Jon Faddis and Me... — Vinyl Magic

I do think it was a long process for me to develop my sound... a longer process than normal because my relationship with Dizzy was a pretty rare one. Dizzy was always very supportive and generous of his time with me. As a result, some people got the idea in their head that I sound like Dizzy, then they dismiss me. They won't go any further than that, but I think I have gone further and developed my own sound — my own style. It used to bother me, but I had a talk with Wallace Roney about that. The same thing happened to him with Miles (Davis). But if you listen to him closely you'll hear him playing many different harmonic ideas than Miles would play, longer lines, a lot of things. I'm pretty proud of what I've accomplished in music and jazz and I do think I have my own stuff happening.

Jon Faddis

Youngblood (1976) signed by Jon

At one point, Bill Chase, the former trumpet player with Woody Herman, was a big influence. Snooky Young was another influence, I would say. I also had the opportunity to meet Clark Terry, who was very, very helpful to me in the early days of my career. He still is, and we've become very good friends. Lew Soloff , the same way, but I actually used to listen to records by every trumpet player that came out back then. I listened to everybody —and I still do.

Jon Faddis

Oscar Peterson & Jon Faddis (1975) signed by Jon, Oscar Peterson

My father was a teacher, and he instilled in me a desire to learn. And then when I met Dizzy and got to know him over a couple of decades, I would observe him and people like (trumpeter) Clark Terry and (Count Basie Orchestra stalwart Harry) Sweets Edison. Whenever a young musician would ask them a question, they would take the time to answer it. If you asked Dizzy a question about music, he could sit down at the piano and start talking, and the next thing you know, three or four hours would’ve passed by.

Jon Faddis

Jon Faddis & Billy Harper (1974) signed by Jon, Billy Harper

An enduring lesson I learned from them was when (James) Moody was in his 60s and said to Dizzy: ‘Man, I wish I played the piano and could understand everything you’ve been telling me about music all these years.' And Dizzy said: ‘You’re not dead!’ So Moody found somebody in San Diego to start teaching him piano. That, to me, sums up the philosophy I learned from Moody and Dizzy — to always keep trying to get better.

Jon Faddis on two mentors, Dizzy Gillespie and James Moody

Ellington Is Forever (1974) signed by Jon, Kenny Burrell, Joe Henderson, Ernie Andrews

There aren't many trumpet players who have had a career as varied, interesting and prolific as Jon Faddis. A childhood prodigy who was mentored by Dizzy Gillespie, Jon has recording credits on James Brown's "Get On The Good Foot," Chic's "Everybody Dance," Players Association's "Disco Inferno," Lou Reed's "Sally Can't Dance," Paul Simon's "You Can Call Me Al," Sister Sledge's "We Are Family," Peter Tosh's "Nothing But Love," Grover Washington's "Mr. Magic," and the Village People's iconic hit "YMCA." For a serious artist with impeccable jazz bona fides, it is an eclectic list of collaborators and it doesn't include the hundreds of other studio sessions Jon appeared on with Peter Allen, Aretha Franklin, Bo Diddley, Mick Jagger, Billy Joel, Chaka Khan, Bette Midler, Diana Ross and Carly Simon and so many others. Truly, Jon has been a very, very busy man.

The Players Association (1977) signed by Jon

Born in Oakland, Jon was surrounded by music, "I had an older sister who played piano and I was noodling at the piano we had in the house, but I wasn't really playing music. And I remember that sometime after I had seen Louis Armstrong on TV (on the Ed Sullivan Show), I was asked by my parents which instrument I would like to play if I could choose one. In one of those split second epiphanies, I thought: my sister plays the piano, the guy down the street plays sax and his brother plays trombone, someone else plays drums... Louis Armstrong... he was great. Trumpet! I blurted out 'Trumpet,' and the next thing I knew my parents had bought a trumpet and were signing me up for lessons on Saturday morning. which at that age was cartoons and pancakes and play time. So it was not what I wanted to do at the beginning." Despite his well founded hesitancy and initial misgivings to curtail his cartoon exposure, Jon proved to be a gifted and dedicated player.

