today. KLC, who did a bunch of stuff for No Limit, we still work together. I play some horn parts for him and make some beats for him. Those are my biggest influences in hip-hop.

You've done some voiceover work and played yourself on "Treme." Any interest in getting into method acting?
You know, I've thought about it. I've got a bunch of actor and actress friends that I hang out with. And I'm always asking them things. If I get a chance to do it, I'd like to take that challenge. It's a different type of thing to become someone else. But sometimes onstage, sometimes you get into a vibe. I don't know if it's acting or if it's a spiritual thing, but sometimes I feel like James Brown or I feel the spirit of Louis Armstrong or things like that. I feel I tap into that spirit sometimes.

What's the last show you binge-watched?
I don't get a chance to watch much TV but I have been watching Netflix. There's a show called "Wentworth" that I've been checking out. And when I'm home, my sister likes to watch the show "Power" with 50 Cent and all those guys. So I'll check that out. We'll sit at home as a family and just watch that all day. I gotta catch up because she's talking about things that I don't know about. So she makes me go back to season one and after I watch that, then we're able to talk about it.

Harry Connick Jr. and friends in Jackson Square, New Orleans

Harry Connick Jr. and friends in NOLA

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United We Sing: Cyndi Lauper, Jamie Foxx & More Help Harry Connick Jr. Bring Smiles To Essential Workers

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Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Herbie Hancock, Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, John Fogerty and others also brought gratitude from New York to New Orleans
Ana Monroy Yglesias
GRAMMYs
Jun 21, 2020 - 7:02 pm

On Sunday, June 21, CBS aired the two-hour "United We Sing: A GRAMMY Salute To The Unsung Heroes" special featuring host Harry Connick Jr., who, along with his filmmaker daughter, Georgia Connick, journeyed via RV from New York to New Orleans to personally thank the essential workers risking their lives to keep us all safe and healthy during the COVID-19 crisis.

The inspiring road trip, which was shot several weeks ago and with a limited crew and social distancing precautions, saw the Connicks visiting truck drivers, teachers, grocery store workers, hospital cleaning staff, firefighters, a trash route worker and other unsung heroes of the coronavirus pandemic.

At each stop, a very special guest, via Zoom, helped Harry offer messages of gratitude to the local heroes, while Georgia filmed the moving interactions. These included Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey and Queen Latifah, along with GRAMMY winners Irma Thomas, Jamie Foxx, Herbie Hancock, Andra Day, Cyndi Lauper, Little Big Town, Dave Matthews, Tim McGraw, John Fogerty and others.

Watch Tim McGraw Perform "Something Like That"

The first stop was to visit Harry's sister Suzanna Jamison, a military doctor currently stationed at Queens Hospital Center in Queens, N.Y. "It's really hard for all the people involved," she said. It was also, understandably so, hard for the siblings to not be able to hug each other. He later visited their father in New Orleans, where they grew up, for another heartwarming family visit.

After narrowly escaping N.Y.C. while driving their massive RV through the narrow streets of Chinatown, Harry navigated them to Chattanooga, Tenn. to thank an adorable trucker couple. McGraw, the first celeb guest of the jaunt, said hi via Zoom. The country icon shared that his dad was a trucker, and he got his country music education at a young age, riding alongside his father with the tape deck going. He then sang an acoustic rendition of his 1999 song "Something Like That" (watch the performance above).

The next stop was to visit teachers at Irvington High School in Newark, N.J. One of the young teachers, Aaysha Notice, shared her passion for showing up for her students, even when they're apart, with innovative ideas like a car parade to celebrate the kids' test scores, driving outside their houses, shouting praises from a safe distance. Their special caller was Queen Latifah—she attended Irvington at the same time her mom taught there. Notice and the other teachers where thrilled to hear support from Latifah, who reminded them: "You are the superstars!"

Explore: 'Black Gold' At 50: How Nina Simone Refracted The Black Experience Through Reinterpreted Songs

The show was interspersed with a stellar selection of musical guests and virtual collabs, the second of which was Trombone Shorty and Little Big Town, with the New Orleans jazz artist playing from his hometown and the country act singing in from Florida and Nashville. They performed a rousing cover of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)."

Irma Thomas

Irma Thomas sings in front of the Mississippi River

Other performances included Thomas singing her GRAMMY-winning 1962 classic "It's Raining" in front of a grey-skied Mississippi river, with Lauper supporting virtually from Los Angeles and Foxx singing a moving rendition of Bill Withers' "Grandma's Hands," dedicated to his beloved grandmother and Withers. Foxx helped thank the cleaning staff at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Ala.

Hancock and Day, who is playing Billie Holiday in an upcoming biopic, performed Holiday's "God Bless The Child," along with an upright bassist and drummer, each playing from their respective set-ups. Later, Jon Batiste and the Gospel Soul Children served up a beautiful performance of "Amazing Grace."

