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 MARVIN STAMM © 1996 Mike Metheny JAM talks with the veteran trumpeter about the studio scene, playing lead and jazz, and working with everyone from Stan Kenton to Paul McCartney.
MS: I'll always remember Stan, this giant of a man, in front of the band with those long arms conducting us through those grandiose pieces. You never forgot that sight! Stan was very good to me. I was featured on five albums during my two years on the band; it was great exposure for a young budding musician. Stan was great to me on the personal side, too. I could talk to him about many things, my problems and such, and get his advice. I had to undergo an embouchure change while on the band, and he was very patient with me through those rough times. I hope his patience was rewarded. A great one for music; we lost him too soon. JAM: Woody Herman MS: Woody was another of those unique gentlemen like Stan, Basie and Duke. He loved the band to swing, but he could also be a taskmaster. He knew what he wanted, and worked to get it. I enjoyed my time with Woody and playing with that group of musicians. JAM: Quincy Jones MS: Quincy was looser than most, very relaxed, sometimes maddeningly so. You never felt like you were under the gun, rather that you were just "hangin' out." But Quincy is a smart man with a very musical mind. He knew what he was doing, and he always brought it together. He trusted his musicians, knew they would bring his music to fruition, and that it would be right. With Quincy, I played a lot of good music with some of the best in the business. JAM: Manny Albam MS: Manny is beautiful. After hearing me on Thad and Mel's band and having themrecommend me to him, he was one of the first to ask for me on his sessions. He's a great writer, and I have several of his things in my big band book. I alsoplay several of his pieces for soloist and symphony orchestra. Manny's a beautiful musician. He's quite in demand today both as an arranger and composer, and has written some really great stuff for chamber groups and orchestras. JAM: Pat Williams MS: Pat called me to work for him after he heard the one album I did for Woody, Woody Herman Sings Al Jolson. I had a lot of solo space on that album. Pat nicknamed me "The Torch," and I recorded a lot of his music as soloist... all those things for brass orchestra. One of the albums I'm asked about most is Pat's Threshold. That was a wonderful album and a great vehicle for Tom Scott and myself. I introduced him last year to the audience at my duo concert with Tom Ferguson at the IAJE Conference in Atlanta, and they really let him know their appreciation of his music. Many composers don't get to know how people feel about their music because they're seldom there to get the applause. Pat is a wonderful composer and a good friend. I always look forward to spending time with him on both the personal and the musical level. JAM: Bob James MS: Bob's such a creative person. We used to play together when he was just a great pianist, before he was chief arranger for CTI and Columbia Records. His CDs don't really let the listener know that side of his playing because most of them are directed toward the fusion market. Had he taken another tack, he might have found himself compared to Herbie or Chick; he has that kind of talent. JAM: Don Sebesky MS: Don's one of the best arrangers ever. We met in 1962 when I was with Stan at Basin Street East in New York and he was writing and sometimes conducting for Chris Connor. I recorded some wonderful music for him when he was doing so much writing for CTI and others. I still work with Don now and then; his writing is as great as ever. JAM: Benny Goodman MS: A great musician. As for anything further, no comment! JAM: Michel Legrand MS: A beautiful composer and arranger, an unbelievable talent. I love playing his music. JAM: Thad Jones MS: Ah, the genius! Thad, in my ears, was and is the most creative musician I've ever known. I heard him so much over the six years I was on the band, and he was so incredible, so adventurous, always playing with such freedom and abandon. He never failed to amaze everyone in the band night after night. You never felt as if you had heard that solo before, never a series of licks, always something new, fresh, a complete surprise. I've never heard anyone like Thad. As a composer/arranger, he was so original, but it was all built on the foundation of all that had come before. He was just saying it a new way. As a band leader, watching him conduct the band was an experience one would not soon forget. He would shape music with his hands like the greatest of sculptors; he was a joy to behold. JAM: Mel Lewis MS: The best! I loved Mel and loved playing with him. So many feel that way. He made so much music and always played for the soloist and for the band, never just for himself. His colors and colorations with the band were marvelous. It's fun to hear the drummers talk about Mel; guys like Dennis Mackrel, John Riley, Terry Clarke, Kenny Washington and many others, even the younger guys; they all pay homage to Mel. They all know what he gave to the music. JAM: How important were your years as a student at North Texas State for what would follow? MS: My time at North Texas was extremely important to my musical development. The years studying music and trumpet with John Haynie, playing in the classical groups, in the lab band under both Gene Hall and Leon Breeden, all the guys who were writing and playing there, the many great musicians in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area who took me under their wing and offered a lot of direction and guidance. All of them contributed so much to my musical and personal growth as a young musician. It was an extremely important time in my life. JAM: You moved to New York in 1966 and became very involved in studio work. What was it that took you in that direction? MS: Upon arriving in New York and getting involved with Thad and Mel's band, I got exposure to all the writers and players who would come down to hear the band. They would ask about the new guy in the band, and Thad and Mel and the guys on the band would help spread the word and recommend me to them. A lot of the guys in the band were also recording and would call me for their dates, or ask me to cover for them or send me in to sub for them if they couldn't make it for some reason. Also, the trumpet community helped me to get started; guys like Ernie Royal, Bernie Glow, Snooky Young, Markie Markowitz, Clark Terry, Burt Collins... they helped me a great deal. It seems that things just took their own direction, and that's the way I went. I was doing a lot of jazz stuff, but gradually got into other things as the business evolved. It just sort went theway it was going to go, and I went with it. JAM: How did a trumpet player maintain a career as a successful studio musician in those days? It seems that versatility would be a major requirement. MS: Most importantly, one must always play the music! Versatility is the key to that because to be a great musician, you have to come from a background of numerous experiences playing all kinds of music with great players. That is how one grows, through the experiences that touch and move them. I always tell young people to play as much of every kind of music as possible, constantly seek to learn more and new things. By broadening your experiences and ability to perform many kinds of music, you grow and broaden your opportunities for working in the field of music. As well, you broaden the scope of your own enjoyment of music... and isn't that what music is all about? JAM: Obviously the studio scene has undergone some big changes over the years. Some would say it's really dried up because of synths and other people-replacing machines. What's your take on all the new technology? MS: The technology is wonderful, and it opens up so many possibilities for writing new and different things, especially when combined with acoustic instruments. This is even more true when the machines are played by or written for fine musicians. Unfortunately, the machines being what they are, they allow for a lot of amateurs to get involved and that makes for a lot that is pure mediocrity in the music business. It's not the machines that take away the work, but public taste dictated by record producers, advertising agencies and film producers who will always use music only for making money. That's the way of the world, isn't it? Nothing wrong with that except that they never give anything back. To them, music is almost never an art form, but only a commercial enterprise. They never perceive music on a higher plane. There are so many things that one can take issue with in the music business, but space won't allow that here. It is not the machines that have so changed the business, but the business itself that has done so much to bring about these changes. But then, change is inevitable. JAM: In our name association a little while ago, we forgot to mention Paul McCartney. Your solo on "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey" really put you in the pop spotlight there for a while. What was that experience like? MS: Paul is a great musician, and he's fun to work with. He knows what he wants and knows how to get it. On the session, Paul came over to the trumpets -- Snooky Young, Mel Davis, Ray Crisara and myself -- and said, "I have a little solo for someone to play." Mel said, "Let the kid do it." So, Paul sang what he wanted -- he doesn't write music -- and I would play it back until I got it the way he liked it. No one really knew who the horn player was on that record because the personnel was never listed. I have fun sometimes telling audiences that for the time that record was being played so much, I was the most famous "unknown" trumpet player in the world.
MS: I went on a European tour with the all-star band led by Swiss pianist and composer George Gruntz. Among the group were Lee Konitz, Joe Henderson, Claudio Roditi, Palle Millelborg, Ray Anderson and Sheila Jordan. That trip took me back to what I really wanted to do with music: play jazz! So I gradually started phasing myself out of the business -- helped by the fact that the business was phasing us out -- and concentrated on a career in jazz, a real career change as it were. I went back to the reason I wanted to play music in the first place. JAM: Give us kind of a run-down of what you've been up to since '87. MS: I'm on the road about seven months a year performing with my own groups or guest soloing with big bands, college and university groups, symphony orchestras, you name it. I also play a lot with pianist Bill Mays and others in the duo and quartet format. I spend a lot of time working with young musicians at our colleges and universities and high schools in jazz and music education. I believe that is where the future lies, with our young people. I also designed some new trumpets for the F. Besson Co., and they are very supportive of my efforts in representing them and also my work in education. "There is so much to learn, and I feel I have so much ahead of me, so much more to learn and experience. That search, the seeking out, is what keeps music so much fun." -- Marvin Stamm JAM: Playing the trumpet can be such a physical thing. What do you do to stay in shape? MS: I practice a lot to stay in shape on the trumpet and also to continue my growth as a musician and a player of the instrument. Physically, I run five miles a day and every third day do a 45 minute work out on the NordicTrac. When you feel better, you play better. JAM: And, of course, there's the all-important "head and heart" part of playing music. What charges your creative batteries? MS: Playing with great musicians charges my batteries and keeps me inspired. I always try to keep my ears open and play with people who challenge me musically. There is so much to learn, and I feel I have so much ahead of me, so much more to learn and experience. That search, the seeking out, is what keeps music so much fun. You are always reaching. JAM: Why is it that so few name trumpet players have become proficient as both lead players and jazz improvisers? MS: I don't really know. Maybe it's lack of interest or that some people feel it's too difficult to do both. Or maybe it's a lack of confidence. But I must say that I do know quite a few players who can do both quite well. But if improvising is one's main thrust, that usually has to take priority. JAM: What memories do you have of performing in Kansas City? MS: Very few, actually. I believe I played here once or twice with Stan and once with Woody. I wish I had experienced more of the rich history and tradition of your city and its music and musicians. It runs very deep in there. JAM: When will KC jazz fans get to hear you play live again? MS: I'll be happy to come to K.C. anytime the invitation is proffered. I have played with some of your fine players like Bob Bowman, Todd Strait, Kevin Mahogany, Kim Park, Gary Foster, and, years ago, Tommy Ruskin. I've also heard guys like Mike Metheny, Jay Sollenberger and Mike Parkinson...but not in Kansas City. But, I do hope this will be rectified in the future; I would very much like to play for the K.C. jazz fans. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mr. Stamm can be reached by writing to: Marvin Stamm, 130 Titicus Road, North Salem, NY 10560. On the internet, be sure to visit Marvin Stamm's Master Class at Jazz Central Station. RETURN TO DECEMBER/JANUARY 1997 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved. |
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