Bird (1988) signed by Jon, Charles McPherson

Like so many musicians, Jon was blessed with the good fortune of having skilled teachers and he flourished under their tutelage, "My second trumpet teacher, Bill Catalano, was a former trumpet player with Stan Kenton and still played in a lot of clubs in the Bay area. He was a very big influence on me. I started with him when I was ten and stayed with him until I was sixteen. My first teacher was a straight classical player, while Bill had a jazz background, and I liked that a lot. Bill was the one who introduced me to Dizzy Gillespie's music, and that was it for me. I started getting into Dizzy, and when I was fifteen got the chance to play with him. That did it, I wanted to be a jazz musician."

Blame it all on Dizzy Gillespie, who became an early, colossal and sustaining influence, as Jon remembered their less than auspicious first encounter, “I met him when I was twelve, but I was too shy to say anything. It was in a club, the Basin Street West in San Francisco. My father said, ‘Hey Diz, my boy’s a trumpet player. He really digs you.’ I was frozen, I couldn’t speak a word. So I told myself the next time I have the opportunity to meet Dizzy, I was going to talk to him." Redemption happened three years later when Jon met Dizzy at the Monterey Jazz Festival when he was fifteen, " I took all of my records down there hoping to meet him and have a chance to get his autograph, and that's exactly what happened. I was in heaven! He signed all of my records — which at that time was about fifty." Finally, a record collector cut from my same cloth!

Mingus At Monterey (1964) signed by Jon, Charles McPherson, Richard Wyands

The third encounter with Diz was the most magical, as Jon revealed, “About three weeks later, he was performing at a club in San Francisco again, the Jazz Workshop. My mother took me over to see him and I took my horn. He remembered me from Monterrey. He was playing "A Night in Tunisia” and during the bass solo, he left the bandstand and started walking through the audience. When he came to my table, I said, ‘Hey Diz, are you gonna play the ending?’ And he said, ‘You’ve got your horn, you do it.’ So I got my horn and played the ending, and he invited me up to play a couple of tunes with him. I remember playing tunes, I remember the club spinning around. I don’t remember the end of the night. I don’t remember getting home. I don’t remember anything after that. I was in heaven.”

Mingus At Carnegie Hall (1974) signed by Jon, Charles McPherson

As his prodigious chops developed, Jon moved to New York City after graduating from high school and joined Lionel Hampton. This led to greater exposure as Jon was recruited to be the lead trumpet of the vaunted Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra, pretty heady stuff for a teenager. The mercurial genius that was and will always be Charles Mingus solicited Jon to play on a couple of recordings when trumpet great Roy Eldridge fell ill. Then Jon launched his solo career at the behest of noted jazz producer and impresario Norman Granz, on his recently formed Pablo Records, named after Norman's great friend, Pablo Picasso. Jon remembered, “In 1975 and 1976, I did a couple of recordings for Norman Granz and Pablo Records. After I did the recordings, Norman asked me if I would put together a group and go on the road. I was thinking, ‘Here’s someone who’s managing Ella Fitzgerald and booking Oscar Peterson and he wants me to get a group together.’ I was afraid, so I said ‘I’m not really interested in that.’ I started to do a lot of studio work.” Indeed, over the next fifteen years Jon played on hundreds of recordings with a vast array of artists, "I did a lot of work for CTI (record label started by Creed Taylor), a little bit later, I started to do some disco stuff, but the big thing was jingles - radio and TV commercials. I did a ton of those."

Empire Jazz (1978) signed by Jon, Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Frank Wess

All that studio work took a toll on his own personal discography as Jon has only released nine albums as a leader over the ensuing fifty years. Of course, he has stayed busy. For ten years, he was the musical director of The Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra until it disbanded in 2002 due to a lack of funding by the new director for the 2002-2003 season. The orchestra released three critically acclaimed albums and toured extensively, proselytizing the jazz compositions of Toshiko Akiyoshi, Frank Foster, Jimmy Heath, Slide Hampton, and Maria Schneider to ever increasing worldwide audiences. It is perhaps his role as an educator which has left the most indelible impressions. A full time faculty member at the Conservatory of Music, Purchase College- SUNY, Jon began as an Artist-In-Residence in 1999, and is now a Professor and Director of Jazz Performance, and he has helped countless students over the years. His most famous recent student is probably Samara Joy, a sumptuous singer in the Sarah Vaughan tradition who just won the 2023 Grammys for Best Jazz Vocal Album for Linger Awhile and Best New Jazz Artist. Thank you Dr. Jon Faddis!