Fogerty and his family, calling in from Los Angeles, performed an electric rendition of his "Proud Mary," with help from Rockin' Dopsie Jr. playing the zydeco in front of the river that inspired the Creedance Clearwater Revival hit. Also while in NOLA, Connick joined an amazing, socially distanced second line, featuring the Bourbon Street Brass Band, the Lady Buckjumpers and the Wild Magnolias, who delivered a brass rendition of "America The Beautiful."

Read: Marching Six Feet Apart: How High School Marching Bands Are Coping With The Pandemic

One of the most moving musical moments came from the tribute to the late jazz pianist Ellis Marsalis, who died from COVID-19. Three of his sons honored the NOLA legend with the hymn "How Great Thou Art," along with Connick singing on a piano. They performed outside of the city's Ellis Marsalis Center For Music, built after hurricane Katrina to serves as a music education and enrichment space for kids, a recording studio, performance hall and more. One of the eldest sons, Branford Marsalis, returned to the show later to perform Dave Matthews Band's "Mercy" with Dave himself.

R.I.P.: Pianist And New Orleans Jazz Staple Ellis Marsalis Dies At 85

While visiting New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell at City Hall, Lou Hill of the Recording Academy stopped by to share the Academy would be joining Connick in making donations to the Marsalis Center and New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, another important local music org highlighted during the special. During the show, viewers where encouraged to learn more and donate what they could to the non-profits, as well as MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund and two food-focused charities, No Kid Hungry and the Conscious Alliance, a coalition of artists dedicated keeping their communities fed.

Read: My Mind: The 'Panther' Theme Song Turns 25

Other stops and celebrity Zoom cameos included a visit to Oprah's Boys and Girls Club in Kosciusko, Miss., where the employees are feeding kids who would otherwise not eat with school out, with around 2000 meals a day! Winfrey called in to thank them personally; she helped open in that Boys and Girls Club in her hometown back in 2006. At a Kroger's grocery store in Knoxville, Tenn., Connick called on Renée Zellweger to praise two lovely employees there. Sandra Bullock zoomed with transit supervisor Joy Palmer, who recently lost her husband to COVID-19.

GRAMMYs

A gospel choir sings with Connick in Jefferson Square, New Orleans

Brad Pitt made two cameos, first offering playful jokes and heartfelt thanks to the lovely Darnell, the supervisor of trash pickup route, and later to help Connick close the show. The final number saw Connick singing "Stars Still Shine" on a piano in NOLA's Jackson Square, with the support of a gospel choir and orchestra. The new song, dedicated to all their new friends on the front lines, and the many more they didn't have time to meet, is available to download now with all proceeds going to the Marsalis Center.

"Nothing Like This Has Ever Happened": How Orchestra Musicians Are Faring In The Pandemic

Grammys Newsletter

Album covers from new music released in April 2017
List

April New Music Roundup: Did you miss these great releases?

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Stay current and catch up on some of these notable music releases from the past month
THE GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
May 15, 2017 - 2:36 am

As we enter May, we close the books on a month that saw the release of several blockbuster albums, chart-shifting singles and enough new music to get us through the summer. With April in our rearview mirror, we took a look back at some of the noteworthy releases from GRAMMY-winning artists and newcomers alike with our latest installment of the Monthly Music Roundup.

Albums 

Father John Misty, Pure Comedy

Notorious late-night tweeter and self-styled indie rock iconoclast Father John Misty released his latest effort, Pure Comedy. Typical of the singer/songwriter's trademark lyrical density, Spin.com says the album "evokes increasing comparisons to '70s singer/songwriters like Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson, who hid their acidic commentary within sturdy pop structures."

Joey Bada$$, Amerikkkan Badass

Brooklyn-based rapper Joey Bada$$ dropped his second studio LP. The rapper has shifted from the self-aware thematic content of his debut record, B4.Da.$$, toward hip-hop stylings centered around political themes and imagery. Pitchfork calls Amerikkkan Badass  a "starting point for those who may not have thought much of economic, social and political disparity."

The Chainsmokers, Memories … Do Not Open

GRAMMY-winning duo the Chainsmokers released their debut studio album, Memories … Do Not Open. The 12-track set launched at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and the chart performance of its three singles, including Best Pop Duo/Group Performance GRAMMY winner "Closer," made the Chainsmokers just the third group ever to have three simultaneous Top 10 singles on the Hot 100.

Kendrick Lamar, DAMN.

Kendrick Lamar hype was at an all-time high following the release of this album's lead single "HUMBLE.," building to a fever pitch ahead of the release of his fourth studio effort, DAMN. Rolling Stone calls the album "a dazzling display of showy rhyme skills, consciousness-raising political screeds, self-examination, and bass-crazy kicking."

