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Andrew's Music Notes
I've been playing music since I was about six years old. Growing up in a family where my parents were both music teachers, it was really a natural evolution; I think I learned a 'C' scale before I learned to ride a bike. I first started taking piano lessons, then, when I was old enough to join the band at Ellis elementary school, I decided to play the Tuba. Don't ask my why. Perhaps it was because I was the youngest and smallest in a family of 4 kids and wanted to make an impression by learning a really big instrument. Nevertheless, I became quite good.
When I entered Place Junior High School, the band teacher recognized that I was an excellent 'reader' and asked if I'd like to learn to play electric bass and perform with the jazz band. I jumped at it and got my first electric bass - a half-size Gibson EB3.
My parents loved jazz. As a matter of fact, I was probably the luckiest kid around. They had a pretty good record collection, but more than that, my mother, Julie, was heavily involved with the National Association of Jazz Educators, a large association that helped to promote and create new opportunities for jazz education in schools across the nation. Ultimately, she was elected to serve on the Executive Board of NAJE and I was able to attend large national conferences that featured some of the best jazz musicians in America. It was also a time when jazz education was really strong in the nation's schools, so many of the up and coming jazz musicians (Harry Connick, Wynton Marsalis) and many others were featured at these conferences.
I was also fortunate because I lived in Denver. Some find it hard to believe, but Denver is somewhat of a Mecca for jazz. It has a strong jazz community with a wealth of terrific jazz musicians. As a young jazz musician growing up in Denver, I was able to take advantage of Dick Gibson's Jazz Series.
Dick Gibson was an entrepreneur who had something to do with the invention of the WaterPik. In any case, he became incredibly wealthy and spent his time and money promoting jazz in Colorado. His legendary jazz parties in Aspen and then at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, brought the world's greatest jazz musicians together for 3 days of swinging jazz. At the Paramount theater in Denver, he would hold a jazz series in which he'd bring together 5-7 of these same musicians who would perform on select weekends. I didn't recognize how special this was until later in life, but thanks to Dick Gibson, as a young student of jazz, me and my friends were constantly exposed to some of the world's greatest jazz musicians: Joe Williams, Ray Brown, Snookie Young,
Rufus Reid, Al Grey, Doc Cheatam, and on and on and on.....
In addition, there were several jazz clubs that featured local jazz musicians including Josephina's, the Regas Cafe, Cafe Napenthes and the Voters Club. Of course the most famous was the El Chapultepec (the 'Pec') on 20th and Market.
When I was young jazz musician in high school, me and my friends would sneak down there, which at the time was Denver's version of skid row (this was before Coors Field and all of the LoDo development) and we'd hang by the side door which was typically open during the Summer. The stage was right next to this door and we'd listen for hours to all the great jazz coming from inside. What was great was this was also the place where musicians traveling through Denver would come down to 'jam'. EVERYONE would come down: Jaco Pastorious was there, Chet Baker, Sting, the Marsalis brothers. Every once in a while, Freddy Rodriguez, who has been leading the band at the 'Pec for the past 30 years, would stick his head out and if there wasn't much of a crowd, ask us
if we wanted to come sit in on a blues. Clearly the thrill of our young lives! But it wasn't easy. The musicians on the stand didn't take kindly to musicians who weren't prepared to play with them. We had to know our stuff and if we messed up, you'd feel Bruno Carr's drumstick beating your on your head as I did a few times.
One of my favorite stories is when Jerry Kranz, the cantankerous owner of the El Chapultepec, was working the door at the Pec one night. A limo pulled up and out jumped Bono and the Edge, from the famous rock band U2. The story was that they also had two young girls wrapped in their arms. Jerry, who even though he was getting on in age, was also as tough as they make em, was unimpressed. In fact he had no idea who these guys were. Dressed in black leather and trademark wrap-around shades, Bono walks up to the door. Jerry says "I needs to see some ID" Bono, the Edge and their (clearly underage) girls couldn't produce the IDs. Bono looks at Jerry and says "We don't have IDs, mate...but, but, but we're U2!" Jerry,
without missing a beat said - "Well Youse Two aren't getting in without some ID!" Needless to say, the world's most famous rockers left with their tails between their legs.
I'll write more about music later.
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