JAM: February/March 2004 Issue: Q&A with Mike Metheny

MIKE METHENY
A candid conversation with the former editor of JAM about nine years on the job, a new CD, and being a proud big brother

An award-winning musician, Mike Metheny just released his seventh album as a leader to go along with numerous recordings as a sideman. He has headlined groups based in Boston (where he lived for 13 years) and Kansas City (where he grew up, returning in 1989), and has appeared in club, concert, and festival settings throughout the United States for more than 25 years.

As a teacher, in addition to six years as a faculty member at the Berklee College of Music, he has taught aspiring and experienced musicians at all levels of education.

In the role of journalist, primarily as editor of Jazz Ambassador Magazine for the last nine years, he has shattered the notion that one who plays well may not write well, and vice versa.

And as a current member of the American Jazz Museum's board of directors, he has encouraged recognition of peers and KC-connected jazz greats alike, much as he has been doing at JAM since August 1994.

Overall, it's hard to imagine anyone who's done more to promote jazz in and from Kansas City. All is one with Mike Metheny.

Our conversation with him is the fifty-seventh in the Q&A series that Mike inaugurated as a JAM contributor in December 1993. With the former editor on the answering end for the first time, we asked contributing writer Tom Fredrick to pick up the baton in his stead. * * *

TF: Thanks for the opportunity to join you in a conversation to be shared with JAM readers. Why were you initially so reluctant to do this interview?

MM: A couple of reasons. First, since my tenure as editor began in '94, I've tried to avoid using the magazine as a vehicle for self-promotion. So that's still part of my mind set now. I also felt it would be best for JAM to quickly move forward rather than address the rather stale, past-history subject of yours truly.

TF: In the end, why did you agree to do it?

MM: Because the Jazz Ambassadors paid me a nice compliment by insisting that I be the cover story of the first issue after my departure. It was a classy gesture, and the last thing I want to do is offend the very organization that made my gig at JAM possible. Also, I think it will help the transition into JAM's next chapter.

TF: Your stewardship of the magazine encompassed 57 issues, several thousand pages, and countless words. And during your tenure, The New York Times acclaimed JAM online as one of ten top jazz sites. Beyond simple quantitative measures and the subjective impressions of others, how would you assess the magazine's accomplishments and impact during your tenure?

MM: Well, first of all I'm reluctant to take any personal credit for the collective accomplishments of an outstanding team. Believe me, the names you've seen on the JAM masthead constitute one of the most capable and competent groups of people I've ever worked with. As far as JAM's impact since '94, it has quite simply become one of the finest regional jazz publications in the country. And I'm very proud to have been a part of that.

"The idea for the Q&A format in JAM..."

"...came from a misspent youth reading Playboy..."

"...which of course, only interested me for the articles."

TF: "Probably the best decision ever made by a KCJA president" is how your appointment as editor has been described. What are some highlights, and lowlights, looking back over your time in the role?

MM: There are lots of highlights, too many to list, including the chance to use the magazine to support the many outstanding jazz musicians associated with Kansas City as well as those who come from out of town to perform. And, of course, I've savored the chance to develop still-evolving skills as a writer and editor, a line of work and personal expression I got into rather late in life. In that regard it has been a positive learning experience on many levels and also a great platform to say pretty much whatever. I doubt I'll ever have another writing gig with so much freedom.

TF: Lowlights?

MM: Lowlights... hmmm... Well, seeing the typos I looked right at 20 times before they made it into finished issues has been a drag. (laughs) Every JAM since '94 has had at least one I should have caught. (pause) The disconnect with various members of the KC music -- and jazz -- communities, JAM's target audience, would count as a lowlight, I'm sorry to say. I don't think everyone here fully realizes how lucky we are to have this magazine, or how good it has become.

...I'm reluctant to take any personal credit for the collective
accomplishments of an outstanding team. Believe me,
the names you've seen on the JAM masthead
constitute one of the most capable and competent groups
of people I've ever worked with.

TF: As part of the magazine's fifteen-year recognition, the December 2001/January 2002 issue ran a list of previous interview subjects in the Q&A series. The roster includes local jazz legends, international superstars, symphony directors, composers, movie producers, radio and television figures, educators, historians, ministers, photographers, club owners, presenters, philanthropists, journalists and critics, instrument repairers, civic leaders, and a mayor. Who made you laugh the loudest? Cry the most?