John Mayer, The Search For Everything

Connecticut-born genre jumper John Mayer has never been short on talent. The Search For Everything comes after a candid interview with The New York Times and just ahead of a summer tour. His latest album shows off a more mellow thread of the GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter's DNA. As AllMusic.com says, "He's settling into a groove he can claim as his own, and it feels like he's at home."

Preservation Hall Jazz Band, So It Is

Switching gears from the bluegrass-influenced sounds of 2013's That's It!, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band tapped the production duo of TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek and current member and music director Ben Jaffe to curate a record of more worldly stylings. AllMusic.com says it "showcases a soulful, bluesy, groove-oriented set of songs heavily influenced by the roiling, kinetic sound of Afro-Latin and Cuban bands."

Incubus, 8

What sounds at first like an unorthodox combination of artists — Incubus and GRAMMY-winning DJ/producer Skrillex — turns out to be the former's most aggressive and punchy rock album of their career.  As Incubus' lead singer Brandon Boyd explained to Rolling Stone about the collaboration, "It was like there was one more lick to get to the center of the Tootsie Pop and we found it."

Robyn Hitchcock, Robyn Hitchcock

The revved-up pace and sound of singer/songwriter Hitchcock's self-titled solo album comes in stark contrast to 2014's reserved and pensive The Man Upstairs. "Existing fans will rightfully be thrilled that Hitchcock not only hasn’t lost his edge, but has sharpened his knives on this superb set," American Songwriter claims. "Newcomers can start here to get a whiff of one of music’s most pungent, eccentric and lovable journeymen doing what he does best."

Sheryl Crow, Be Myself

GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Sheryl Crow returns to familiar retro form, enlisting Jeff Trott and Tchad Blake, who worked on her self-titled album in 1996. The resulting comfortable surroundings, according to AllMusic.com, find Crow "happy to embrace her eccentricity in addition to her fondness for big pop hooks."

Gorillaz, Humanz

Following rumors that the group had fallen out and disbanded, the Gorillaz returned to music after a seven-year hiatus with Humanz. Themed around emotional reactions to world-changing events and subtle political undertones, Pitchfork call the record a "gloomy party playlist for the end of the world."

Trombone Shorty, Parking Lot Symphony

The genre-busting New Orleans trombonist, trumpeter and singer returned to dip his toes into the deep end of '70s R&B and funk sounds with Parking Lot Symphony. AllMusic.com says the LP is "one of Trombone Shorty's most balanced productions, equal parts New Orleans R&B sophistication and loose, block party fun."

Feist, Pleasure

It's been six years since Feist released her critically acclaimed album, Metals, and now she is back with a more intimate sound and some of her best material yet. According to Consequence of Sound, "Pleasure is a record of patience, and each surprising twist in its understated songwriting is used to illustrate how Feist keeps her cool."

Mary J. Blige, Strength Of A Woman

The GRAMMY-winning R&B superstar has done it again. Mary J. Blige's new album, Strength Of A Woman, arrived with much anticipation. BET reports that fans are "celebrating the fact that the R&B veteran truly did put her heartache (and hope) into her music once again — much like she has throughout her entire career."

Mary J. Blige gets real on new album 'Strength Of A Woman'

Willie Nelson, God's Problem Child

Coming off a GRAMMY win for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album at the 59th GRAMMY Awards, the outlaw country music legend tells it just like it is at age 83 on God's Problem Child, which features some of Nelson's sharpest songwriting, most purposeful lyrics and most vulnerable vocal performances, according to Rolling Stone.

Singles

Beyoncé, "Die With You"

Beyoncé released "Die With You" in honor of her ninth wedding anniversary with husband Jay Z. According to Billboard, the GRAMMY-winning artist also curated an exclusive 63-track playlist for streaming service Tidal to accompany the single track and music video release.

Harry Styles, "Sign Of The Times"

The One Direction star found himself on the top of the U.K. charts with his new single, "Sign Of The Times," bumping fellow English countryman Ed Sheeran from the top spot early in the month. According to Huffington Post UK, the song has a "surprising backstory."

Royal Blood, "Lights Out"

The British blues-rock duo are back with the first single from the anticipated follow-up to their 2014 self-titled masterpiece. If the fuzzed-out "Lights Out" is any indication their album, How Did We Get So Dark?, out in June, it will offer an even heavier version of the band's garage sound.

Phoenix, "J-Boy"

The French synth-rock quartet came out swinging with their first new music since 2013's Bankrupt! The track makes for an apt preview to their forthcoming LP Ti Amo, which lead guitarist Laurent Brancowitz told Consequence Of Sound will focus on "simple, pure emotions."

What was your favorite release from April? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Polls

Which new album release from April do you have on repeat?

