I was born in South Hadley, Massachusetts in 1968.
How did you get started as a musician?
I come from a very musical family. My father was and
still is a high school band director. I have four older
brothers. The oldest, Dave, played drums and I shared
a room with him. That is how I got interested in the
instrument. My second brother, John, started playing
trombone, then switched to tenor sax. He still plays
and hosts a jam session at Smoke every Monday night.
My brother, James played sax. He played with artists
such as Ray Charles. Sadly, he passed away when he was
33.
You are a close associate of Eric
Alexander. Do you have fond memories of playing with
him that you would like to share with us?
I went to school with Eric Alexander at William Patterson
College in ’87 and ’88. I hung out with
my brother a lot and at the time, played with sax player
Antoine Roney. I heard Eric play and knew he was a good
player, but I really didn’t play with him until
the 3rd year when we practiced duets and learned to
play together. We tried to emulate George Coleman &
Max Roach. I remember practicing everyday. Then we both
moved to NY. We could not find gigs and Eric, trumpet
player Jim Rotondi and I would go up & down the
street trying to find a place where we can play. We
played at a lot of Irish bars. We’d play for free
but we made sure we got free drinks.
How about with other musicians?
John Farnsworth, my second brother, looked up to trombone
player Charles Greenlee. His health was starting to
decline then. He taught us many things, but it was the
stories that he told us about Kenny Clarke, Tommy Flanagan
and other musicians. That’s how we learned, hearing
about what they did and how they performed. Playing
with bass player, Nat Reeves at 880 Club in Hartford
was a great experience. We played together with Junior
Cook 2-3 years and he played great. Playing with Horace
Silver was great. He told me that I rushed a lot and
taught me how to play relaxed. Cecil Payne was another
musician I played with that taught me a lot. .
Would you like to comment on
One for All, the jazz supergroup that you are associated
with?
James
Farnsworth, my brother went to school with Jim Rotondi.
Eric Alexander, I knew from school. After Eric and I
moved to New York, we went to Augies a lot. Jesse Davis
was playing Friday & Saturday nights there then.
One day, he wasn’t playing there any more and
luckily, Gus, the owner, asked me to fill that time
slot. I started working there with Eric. One day Eric,
Jim and I went to Hartford, Connecticut for a wedding.
There we met an old friend, Steve Davis, who had moved
there to teach at University of Hartford. We asked him
to join us. Now we had 3 horns. We modeled ourselves
after The Jazztet with three horns and Art Blakey’s
band. We did not imitate the music, but we wanted the
make-up to be similar. When we played at the Zinc Bar,
we hired Dave Hazeltine to play with us. He soon joined
our ensemble. His became the arranger for the band.
Lastly, we needed a bass player. We figured we’d
get the best. Dave was a good friend of Peter Washington
and that is how he became part of the group. The group
put out a few albums released by Venus in Japan, Sharp
Nine and Criss Cross. Until the group becomes better
known, we’re biding our time playing as sidemen,
waiting to put out the next One for All album.
Which drummer influenced your
playing? Who are your favorite drummers?
The biggest influence on my playing came from two teachers
I studied with. One was Alan Dawson from Boston. He
taught me around ’84/’85. These were formal
lessons. We followed a strict regimen working on 1-2
rudiments per week. The second teacher was Art Taylor,
whom I studied under in New York from ’91 to ’92.
They taught me how to create the different sounds. They
showed me certain drumming styles and shared with me
a lot of stories. As far as favorite drummers are concerned,
they include Max Roach, Roy Haynes, Kenny Clarke, Philly
Joe Jones, Billy Higgins, and Art Blakey. Billy Higgins
had the biggest influence on me because I saw him perform
many times.
Tell us about your experiences recording “It’s
Prime Time”:
We were playing at Smalls when producer Yasohachi “88”
Ito came to see me perform. I thought he was looking
at doing an album by One for All, but he wanted to do
a record with me as the leader. It was a great chance
for me to give back, so I called Curtis Fuller, who
is a great friend & mentor. I used to listen to
Curtis, Jackie McLean and Billy Higgins play together
all the time. Curtis playing “Old Folks”
was definitely a highlight. I found out that Benny Golson
was playing at Sweet Basil/Rhythm, so I asked him to
play on my album. It turns out that he was going to
be in New York for two days and he was available on
the day of the session.
