“Larry [ Laurenzano] said to me one day near the end of junior high, "Jon, are you Jewish?" I said, "No." And he said, "Well neither am I. I'm not sure of Caesar DiMauro, but he teaches at the JCC and I got you a scholarship there."” WellsSaidEndsTeachOne DayNot SureJuniorsScholarshipLarryJunior High Author:Jon Gordon
“A lot of musicians have said things to me like, "Music saved my life". And "I'm standing on the shoulders of dozens of people that you've never heard of that were like angels for me that came out of the woodwork." And that's really the case for me. I had so many people that did those kinds of things for me.” PeopleKindSaidCasesHeardMusicianAngelStandingSavedShouldersDozen Author:Jon Gordon
“One time, I think it was my third lesson third or fourth lesson. Kim Parker and he picked me up at the bus station. And she just said, "Phil [Wood] has been up all night. He's heartbroken. Bud Johnson died last night." And Bud Johnson, like Zoot [Sims] and Al [Cohn] had been mentors to him.” ThinkingHas BeensSaidLastsNightLessonsThirdsDiedWoodsStationsAlsBusOne TimeFourthMentorHeartbrokenLast NightAll NightJohnsonBudKimUp All NightSims Author:Jon Gordon
“Phil [Wood] said to me in the car going back, he said, "Look man, you better know why you're playing this music. Because I've known too many who lived and died for it. And if you're not trying to change the world, I'm not interested."” IfsKnowsMenWorldTryingLooksSaidKnownCarMusic IsDiedWoodsChanging The WorldNot InterestedTrying To Change Author:Jon Gordon
“Benny Carter came up to me and said to me, "You know, in the whole history of the alto, I think Phil is the guy we should all be emulating." The king! So look, I'm so blessed that my first hero took me in.” ThinkingKnowsShouldFirstsLooksSaidWholeGuyKingsHeroBlessedCarter Author:Jon Gordon
“Sometimes you think "Okay, well I'm going to play my horn, and I'm going to study Charlie "Bird" Parker solos or [John Coltrain] or whatever." But as [Phil Wood] said to me, "Man, Bird listened to everything."” ThinkingMenWellsSaidSometimesPlayStudyBirdOkayWoodsSoloHornsCharlie Author:Jon Gordon
“[Charlie "Bird" Parker] would sit down and ask [Phil Wood], "What do you think about this whole secondary Viennese school with Schoenberg, Berg and Webern? Are you listening to that music and what do you feel about it?" These were the conversations that he was having. And he also said, what he learned from Charlie Parker was, not that he studied with him in the formal sense, is that the first thing that Charlie Parker would always ask was, "Did you eat today?".” ThinkingFeelsFirstsSaidWholeTodaySchoolAsksListeningConversationBirdDown AndWoodsFormalCharlieSchoenbergWebern Author:Jon Gordon
“Percy France told me, similarly, he and Bird used to hang out. They were good buddies. And he said, "Man, we'd just walk through town, sometimes with our horns. And we'd walk by past an Irish bar. And you'd stand outside and check out the music. And Bird would go in and sit in with these traditional Irish musicians. Then we'd past a Greek restaurant and we'd hear that. And Charles "Bird" Parker would go sit in with those guys. He was just listening to everything, reacting to everything.” MenSaidSometimesPastUsedGuyWalksListeningMusicianBirdTownsBarsChecksTraditionalFranceGreekRestaurantsHanging OutStanding OutHornsBuddyJust ListenReacting Author:Jon Gordon
“I left school December of 1988. I was 21 at the time. And I hadn't quite finished my degree because I had done eight semesters, not understanding that I was going to have to finish the degree without the TAPP and Pell grant money that I had been using towards paying for much of my college tuition. And I didn't have any money. So I said, "Alright." And circumstances there were such that I thought it was maybe time to move on anyway.” SaidDoneSchoolMovingLeftUnderstandingCollegeCircumstancesDegreesEightFinishedGrantsAlrightDecemberTuitionSemesterTime To Move OnCollege TuitionPell Grants Author:Jon Gordon
“I didn't have time to deal with practicing in a way that I would have liked to. I wish I could have just said, "I've got four to five hours every day that I'm going to go deal with music." I just didn't' have that. I missed a lot of lessons, but I think that maybe was frustrating to me in a big picture sense of, I need the time and energy to put into my instrument.” ThinkingWayNeedsSaidBigsEnergyWishHoursDealsFiveFourLessonsInstrumentsFrustratingBig PictureTime And Energy Author:Jon Gordon
“I never got to play with Art [ Blakey], but he was kind and spoke to me a number of times. He said, "You know, the people who are working 40 hours a week. Those are the ones who are really paying dues. Sitting at a desk doing the same thing every day. We're really blessed to do what we do."” PeopleKnowsKindArtSaidPlayHoursNumbersWeekSittingBlessedDuesSpokesDesks Author:Jon Gordon
“There are great jazz educators that I meet all the time. I met a guy named Paul Luchessi who has a high school jazz program in Fresno. And Bob Athayde who runs a junior high program in Lafayette, California. And man, we walked into these schools and Paul Luchessi said, "Jon is the composer of Paradox." A hundred or something kids started to applaud. "What? You guys know that? I'm so blown away.” KnowsMenSaidRunningKidsSchoolGuyMetsHundredHigh SchoolProgramJazzCaliforniaParadoxComposerBobJuniorsEducatorJunior HighBlown AwayLafayette Author:Jon Gordon
“If you want to make [your own way in music] it as a player, which is very difficult, as Art Blakey said to me, "We're blessed to have the opportunity to do this." So just keep that in mind.” IfsWayWantMindArtSaidOpportunityDifficultPlayerBlessed Author:Jon Gordon