D-Nice

D-Nice

Photo courtesy of D-Nice

News

Why Hip-Hop Heavyweight D-Nice Is Headlining DC Jazz Fest 2021: "To Me, Jazz Is Infused In All Music"

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The DJ and rapper famous for "Call Me D-Nice" is about to headline DC Jazz Fest on September 5, sharing the stage with some of the genre's leading lights. What compels a hip-hop legend to headline the largest jazz festival in our nation's capital?
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Sep 3, 2021 - 2:27 pm

Ask almost anybody in the burgeoning crossover jazz sphere about the barriers between jazz and rap, and they'll glow about how they're evaporating before our ears. Kassa Overall once called the two "from the same tree as far as where they come from, which is Black music in America." Jon Batiste recently opined to GRAMMY.com, "I don't even think genre exists." 

While D-Nice doesn't take the unity of the two genres quite that far, he can attest to their connections: He's headlining the biggest jazz festival in our nation's capital on Sunday, September 5.

"Growing up, we used to look for jazz records to sample, and jazz records always had the best grooves to them," the rapper, DJ and producer famous for solo hits like "Call Me D-Nice"—as well as hard-hitting works with KRS-One and DJ Scott La Rock as Boogie Down Productions—tells GRAMMY.com. "That's part of the way my set is: I'm blending in a lot of those kinds of records, but I'm also blending in songs that were inspired by jazz as well." 

During his headlining set—where he'll step on the same stage as bandleader Maria Schneider, pianist Orrin Evans, violinist Regina Carter and other cream-of-the-crop musicians—expect exactly what D-Nice promises. There will be hints of straight-ahead bebop—he namedrops Thelonious Monk and Dizzy GIllespie—but also music that bears those artists' inescapable influence.

Read on for an interview with D-Nice about what listeners can expect at his DC Jazz Fest appearance, the intersection of jazz and hip-hop and why he's making the most authentic music of his life right now.

How does it feel to be headlining DC Jazz Fest this weekend? It seems like a distinct honor.

To be honest with you, it's been an overwhelming experience just to play the music that I love and to have people receive it as well as they've been receiving it. Whether it was virtually or looking forward to this Sunday, obviously—D.C. is one of my favorite places to be—but just sharing music the way I was able to throughout the last two years, it's going to be great doing this live.

What's your connection to the jazz lineage? How does this music emotionally speak to you?

To me, jazz is infused in all music. Being a hip-hop artist, growing up, we used to look for jazz records to sample, and jazz records always had the best grooves to them. When you go back and listen to Thelonious Monk, we sampled those records. That's part of the way my set is: I'm blending in a lot of those kinds of records, but I'm also blending in songs that were inspired by jazz as well.

Whether it's A Tribe Called Quest or anything that DJ Premier produced, I'm kind of infusing that with songs that have heavy horns in them that were jazz-influenced, like Stevie Wonder. It should be a very interesting set.

Read More: "Loops Of Funk Over Hardcore Beats": 30 Years Of A Tribe Called Quest's Debut, 'People's Instinctive Travels And The Paths Of Rhythm'

The longer I work as a music journalist, the more genre distinctions seem blurry or even meaningless. Is there that much of a difference between jazz and hip-hop?

I mean, of course, there's a difference, but it just depends on the artist. I was looking at a video clip of Shock G from Digital Underground and he was breaking down the way certain rappers would rhyme. The way Biggie flowed—I can't remember exactly how he described it—but the way the flow was, it was like someone playing trumpet. 

To me, it was just brilliant, because we've all been inspired by jazz music. Like, Miles Davis' Bitches Brew—Heavy D sampled that. Those records that have that groove to them have always been an important part of hip-hop production. I do understand what you're saying that the lines have been blurred a bit, but the influence is what it is. It starts there.

You mentioned your musical output over the last two years. What has this period been like for you?

Obviously, I've been doing my Club Quarantine [Instagram Live series]. But going back even before [that], I was always traveling the road, DJing and playing big venues, whether I was in Vegas or Atlantic City or Miami. Private events for everyone from former president Barack [Obama] to GRAMMY events. When the world was forced to pause for a minute, we couldn't do any of those things. 

I feel like I found myself musically—being able to play what I wanted to hear and not what I thought people wanted to party to.

Was that a big motivator in the past? Making music that would make a crowd turn up above all?

Oh, yeah. Before, you're kind of promoter-driven. It just depends on the night. At times, I would have to play EDM because it was an EDM night. That high-energy, Vegas-style DJing. Or, if I played private events—whether it was a Spotify or GRAMMY event—I would have to play a lot of new music, [like] Billie Eilish. So, I knew all of those records.