MM: I've never thought about all those interviews in that way before. I mostly look back on that series as a unique way of connecting with some truly interesting people and asking them questions that provide answers JAM readers might enjoy and that might teach me some new things. I've also gotten a kick out of having the opportunity to interview so many of the people I admire and respect. But in terms of laughs, Arturo Sandoval had me in stitches. I knew as the interview was going along that the words "expletive deleted" would be needed many times. He was great. And tears? None at all. Every single interview was uplifting, enlightening, and a lot of fun.

TF: As you just said, your position as editor has enabled you to converse with many whom you admire and respect. If you could now interview anyone in history, who would it be?

MM: Anyone in history? Not just jazz history? I'm not a good enough interviewer to know the right questions for people on that level. Who knows what silly things I would ask Bach or Shostakovich, or Mencken or Miles Davis. It was all I could do to keep up with Diana Krall. (laughs)

TF: A compilation of "The Best of Q&A" is featured in the December 2002/January 2003 issue with excerpts from each of the fifty conversations then previously published. You conducted all but four of the interviews. What was the walk down memory lane like as you sifted through passages to include?

MM: To be honest, I'd lost track of the number we'd done and was surprised it had climbed to fifty. Then I started to go back over the list -- people like Bob Brookmeyer, Billy Taylor, Marilyn Maye, Robert Altman, George Duke, trumpet greats Doc Severinsen and Marvin Stamm, then-KC mayor Emanuel Cleaver, my brother Pat, the late Dick Wright, who was a good friend, and so many more -- and I was struck by how I'd been in this very lucky spot over the years to interview so many talented people connected in some way to the music we try to support and promote. The Q&A part of the last nine years is probably what I'm most proud of.

TF: Turning from past to present, your recent decision to leave JAM is a change still reverberating throughout the Kansas City jazz community. Why are you moving on at this point?

MM: I'm embarrassed to admit this, but nine years is longer than I've ever done anything other than play the trumpet... and I'm still trying to figure out how to do that! So, for a variety of reasons, my gut told me it was time to hang it up. I really was tired.

TF: What about the risk a first-rate regional magazine of national repute, with its distinctive Kansas City voice and vernacular, will now fall silent?

MM: For anyone who's concerned about that, I would remind them that JAM was around for eight years before I came along. It never has been a one-person operation. JAM will continue.

TF: How did the events of September 11, 2001 affect you personally and professionally?

MM: Professionally, in terms of JAM, the impact was huge. That week was to be our most active ad sales period for the October/November issue and we lost our shirts. The last thing anyone wanted to think about was buying an ad in a local jazz magazine, which was very understandable under

Kansas City is a mass of contradictions. It is a great place
to live and, in many cases, to perform if you're a jazz musician.
But it's also still a place to leave if you want to grow.
From Bird and Basie to Karrin (Allyson) and Kevin (Mahogany),
the exodus has been going on for decades. Why is that?

the circumstances. I also had the daunting task of trying to write something in my "First Take" column that would put things in the right perspective. I didn't even know where to start. And personally... (pause) Well, like most people, I still really can't find the words to describe how everything changed that day. It's a brand new ballgame now. An unnerving brand new ballgame.

TF: Your departure from the magazine makes new journeys and destinations possible. One new milestone is your recently released record, "KC Potpourri." What's the album about?

MM: It's about how I had the chance to surround myself with some of Kansas City's finest jazz musicians, have some great fun in my favorite KC recording studio, Ron Ubel's Soundtrek, and try to make some good music. Nothing more complicated than that.

TF: How were you able to assemble twenty-seven busy musicians for the project? What was it like to work with them in large band and small group settings?

MM: The logistics of organizing the big band part of the recording were tricky. I'd never done that before, nor had I ever mixed a big band. Kim Park gave me some good suggestions on how best to deal with that part of it. For the small group combinations, each brought to the music the kind of first rate performances I knew they would. Again, I felt honored to be surrounded by such talent for this special project.

TF: The album cover features a colorful sunset behind the downtown Kansas City skyline. What's the symbolism of the flugelhorn in flight through the night sky?

MM: "What goes up must come down?" (laughs) ...That I've watched too many episodes of "The X-Files?" Who knows. I love the photo of my hometown; and the idea of a horn shooting across the horizon seemed kinda cool.

TF: In the line of succession from the beginning until now, where would you place yourself on the map of jazz trumpet players?

MM: Somewhere between Rocky Rockwell and the anonymous guy playing fifth trumpet in the dance band at the local country club? (laughs) I'm sorry, I can't give you a straight answer to that one. I haven't made any kind of "map" yet. There are still so many more dues to pay.

