AprilCadence2013

Interview Buster Williams
that i could have, which i don’t have, that would be one—that i didn’t stay with miles.
AS: That must have been a really tough decision. We should all have such a
tough decision to make. (Buster cracks up) Whether to be in paradise or be in
heaven! I can’t decide.
BW: exactly!
AS: What’s all this I read about jazz musicians suffering, not being able to get
any gigs?
BW: as far as my relationship with herbie—so, we do this, and herbie leaves miles
in late ’68 or ’69.
AS: Now, of course, Wayne Shorter was with the band during that whole 1964 to
1968 period.
BW: When i was with the band Wayne was in the band—the band was the band
that eventually made history with miles, Wayne, Tony, ron, and herbie, and in this
case me. i decided to leave nancy in ’68, we go back to play the copacabana in
new York, and my wife and i, we hire mayflower and we bring all of our stuff back to
new York with us, and i’m not going back to california, i’m gonna’ stay in new York.
so, i get back to n.Y. and the door’s open wide for me—immediately i’m working
with herbie mann, i’m working with art Blakey, and i’m in slugs every week, and
i’m with 2 or 3 bands all at the same time, and these were in the days when bands
worked. While i’m at the copa ron is on Broadway doing a Broadway show, herbie
is opening up at the vanguard with his new band, which includes Garnett Brown,
joe henderson, johnny coles, and pete laroca, who just recently passed away. in
the band with nancy is me and mickey roker, we got a trio.
so, ron can’t make the vanguard for the first set every night so he asks me, could
i cover his first set. it just so happens that nancy’s first set at the copa is 8 o’clock
and is finished at 9 o’clock, so i shoot right over to the vanguard, and play the 9
o’clock set for ron. i did this every night and then when the sunday night comes
and the band is finished, by this time herbie and i have really created a musical
rapport, and he’s got some other gigs coming up and we’re talkin’ and i just think i
say: “look, herbie, (laughing sort of embarrassed) ron’s too busy, man. You need
me in this band!” anyway, that’s how it started, and that went on from the end of
’68 ‘till about 1973.
AS: What about the Mwandishi band?
BW: The first recording was mwandishi, then we did The prisoner, we did
crossings—we did four or five albums. on The prisoner, herbie was preparing for
it, and he was really listening to Gil evans, and he was writing all of this stuff, and
it really had the influx of Gil evans the kind of writing and harmony and stuff that
evans does—it was just amazing. We had been playing in the band “firewater.”
herbie always did play my songs, you know when we got back together as a trio, in
the ‘80’s with al foster, there were some tours that we did where 90% of the music
was mine. We played “air dancing,” “christina,” we played my arrangement of “i
didn’t Know What Time it Was,” we played “firewater,” which had become “dual
force.”
93 | CadenCe Magazine | april May June 2013