But over the last two years of this quarantine, I was able to just play the music that I loved. There was no audience in front of me, yet there was an audience listening to me. What I loved was what resonated with the world. So even on Sunday coming up in D.C., it's going to be heavy jazz, but I'm tying in songs that feel like when you have Dizzy Gillespie on a Stevie record. That's the jazz influence.

I learned to just play from my heart instead of what people wanted to hear, and it just makes my events that much more exciting.

White Dave On The Producers That Inspire Him, Why He's "Not A Rapper By Nature" & His New EP, 'Porch Sessions'

Grammys Newsletter

"A Great Day In Harlem"

Photo: Art Kane Archive

News

Almost Everyone In The Famous 'Harlem 1958' Jazz Photograph Is Gone. This 96-Year-Old Vibraphonist Remembers Most Of Them.

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All but two of the 57 jazz legends in the 'Harlem 1958' photo have passed on. But although the 96-year-old vibraphone master Terry Gibbs wasn't in it, he remembers many of the figures therein
Morgan Enos
GRAMMYs
Aug 25, 2021 - 2:44 pm

Sixty-three years after 57 jazz musicians assembled for a genre-encapsulating photograph in front of an Upper East Harlem brownstone, a crowd was set to convene on that very block for a street co-naming ceremony. Because of a blazing 107-degree heat index that day—which could be potentially life-threatening to anyone elderly or infirm in the crowd—it didn't happen.

By now, that Esquire photo by freelancer Art Kane—called Harlem 1958—has inspired doo-wop and rap homages, not to mention a 1994 documentary. But rather than seeing a gaggle of music fans on East 126th Street between Fifth and Madison—along with readings of prepared statements by saxophone legends Benny Golson and Sonny Rollins—it was crickets on what might have been otherwise rechristened as Art Kane 1958 Harlem Place.

While the event will likely be rescheduled, the abrupt cancelation serves as a reminder of how tenuous this heritage is in 2021. Kane died in 1995; Golson, 92, and Rollins, 90, are the only living musicians in the photo. While New York clubs remain full of young visionaries with something to prove, the lively camaraderie in the photo—as shown in Kane’s son Jonathan’s 2018 coffeetable book, Art Kane: Harlem 1958—can feel inaccessible, like a relic of the distant past.

That is, if you're not Terry Gibbs, the 96-year-old vibraphonist who played with everyone from Charlie Parker to Benny Goodman to Buddy Rich over a seven-decade career.

Read More: Gerry Gibbs Assembled Jazz Legends To Honor His Father's Music. The Result Contained Chick Corea's Final Recordings.

With an acerbic sense of humor, needle-sharp recollection of the mid-20th century and all his wits about him, Gibbs is one of the last living threads to this quickly-fading era of American innovation. Granted, he wasn't actually in the photo, but it hardly matters: These people were his colleagues, with many of them his close friends.

It’s worth noting that Harlem 1958 isn't just household names, like Count Basie and Gene Krupa. Some of the more obscure members of the lineup, like Gigi Gryce, were brilliant composers overshadowed in their day. To say nothing of the genius pianist and arranger Mary Lou Williams, who, despite crafting immersive works like 1964's The Black Christ of the Andes, was bizarrely benched from the discourse for decades—perhaps thanks in part to her race and gender.

Gibbs speaks in a discursive style he's called his "Brooklynese," and as an eyewitness to the jazz revolution, his reflections should provide a foundation of knowledge before you Google the rest of the story. Out of almost 8 billion people on the planet, he’s one of the only living primary sources on this subject. Even if he only knew of someone in the photo, it’s captivating to hear from him.

Here's a guide to A Great Day in Harlem with help from the one and only Terry Gibbs.

Read More: How The Jazz Coalition Commission Fund Is Helping More Than 100 Jazz Musicians In Need As The Pandemic Wears On

Gibbs: I have the picture hanging on my wall. I know practically everybody in the picture.

Would you be interested in going through the names and giving me your impression of each person?

Gibbs: Give me the names and I'll tell you what I know about them.

Red Allen (trumpet, 1908-1967)

Gibbs: I didn't know him. That was the era before, the Louis Armstrong era. I was too young.

Buster Bailey (clarinet, 1902-1967)

Gibbs: Also from that era. I knew about him because he played with [bassist] John Kirby.

Count Basie (piano, 1904-1984)

Gibbs: A major bandleader and band.

Emmett Berry (trumpet, 1915-1993)

Gibbs: A great trumpet player.

Art Blakey (drums, 1919-1990)

Gibbs: He worked in my quartet. One of my two favorite New York drummers.

Was he as cantankerous as legend paints him?

Gibbs: Want to hear a funny story about Art Blakey?

You know it.