Playing with Ron Carter and Benny Golson was very nerve
racking for me, especially on “Five Spot After
Dark,” which Benny wrote. Ron Carter helped me
out a lot. I was really intimidated playing with Ron,
but he was extremely supportive during the session.
Was there anything unique about
the specific performances of each song selected for
the album? Is there a favorite track of yours on the
album?
Definitely “Old Folks” featuring Curtis.
“Five Spot After Dark” was special as well.
Benny Golson and Curtis Fuller have played for years
and years together. They played strong but much quieter.
Harold Mabern is amazing. He is constantly whistling
tunes in his head. That’s how he came up with
“Sweet Poppa.”
There were no rehearsals. Some of us never played together
before. The whole album was recorded in 5 hours. It
was really exciting to see us - Eric, Jim and I - playing
with Ron Carter on a tune Ron wrote (“The Third
Plane”). We were trying to be like Ron and we
were in the same room with him playing together! It
was great seeing the older guys integrating with younger
guys, e.g. Curtis with Eric. The cross-generational
mix we had was quite an experience.
“It’s Prime Time” is your original
composition. Who’s influences do you find in your
original compositions?
There were a lot of things in my head at the time. I
was constantly thinking about what we have to do to
maintain a balance in the album and make sure that there
was a variety of music. That was what Junior Cook and
George Coleman taught me. I wanted to add a song with
an easy melody with a little boogaloo beat, like a Blue
Note thing. David Hazeltine came up with chords, I came
up with the melody and Ron Carter added the bass part
like he only can.
What are the key things you try to do
or express in your drumming?
The main thing for me is keeping time with the ride
cymbal. A great example of this is Kenny Clarke playing
on Miles Davis’ Walkin’. George Coleman
and Harold Mabern call this “EMIT.” “EMIT”
is time spelled backwards. I actually try not to have
too much drums when I play. There are a lot of people
who play drums but not many people can really swing.
You can really tell who the drummer is by listening
to the ride cymbal. When I’m walking into The
Village Vanguard, I can listen to the cymbal beat and
know who’s playing.
What are some future projects in the
works that you are excited about?
Next week, I’m playing The Village Vanguard with
Cedar Walton. I used to dream about playing with Cedar
and Higgins. I am doing a couple things with Pharoah
Sanders for a Chicago jazz showcase. He’s got
the biggest sound I’ve heard in a while. I have
a few projects I’m working on with Eric Alexander
as well.
Which musicians or what albums by other musicians
have you been listening to lately?
I’m listening to John Coltrane’s Live
at Birdland and Crescent. I listen to
a lot of CDs on the road such as Jacke McLean’s
Tune Up, LaMont Johnson, Scottie Holt. I listen to Billy
Higgins all the time. I really like Cedar Walton’s
Manhattan Afternoon from Criss Cross.
What do you do to unwind or relax besides music?
I jog every day. It clears the mind and is a great way
to see the area on the road. It is something I can do
alone to keep in shape. To play drums, it is important
to stay in shape and to have a clear mind because you
need to think very quickly.
Finally, do you have any advice to jazz
musicians who are starting their careers?
Whatever instrument you are playing, you should study
the history of the instrument from the very beginning.
Many drummers think jazz drumming started with Elvin
Jones and Jeff Watts. You have to find out where theses
people learned from and go upstream from there. You
can’t put student before the teacher. You have
to start at the origin. Listen to Roy Haynes with Lester
Young and Bud Powell. Listen to Art Taylor comp with
his left hand like Bud Powell. You also have to listen
to different tunes and arrangements by Bud Powell, Charlie
Parker and Monk.
Anything else you’d like to share with us?
I recently got married, and we’re getting ready
for a baby so things are pretty crazy right now.