Legacy (1985) signed by Jon, Kenny Barron

I saw Jon perform at the Jazz Forum in Tarrytown, New York on March 10, 2023. Jon had several of his former students on stage with him: Destiny Diggs on bass, brothers Andrew Latona on guitar, Chris Latona on drums and their sister Lucy Wijnands on vocals. It was a drizzly and cold night which was brightened by the warmth emanating from the bandstand. They opened with Miles Davis' "All Blues," Destiny setting the groove on her upright bass while Jon began with a hushed mute on trumpet, Then the mute was removed, the gloves came off, and the clarion call of Jon's ear piercing pyrotechnics was revealed. Another highlight was "Four On Six," a celebration and tribute to the 100th birthday of composer and guitarist extraordinaire Wes Montgomery. It's not for the faint of heart for any guitarist to play a Wes Montogomery classic, but Andrew Latona was equal to the task, tossing off fleet fingered runs bolstered by the sturdy bass of Destiny Diggs and rock solid drums of Chris Latona. An original composition by Jon, "The Hunters & The Gatherers," was a groover with Jon stretching out on his solos with warm, melodic twists and subtleties. Next came a well deserved break and Jon introduced Lucy Wijnands and he left the stage. Lucy sang some jazz standards beautifully - "S'Wonderful," "When Lights Are Low," and "The Masquerade is Over."

Lucy Wijnands laying out!

I was sitting at the bar enjoying the sounds when, suddenly, I heard a trumpet blow a languid solo during the Benny Carter classic "When Lights Are Low." Startled, I turned around to see Jon sitting directly behind me. I hadn't seen him sidle in. When I turned around to thank him after his solo, he said "Surprise!" Yes, it was a wonderful surprise. Jon then rejoined the band members and acknowledged several students by name and their respective instruments who had come to the show with a proper schoolteacher admonishment, "Just because you came to the gig doesn't mean you're getting a good grade!" The band closed with a rousing rendition of Sonny Rollins' calypso burner "St. Thomas," a marvelous way to end night of the stirring performances.

Jon blowin’ sweetly at the bar!

After the show, I visited with Jon and he was gracious in signing his records. He laughed when he saw the Players Association records, “You know, I didn’t make a dime on any of these records, that’s the way it was back in those days,” he said ruefully. An unfortunate though not unfamiliar tale of artists being exploited by record companies which probably continues to this day. When he signed Young Blood, he smiled, “Look at me, I was a young buck too!” I thanked Jon for his time and especially his music.

The Players Association: Born To Dance (1977) signed by Jon

It's not exactly a straight line from Dizzy to Mingus to Lou Reed to the Village People, but Jon Faddis is a consummate musician and professional. Thanks again for all your beautiful music!

Into The Faddisphere (1989) signed by Jon

BeBop (1988) signed by Jon, Milt Jackson, Jimmy Heath, J.J. Johnson, Mickey Roker, Cedar Walton

Choice Jon Faddis Cuts (per BKs request)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOvXSfc-SO4

"A Night In Tunisia" Pacific Mambo Orchestra with Jon Faddis Live 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8uq3njd3G0
"West End Blues" Legacy 1985

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T1bJNic-ic
"And Then She Stopped" with Dizzy Gillespie, Chick Corea, Miroslav Vitous, Roy Haynes The White House 12.04.1982

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ak19M4aXVc&list=PL0q2VleZJVEkGDxUTjXhgZeaD9cwiey9-

"Things Ain't What They Used To Be" Oscar Peterson & Jon Faddis 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn_vyrHNxMQ

"Blues 'n Boogie" Dizzy Gillespie live with Jon Faddis Japan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfbdKqUf9-k

"The Hunters & The Gatherers" Teranga 2006

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PblaEjtOrlM
"Groovin' High" with Phil Woods, Frank Wess Live 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rv4MSKN891Q

"C Jam Blues" Mingus At Carnegie Hall 1974

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S-zMlBpWEs
"Things To Come" Jon Faddis Big Band with Wynton Marsalis Live 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWFFxBFVAhk
"All Blues" Live: Tribute to Miles Davis 2011

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOZrPu2cd3A