Gibbs: Art worked for me in New York and knew what type of player I was. I was a New York hard swinger. When I moved out to California, I was still the same type of person, but supposedly, California was known as West Coast jazz, y'know. A lot softer style. He came by here with his group and I went to see him and he introduced me and he put me down. "I don't know what Terry Gibbs is doing in California! He belongs in New York! Why is he out here with this bull*** West Coast jazz, played like a bunch of sissies?" But he loved what I did.

Lawrence Brown (trombone, 1907-1988)

Gibbs: He worked with Duke. A very good trombone player.

Scoville Browne (reeds, 1909-1994)

Gibbs: Sco-gil Browne?

Scoville Browne.

Gibbs: Where is he in the photo?

He's near the bottom, next to Joe Thomas and Stuff Smith.

Gibbs: Let me look at the picture. I'm in my office right now. Ah, I didn't know him at all.

Buck Clayton (trumpet)

Gibbs: Well, I knew of him. I worked opposite him, probably. He may have been an underrated name in the jazz field.

Bill Crump (saxophone, birth/death unknown)

This guy is really obscure.

Gibbs: I don't know that name at all.

I think he was just some dude looking for work.

Gibbs: He probably sounded like his last name!

Vic Dickenson (trombone, 1906-1984)

Gibbs: Also a renowned trombone player. From that era, he was great.

Roy Eldridge (trumpet, 1911-1989)

Gibbs: Roy Eldridge and Lester Young were my two favorite musicians growing up.

I know Roy was a massive influence on Dizzy Gillespie.

Gibbs: Yeah, it went from Louis to Roy to Dizzy, you know?

I love that Roy and Dizzy are together in the photo. Dizzy's got his arm around him with his tongue extended.

Gibbs: I loved Roy. We became real good friends and worked a show at the Apollo Theater. Ella [Fitzgerald] used to come in to see me when I had the Dream Band going and she told Norman Granz about me. Norman asked if I would put a big band together. So I took Mel Lewis and had my New York friend get me the best [local] players to play in the big band.

It was a great show. Ella Fitzgerald had [pianist] Ray Bryant, [guitarist] Herb Ellis and [bassist] Wilfred Middlebrooks playing for her. And then there was the Oscar Peterson Trio with [bassist] Ray Brown and [drummer] Ed Thigpen, and then it was my Dream Band, and [saxophonist] Sonny Stitt and Roy Eldridge. That was the show.

That's amazing.

Gibbs: Yeah, it really was.

Art Farmer (trumpet/flugelhorn, 1928-1999)

Did you know Art?

Gibbs: Yes, a very good player. Also sort of an underrated player. He was very lyrical.

Nice guy?

Gibbs: Yeah, a sweetheart.

Bud Freeman (tenor saxophone/clarinet, 1906-1991)

Gibbs: I met him once, but not really. In fact, I think our conversation was about boxing because he boxed and I boxed. He was a nice guy. I'm really not familiar with his playing. I maybe should be.

Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet, 1917-1993)

I know you knew Dizzy. What did you appreciate the most about him?

Gibbs: He was one of the stars, along with Bird, in that music called bebop. He was way ahead. First, Charlie Parker, and then Dizzy, were way ahead of anybody in the folks who knew the bebop language. [Pianist] Bud Powell also. Those three are the most responsible for that music.

Tyree Glenn (trombone/vibraphone, 1912-1974)

I don't know this name.

Gibbs: Oh, great trombone player. He also played vibes. Real good friend of mine. He was with Louis Armstrong. In fact, I'm very good friends with one of his sons, Roger Glenn.

Benny Golson (tenor saxophone, b. 1929)

A living legend. Did you know him back when?

Gibbs: Oh, yeah. Very good arranger, very good tenor player. It's the cliché: He had it all.

Sonny Greer (drums/vocals, 1895-1982)

Gibbs: Oh, yeah. All I know is that he played with Duke Ellington. I never really heard him with the band because when I worked opposite Duke, he had different drummers.

Johnny Griffin (tenor saxophone, 1928-2009)

I love his playing with Wes Montgomery.

Gibbs: He was scary, Johnny Griffin.

Was he?

Gibbs: Well, I'm talking about playing. When he lived in Chicago, I don't think any tenor players wanted to get onstage with him.

Gigi Gryce (reeds, 1925-1983)

Another underrated guy.

Gibbs: You know what it was? Charlie Parker was so far ahead of everybody that came after him. Everybody who came after him was underrated only because they weren't Charlie Parker! They tried to play that style!

Coleman Hawkins (tenor saxophone, 1904-1969)

Gibbs: Let's face it. He, at one time, was probably the most famous saxophone player in the world. He made a song famous without ever playing one note of the melody. Coleman Hawkins called it "Body and Soul" only because he played all the chord changes, but he made that song famous by his chorus. I don't think there was a tenor player that came after him that couldn't play his chorus. How far are you in my book?

I just finished the chapter about the Woody Herman band.

