AprilCadence2013

Interview Buster Williams
beginning of a fantastic relationship that i had with pepper adams.
now in 1963, miles puts together a new band, with ron, and herbie, and Tony
Williams and George coleman. i hear the band at a club called the minor Key in
detroit, i’m there with Betty carter or somebody, and all of us had to see this young
drummer, this young skinny guy—Tony Williams, who was just upsetting the world
with the way he was playing. anyway, i briefly met herbie then, [later the same
year-1963] i’m on the french riviera with sarah vaughan—my first time in europe.
i joined sarah vaughan and she took us to juan-les-pins, right down the coast from
nice and antibes.
so, we’re doing an outdoor concert and miles is on the bill and sarah vaughan. it
just so happens that miles’s band is staying at the same hotel as we are. during
the day when i go down to the pool, and there’s herbie, and Tony and ron, and
George, and miles. everybody is sittin’ around the pool. This is where i meet all of
these guys, and we’re there for about 7 days, and we all start hanging out together.
We’d play our concert and then there was a place where we’d all go and play jam
sessions, so i got to know herbie and Tony and we became very good friends.
Then, in 1967, i’m with nancy Wilson (actually i had joined nancy Wilson in april
of 1965) and nancy had moved her operation out to california, and she was the
maid of honor at my wedding for my wife, and as a wedding gift she moved us out
to california. so, i get a call one day from herbie, and he says: “miles wants to
know if you can come up to san francisco and join up at the Beaux anne” (sp?),
so i go up to the Beaux anne and join miles davis. it so happens that nancy is
taking off for two months, and miles has a tour for about two months, so i go on tour
with miles, and nancy has got me on salary. so, i’m working with miles, you know,
traveling all around the west coast—seattle and all that, and nancy is still paying
me.
AS: Not a bad arrangement.
BW: not bad at all (laughing). now, this is a dream come true, with miles davis,
and man, let me tell you, we’re at the Beaux anne in the dressing room and miles
on every intermission he sort of takes me and we sit down at a table, he ignores all
of the people that are trying to get his attention, and he’s talkin’ to me and telling me
all these stories. he asks me, “man, i want you to stay with the band, come back to
new York with me.” now, i’m with miles, i’m still being paid by nancy, i got a yellow
stingray corvette, i’m living in the san fernando valley, got a nice ranch home with
italian cypress trees, and white bricks lining my driveway, and a years itinerary with
nancy, at the beginning of every year we get our itinerary—and i’m on retainer!!
and i said: “miles, i can’t give up all of this.” (laughing)
AS: You’re living like Miles Davis—you’re practically living like him at this point.
You’re in that league.
BW: Yeah!, Yeah!, and all of my suits are tailor-made, i got a tailor that comes to
my house at least two or three times a month to fit me for my new suits and my new
walking suits. and my wife, she’s getting a new mink coat every christmas. God,
what a dilemma, why didn’t you get me earlier. i tell you man if there’s any regrets
92 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013