TF: It's been said Count Basie and Lester Young represent the first wave of Kansas City jazz, Jay McShann and Charlie Parker the second. To extend the analysis, where would other KC classics like Warren Durrett and Bobby Watson fit into the picture?

MM: There is definitely an important third "wave" in KC's jazz history that would include people like Warren, Bobby and so many others who have made invaluable contributions to Kansas City's jazz heritage, say, post-1950. We even took a stab at that in the last two issues of JAM. One of the things I've been working on as a board member at Kansas City's American Jazz Museum is to get those people the recognition they deserve in the museum itself. We're making progress with that.

TF: What should we look for from the American Jazz Museum as it continues to build organizational capacity and advance itself as an institution?

MM: Serving on the Jazz Museum's board has been another learning experience for me. And much like the new CD, I've found myself surrounded by some very capable and talented people. All I know is I really want the museum -- and 18th and Vine -- to succeed and prosper, long-term, big picture. And I've tried to bring some things to the ongoing process that hopefully will help insure that.

TF: The Kansas City CitiStates region report released a couple of years ago ultimately used music word pictures to make conclusions and recommendations. The metropolitan area was diagnosed as being the most classically "contented" area among any encountered across the country. Using a jazz metaphor, the advice was to turn instead toward improvisational approaches to community enhancement and long-term economic and cultural development. What are your thoughts about our fair city?

MM: Kansas City is a mass of contradictions. It is a great place to live and, in many cases, to perform if you're a jazz musician. But it's also still a place to leave if you want to grow. From Bird and Basie to Karrin (Allyson) and Kevin (Mahogany), the exodus has been going on for decades. Why is that? And why do we continue to call ourselves a "jazz town" when clubs, festivals and jazz radio formats start and stop the way they do? This will make some people mad, but I really don't think we can have it both ways. We want to be taken seriously on the national stage and our feelings get hurt when we're not, but we also want to hang on tight to that "contentment" factor you referred to. I'm afraid we will need to be less content and much more progressive if we ever want to become a true major league cultural hub.

TF: On the personal front, what must it be like for Pat to be known and referred to as "Mike Metheny's brother"?

MM: (laughs) Trust me, that hasn't happened since about 1969. And it never will again.

TF: Perhaps I was just looking for a new spin on an old subject...

MM: Well, it's 2004, and I think most people know the deal on that. I've been Pat's brother for almost 50 years and for over 30 of those he has been in a class by himself, and deservedly so. I am extremely proud of Pat. He has earned what he has achieved through great talent, hard work, and relentless dedication. I am also, admittedly, one of those "coincidence of birth" people who owes a great deal of his notoriety to a more accomplished relative. Were it not for Pat, the only people who'd know about me would be my old girlfriends. (laughs) Also, as you can imagine, being in this position all these years has brought with it the proverbial double-edged sword. It has gotten my foot in a bunch of doors, but if I don't do justice to the yardstick then I'm at risk of getting the gong. And that has been a challenge at times. Having said all that, though, I can honestly tell you that once the horn goes on my face, being Pat Metheny's brother is the last thing on my mind. Then it's stuff like: "Why does my lip feel so bad?" Or, "Did I just drop a beat?" Or, "That sure was a big clam I just hit!" Playing music takes a lot of concentration, no matter who you're related to. And Pat can't help me be a good trumpet player.

TF: Have you been practicing the clarinet lately?

MM: Absolutely not! Which is the secret to the unique and evocative sound I am able to draw from that instrument. The longer I lay off, the better I play. Before we recorded "The Greatest Love of All" on the "Close Enough for Love" CD, I'd rarely touched a clarinet since my music ed days at MU in the late sixties. Thus the spectacular results.

TF: You played at a wedding not long ago. Why did you do it?

MM: Because I wanted to see if I could still play a burnin' solo on "The Chicken Dance"...? (laughs) Actually, (guitarist) Rod Fleeman and I performed a Bach piece as a duo at the wedding of the daughter of some dear friends of mine. It went well.

TF: A recent issue of MIZZOU, the University of Missouri's alumni association magazine, profiles you and your new album. The piece, in an effort to capture your dual persona as musician and writer, refers to you as a "shape shifter." What's the shape of things to come for Mike Metheny?

MM: For the last nine years, every time I played poorly at a gig -- which has been far too often, and I know it -- I was always able to use JAM and all the time it takes as an excuse for not practicing enough. Now I won't be able to do that. So, maybe it's time to start practicing more and try to be a better musician than I've been since JAM became such a big job. I mean, performing is why I got into music in the first place! And while I've still got my teeth there's always the chance to improve.