Gibbs: OK, you haven't gotten to the place where they gave me a band and my sidemen were Roy Eldridge and Coleman Hawkins.

When I think about Hawkins, I think of how tenor saxophonists are either from the Prez school or Hawk school. Obviously, so many were influenced by both.

Gibbs: Prez was my favorite because of the style he played, but Coleman Hawkins could go through chord changes very well. Everybody thinks of him with "Body and Soul," but they've got to hear other songs he played. It wasn't my style of playing, but he could sure play beautiful chord changes. He was a great player!

J.C. Heard (drums, 1917-1988)

Gibbs: He was with the Woody Herman band for about two or three days, four days. A week. Good drummer.

Jay C. Higginbotham (trombone, 1906-1973)

Gibbs: From that era, he was a respected trombone player.

Milt Hinton (bass, 1910-2000)

Gibbs: He played the heck out of the slap bass. He worked with me for three weeks at a club in New York. It was Milt Hinton, [pianist] Barry Harris and [drummer] Ray Mosca. We were there for three weeks or a month at a place called Michael's Pub. I went in the next day with Barry Harris, [drummer] Alan Dawson and [bassist Sam Jones] and recorded my favorite album, called Bopstacle Course. Milt Hinton was a great guy.

Chubby Jackson (bass, 1918-2003)

I know you knew this guy!

Gibbs: Oh, yeah. He was responsible for getting me in Woody Herman's band. He had a great little band. The first time I ever went out of the country, to Sweden, with [trumpeter] Conte Candoli and [pianist] Lou Levy, this was the first time I knew these people. We had the greatest time in the world. Young kids who didn't know anything about money and just wanted to play music.

Hilton Jefferson (alto saxophone, 1903-1968)

Gibbs: I don't know much about him. I know these names, by the way. You notice how young kids today know everybody on the baseball or football team? I knew everybody in every band. I didn't know them, but I knew their names.

Osie Johnson (drums, 1923-1966)

Gibbs: Great drummer. Osie Johnson and Milt Hinton were called "the rhythm section." Osie Johnson, Milt Hinton and [pianist] Hank Jones would do all the record dates in New York at one time, the three of them. You get stuck with anything, you call those three guys.

I got a chance to record a big band in 1954 or 1955. I tried to use the drummer that was playing with my quartet that really didn't know how to play with a big band. I just wanted to use the same guy that played with me on the road all the time. He said to me, "Terry, I don't think I'm making it if you want to get another drummer." I got Osie Johnson. He came in immediately and the band sounded great.

Hank Jones (piano, 1918-2010)

Gibbs: One of the most respected piano players of all time.

Jimmy Jones (piano, 1918-1982)

Gibbs: Also one of the most respected piano players. He worked with Sarah Vaughan. We were on tour for two months with him, [drummer] Roy Haynes, and I forget the bass player's name, as Sarah Vaughan's rhythm section.

Jo Jones (drums, 1911-1985)

Gibbs: He's who I and [drummer] Tiny Kahn learned to play with a big band from. He played with Basie.

Taft Jordan (trumpet, 1915-1981)

Gibbs: A great player. Played with Basie.

Max Kaminsky (trumpet, 1908-1994)

Gibbs: He was a Dixieland trumpet player.

This photo really shows the old guard as well as then-modern players, huh?

Gibbs: There was a time when the guys who played like Coleman Hawkins—that school—and Dizzy beboppers … [Loses track of thought.] I think I just got old. Prejudiced! The beboppers were the most prejudiced musicians. If you didn't play bebop, forget about it. We didn't want to hear anything but bebop.

Gene Krupa (drums, 1909-1973)

Did you know Krupa?

Gibbs: Oh, yeah. Besides being a starter in a way of playing drums, I can tell you great stories about Gene Krupa.

Eddie Locke (drums, 1930-2009)

Gibbs: I think he played drums. I didn't know him.

Marian McPartland (piano, 1918-2013)

Gibbs: She was a very good piano player and also a sweetheart of a person.

Charles Mingus (bass, 1922-1979)

Gibbs: He would explode and hit a few people. He and I got along great!

You know the wildest thing, Morgan? Hiring [pianist and vibraphonist] Terry Pollard. Those were bad days for Black musicians. Hiring a girl who was Black to go on the road, they thought was crazy. I could have gotten killed! But I didn't give a s***. She was great! If she had two heads and one of them was green, I wanted to play with her. I got the most respect from them as far as what I did. They called me the Abe Lincoln of Detroit.

Miff Mole (trombone, 1898-1961)

Gibbs: He was a trombonist from that era. I don't know much about him.

Thelonious Monk (piano, 1917-1982)

The one and only Monk. Did you know him?

Gibbs: Yeah, I worked opposite Monk. Monk was Monk! Let's put it that way.

