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 DICK WRIGHT © 1997 Mike Metheny JAM talks with the veteran broadcaster about a career in radio, the joys of teaching, and a passion for jazz.
DW: Well, I first got into radio when I was in the Army, stationed in, believe it or not, Thule, Greenland! There was a sergeant up there who looked at my background, which was in music, and said, "how would you like to run the Armed Forces radio station?" Even though I'd never set foot inside of a radio station before in my life, I said yes, and did that for about a year. Then, when I got mustered out of the service, I came back to school (at KU), got my masters degree in voice, and, having also just won the Met auditions in Kansas City, headed to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. I auditioned at the Met and they were very nice to me; they said "learn some roles and come back." What am I going to do (back at KU) while I'm learning roles? I wondered. Well, there was a job opening at KANU; they were looking for a music director. I thought, well gee, I guess I can do that while I'm learning roles! That was in 1956. And I'm still there. JAM: So, that was the beginning of your career at KANU... DW: Yes. I stayed at KANU as music director and assistant program director until 1968. Then I came back in 1970 as station director. By 1977, I'd been teaching a jazz history course in the KU music department and had become part of the teaching staff at Murphy Hall; but I was still on part-time salary at the radio station. Then in 1980, I went to full time in the music history department and left KANU management. But I never stopped doing the radio show. At the end of this year I'll be finishing my 37th year hosting "The Jazz Scene." JAM: Let's go back to your early years. When did you first discover jazz? DW: I was very fortunate growing up. I was raised in an upper New York State town called Watertown, near the Canadian border. My father was a theater manager, but he was also a very fine amateur tenor, with a wonderful tenor voice; he did a lot of weddings and funerals, and he also played wonderful stride piano a la Fats Waller. In our home, I grew up listening to Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Enrico Caruso and John McCormack and I never knew the difference! It was all just great music to me. When I got into junior high school, I started taking voice lessons and clarinet lessons -- I was either going to be Caruso or Benny Goodman, I wasn't sure (laughs) -- and I ended up going to KU and getting a voice degree. But all through school, I always had this great love for jazz because I'd heard it in my home when I was just a little kid. Also, even though I studied voice at KU., I played my way through school in the college jazz bands on alto sax. JAM: And what happened with the Met in New York? DW: I decided that an opera career wasn't for me; something told me that I just didn't have the temperament for it. So I stayed on at KANU. I also started reading books on jazz; I just loved the history part of it all. I read everything I could find, and soon I became this "important" figure on campus -- if someone wanted to know something about jazz history, they'd call me! Next thing I knew, I was teaching jazz history at KU. So I got into all of it (broadcasting and teaching) kind of through the back door. JAM: You've mentioned your early classical training and your degrees in voice. We asked (Kansas City Symphony conductor) Bill McGlaughin this question in a previous "Q&A" and will ask you, too. Why are the worlds of classical and jazz sometimes at such odds? DW: I wish I could answer that. I think, still, that when you go to a classical concert, you feel that you'd better not cough, or clear your throat... that there's a "curtain" or a "veil" between the audience and the performer. I mean, I don't think anybody would walk up to Pavorotti, slap him on the back and say, "hey, great gig tonight!" (laughs). In jazz, it's just the opposite. Also, there has always been the myth that jazz has grown up in the bad part of any city, that all jazz musicians are drug addicts and sex fiends. Because of these myths, it's caused classical musicians to look down their noses at jazz. Until just the last few years, that is. I think we have to face it: Wynton Marsalis has had a lot to do with changing all of that. Here was a young fellow who could play both jazz and classical and do both well. So now we're seeing opera singers doing recordings of popular tunes -- not so much jazz tunes -- but they're sort of beginning to let their hair down. So, I think the gulf between classical and jazz is slowly dissolving. But, I also think that there's still that feeling that jazz is beneath classical music, that it's not an art form. I believe it is. JAM: Over the 37 year history of "The Jazz Scene," you've had the chance to spin a lot of disks. When it comes to those "disks" -- or LPs -- and the newer CDs, do you have a preference? DW: Well, on a recent show, I used all LPs, and just one CD. I was determined! There's just something about an LP... I love to hold it in my hand, and put that vinyl on the turntable. Now, I know that the sound on CDs is wonderful; but I have such a vast collection of LPs, I still like to use them. I know the sound is cleaner on CDs, but I still love the LPs. JAM: Who are some of the jazz musicians who, when their albums first came out, you just knew they were something special, that they had a chance of becoming an important part of jazz history? DW: The first time I heard Bill Evans -- on Riverside -- I knew right then that this man was something very, very special. And the first recording I ever heard of Stan Getz -- even though I was an alto saxophonist at the time -- I loved his sound. I thought, "boy, this guy is something else." And I heard Stan on record almost from the beginning (of his career). Art Pepper was another one. And Oscar Peterson. There was just something about those artists. I think because of my classical background -- and I don't want to sound snooty about this -- but I think that my classical background gave me a great appreciation for artists who were technically good and who knew how to play their instruments. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for that. But, I should also say that that's not mandatory. There are hundreds and hundreds of wonderful players who never studied formally and who don't have the great technique. But they've got other things that make up for it. When I first heard those fellows, though -- Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Art Pepper -- I knew they were going to be great artists. JAM: Here comes the obligatory "desert island" question: if you were stranded on the island, and had your own 24-hour-a-day jazz radio station, which albums would you never tire of playing over and over? DW: Oh gosh! Let's see... One album I love very much is Stan Getz with the Oscar Peterson Trio from the late '50s on the Verve label. Art Pepper did an album called Art Pepper Plus Eleven featuring the wonderful writing of Mary Paich and great jazz classics like "Move" and "Four Brothers;" that's another one I love dearly. And I probably wouldn't care what Bill Evans record it was, but I do love the one he did toward the end in France in which he does a solo version of "I Loves You Porgy." I'm a great fan of clarinetist Eddie Daniels. There's an album he did with a symphony orchestra that is absolutely wonderful. That's one I'd bring along with me. Clifford Brown -- again, I'd have a hard time deciding which of his albums to choose. I love Clifford Brown; I think he's the greatest. But you know, once I did this for a publication at KANU -- choosing ten albums I'd take with me to the desert island -- and after I'd done it, I realized that, the next day, it would be ten different albums (laughs). "I can't wait to tell other people about this music I love so much. And get them interested... I just want to share this music with people; I want them to hear this music. And, most of all, I want them to love it as much as I do." -- Dick Wright JAM: What, in your opinion, is the current health of jazz radio, both here in the Midwest and nationally? DW: You know, I'm not so up on all of that any more. I officially left KANU (as station director) in 1980, even though I've continued to do the jazz show; so I haven't really kept up with markets and trends and all that. But I have a feeling -- a strong feeling -- that many of the jazz stations are going more and more toward "crossover" and "contemporary" jazz... JAM: "Smooth" jazz? DW: Right. Smooth jazz. I think a lot of stations are going to that kind of a format instead of straight-ahead. Now, at KANU, we have kept going in the straight-ahead direction, and I don't how much longer we will be able to do that... But we've been able to so far. I have nothing against the Kenny Gs and the David Sanborns, or any of those people... I love to listen to them. But I honestly just don't feel it's jazz. JAM: That whole genre does tend to be controversial... DW: Yes, but I have no objections to it. Sometimes, after I've had a long day, I'll come home and put on some Kenny G and it's nice to listen to... JAM: Are you sure you want to go on record saying that? DW: (laughs) Well... I've heard a couple of things that I thought were nice, things that had some improvisation. But again, it's not really jazz or my cup of tea. I try to tell my students, "If you like that, that's OK; now listen to a few other things and then see if you think they really are the same thing." JAM: As you know so well, jazz is an ever-evolving music. Where do you see it going in the new century now that it's almost upon us? DW: I think about that a lot. I remember in the '80s -- and I'll probably have some people throw bricks at me for saying this -- I wasn't very happy with the way I thought jazz was going. It seemed like it was getting more and more away from jazz. Then, with the coming of the Marsalis brothers, and others like Mark Whitfield -- a fine young guitar player -- it seemed like some of the younger players were returning to the acoustic side of jazz. So I thought, hey, maybe things are looking better. Now there are piles of CDs coming out -- and I don't know if anyone's buying them -- that feature a great variety of straight-ahead and acoustic jazz. So, I'll just say that I hope it continues to go that way. And I hope that there continues to be room enough for all of it. Because, you know, one man's passion is another man's poison! Most of all, though, I just hope that jazz will continue to develop and that we will not forget the great traditions from the past. I once had a student say, "who wants to listen to Lester Young and Charlie Parker and all that old stuff?" That really hurt! I think you really need to know the roots and then go in whatever direction youwish... but you can't ignore the greats of the past, what they did, how they paved the way. JAM: Let's talk a little more about your teaching career at KU. You just retired, right? DW: Well, I retired -- supposedly -- in December of '96 from full-time teaching as an Associate Professor of Music History. But now, I am still teaching one course for KU, and a jazz course for Baker University, and a jazz course for Johnson County Community College. Washburn University in Topeka just called and asked me to teach there, too. So much for retirement! JAM: From what we've heard, you went out in style at KU. DW: I was so happy... Not only did I get my gold watch from KU, but I was lucky enough to receive the "Governor's Arts Award" for 1996 and also the Chancellor's Club "Career Teaching Award." So I really feel good for a guy who never thought he'd end up teaching in the first place! And, you know, I still really love it. JAM: What is it about teaching that floats your boat? DW: I can't wait to tell other people about this music I love so much. And get them interested. At the end of the year students write evaluations (of the class), and I've been fortunate there; they've always been very nice. They'll all say, "boy, this teacher really loves the music and is really enthusiastic about it!" I just want to share this music with people; I want them to hear this music. And, most of all, I want them to love it as much as I do. RETURN TO APRIL/MAY 1997 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved. |
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