Gerry Mulligan (baritone saxophone, 1996)

Gibbs: Yeah, I knew Gerry very well. When my son [drummer Gerry Gibbs] was born, he called me to thank him for naming him after him because he spelled "Gerry" with a G also! Everybody else spelled "Jerry" with a J in those days!

He wasn't actually named after him, right?

Gibbs: No, no. He just called me to put me on. Gerry was a very natural, melodic player.

Oscar Pettiford (bass, 1922-1960)

Gibbs: First, there was [bassist] Jimmy Blanton in Duke Ellington's band. Then, it was Oscar Pettiford, and then Ray Brown. The three greatest bass players, in my estimation.

Rudy Powell (reeds, 1907-1976)

Gibbs: I didn't know Rudy Powell, but I know the name.

Luckey Roberts (piano, 1887-1968)

Gibbs: Oh, no, I didn't know him at all.

Sonny Rollins (tenor saxophone, b. 1930)

Did you know Newk back in the day?

Gibbs: Oh, yeah. Sure. The old style of Sonny Rollins, to me, was outstanding.

Have you kept in touch with him through the decades?

Gibbs: No. People like Sonny and myself traveled in different areas. We never played together. First, he played with [drummer] Max Roach and [trumpeter] Clifford Brown. In those days, if I played in Toronto and Max played in Detroit, I would go to Detroit and then he'd go to Toronto and we'd meet in the middle and hang out for a few hours at Howard Johnson's restaurant.

Jimmy Rushing (vocals, 1901-1972)

Gibbs: Oh, he was a blues singer with Basie! Great blues singer.

Pee Wee Russell (reeds, 1906-1969)

Did you know Pee Wee?

Gibbs: Yeah. A player from that other school also. Actually, Pee Wee Russell played with a lot of people, but he was mostly known for that Dixieland school.

I'm noticing that you don't have a bad word to say about any of these people.

Gibbs: Well, the people I knew I got along with great. I got along with practically everybody! I didn't hang out with anybody I didn't get along with. I never hired musicians in my band if I couldn't get along with off the stage, you know? If I couldn't have a laugh with someone off the stage, how much fun could I have with them on the stage?

Sahib Shihab (saxophones and flute, 1925-1989)

Gibbs: He changed his name [when he converted to Islam]. He was an alto player who played baritone. Good player.

Horace Silver (piano, 1928-2014)

Gibbs: He worked in my band! Horace Silver was one of the biggest talents that ever played in my band and one of the nicest people. We were very close until he died.

Zutty Singleton (drums, 1898-1975)

Gibbs: That was another era, too, that I don't know too much about.

Stuff Smith (violin, 1909-1967)

Gibbs: I didn't know Stuff Smith, but I know his playing! He was one of the first violin players that could swing that hard.

Rex Stewart (cornet, 1907-1967)

Gibbs: Another good jazz cornet player.

Maxine Sullivan (vocals, 1911-1987)

Gibbs: I didn't know her at all, but she was considered one of the best singers of the day. She was a stylist.

Joe Thomas (trumpet, 1909-1984)

Gibbs: I didn't know him, but I know he was very respected.

Wilbur Ware (bass, 1923-1979)

Gibbs: Bass player. Very good.

Dickie Wells (trombone, 1907-1985)

Gibbs: I didn't know him at all.

George Wettling (drums, 1907-1968)

Gibbs: I didn't know him at all. He was a drummer from that old school.

Ernie Wilkins (saxophone, 1919-1999)

Gibbs: Ernie Wilkins was great with Basie! He wrote some great arrangements.

Mary Lou Williams (1910-1981)

She was so underrated.

Gibbs: Yeah, she was for those days.

What was the issue? Her gender?

Gibbs: Could've been. The girls were considered "good for a girl." She wasn't getting much play. It was different in those days, too, especially when the bebop era came in. They were very prejudiced. If you didn't play bebop, we didn't want to play with you.

I noticed in the photo that she's with Marian McPartland. As two of the only women in the photo, I wonder if they were buds, sticking together.

Gibbs: There weren't many girl jazz musicians in those days, anyhow.

Lester Young (tenor saxophone, 1909-1959)

Last but definitely not least. Did you know him?

Gibbs: Yeah. He probably set a style that tenor players who ever played after that copied [the most].

Do you think of him mostly in that languid, laid-back style he was famous for?

Gibbs: Listen to old Count Basie records, like "Every Tub" and "Lester Leaps In"! He was fiery as heck! He had that sound and feel. Coleman Hawkins could be a little choppy, but Lester Young played straight eighth notes.

We covered everybody! That was great.

Gibbs: Was that the whole lineup there?

That's the whole photo.

Gibbs: Where do I send the bill to?

Surrounded By Moving Air: 6 Big-Band Composers Pushing The Format Forward

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