Piano Lovers' Celebration Interviews SUMMER ... - Jazz Singers.com

summer break, I got a chance to go to Chicago
and play with Ramsey while simultaneously
living in his mansion with a few other students,
via son Kelly, who is a drummer and was a fellow
student. Ramsey was the very first world
famous musician I played with. I spent 2 weeks
there and it was invaluable in so many ways. I
remember Ramsey saying to me in a deep stare,
“Arnold, don’t be afraid to embrace all styles of
music.” When I heard those words from one of
the greatest jazz artists, it confirmed what I already
felt. He also hipped me to Andre Segovia’s
autobiography. Ramsey schooled me to
Segovia’s struggles to make the guitar an accepted
instrument in classical music and what all
that hard work and dedication for your instrument
entailed. Very profound lesson indeed.
Beaver Harris was the first of the musicians I
played with when I first came to NYC. He just
dug me and took me under his wing. I learned a
lot about comping and rhythm from Beaver. I
remember Roy Hargrove saying to me, “How
did you hook up with Beaver”!? Roy was a big
fan of Beaver! His concept was 360 degrees of
music. He also told me to embrace all styles of
music as a jazz musician. He called me one day
and said, “I want to pass down all of my music
and concepts to you!” I was speechless and honored.
A week or so later, he passed this earth. I
learned a lot from him. Roy, whom I attended
Berklee with, and consider a great friend once
said to me on the bandstand, “Arnold playing
out can be playing in!” It made perfect sense to
me the way he put it! I sometimes think about
that to this day! Reuben Wilson, the Father of
SoulJazz, also imparted much knowledge on me!
I played with him at a jazz club in Harlem every
Wednesday for about 3 years. Most of the time
James Carter was there firing it up! Reuben told
me to listen to the bassline harmonies of his
lefthand and to play certain chords rhythmically
based on that. For sure it was eye opening. I
would be remised if I didn’t mention one of my
greatest mentors, the late great guitarist Melvin
Sparks, who just past about 2 months ago. My
very first gig fresh out of Berklee when I moved
to NYC was subbing for him for the first half of
his gig at the Cotton Club in Harlem. He proceeded
to hand me my proverbial head on a platter!
I asked him for lessons after the gig, and he
said he didn’t teach any, but had been asked
many times. About 2 years later he called me out
of the blue and said he wanted to pass down all
of his knowledge to me! I immediately got on
the Metro North and went to his house! Every
Saturday or so, I was there for about 3 years!
Melvin was best friends with George Benson.
They were born on the same day and George
helped Melvin get this first New York big gig
with Jack McDuff, when he was about 20 years
old. Melvin told me, he and George use to follow
Grant Green around from gig to gig and he
was their mentor. The very first time I went to
Melvin’s house he said, “I’m going to show you
exactly what Grant showed me and George!!”
Unbelievable! I really felt I was a part of the
history of jazz guitar because of him. I learned
much from Melvin.
JI: Talk about some of the artists you know who
you’d like to see appear at Sasa’s Lounge as
things grow.
AS: Personally, I would love to see my favorites,
like Ron Carter, John Scofield, George Benson,
Reuben Wilson, Brian Blade, and many
others! I would also like to provide a platform
for the underground, the avant- garde, the experimental
jazz artist - jazz we don’t really get
to hear enough of, even in NYC.
JI: As one of the proprietors who is a musician,
what kinds of advantages will that experience
and those connections provide for you in running
and developing the business?
AS: To be honest, we are so new at this that the
many possibilities haven’t been explored just
yet! I can say without a doubt, being able to
interact with great musicians, musically, in our
own place is more than I can ask for! It’s such a
privilege! Also, to have a platform for my group
Strick9 to perform publicly, whenever we want
is very important for me! Business-wise, the
store Whole Foods wants to collaborate with us,
and we are still in talks. I’m also talking to booking
agents from other venues in Europe and
making some great connections musically. I
think another great advantage is that when we
open another venue, we will have the experience
and knowledge to do so and try to avoid the
pitfalls if possible.
JI: Talk about your group Strick 9 that appears
weekly at Sasa’s Lounge.
AS: Yes! I love this band! It’s really some high
energy, cutting edge music and I am so very
proud to be a part of it! Strick9 has only appeared
once at the Lounge since we started the
music two months ago. Strick9 is a project that
was originally from my organ trio work around
2000. The first band members was Greg Lewis,
who is a well known New York City Hammond
B3 Organist and Eric Allan on drums, who before
Strick9 and again recently, was in the Wallace
Rooney sextet. All of us were influenced by
the first Tony Williams Lifetime Trio, the band
that featured John McLaughlin and Larry
Young. That particular group most definitely
pushed the envelope of what an organ, guitar,
“I believe it is very important to maintain your
integrity and stay grounded no matter how
successful you become in life. As my Mom
told me, “Don’t forget where you come from!”
drum trio was. I wanted to venture into that
realm. Trying to push the boundaries like our
heroes was and is not easy. We struggled with
the concept sound wise, compositionally and
creatively, but made some inroads. Around
2003, Eric left the group to perform again with
Wallace. I went through many drummers and it
just wasn’t happening. Then in 2004, the great
Nasheet Waits became a part of the band. Musically
and conceptually for me he was the perfect
fit! Nasheet is a drummer of the highest order as
most of us already know from his work with
Jason Moran, Fred Hersch and others. He is so
creative and can go in so many different directions,
it’s absolutely amazing! On that note,
Greg is also a great organist who is now finally
starting to get his due! His CD, Organ Monk, is
really getting some great reviews. He has been
with me from the start, and like Nasheet, has
helped develop the concept of the music. We
have mostly molded the concept in Nasheet’s
studio in the West Village for a good 6 years
Artists, Music Busineses & Organizations:
Influence the jazz world and way beyond with your
messages, photos and videos via Jazz NewsWire’s
E-BLASTS & PRESS RELEASES ONLINE
Internet Marketing For The Link-Building, Traffic-Driving, Lists & Leads to Power Your Business & Future
MusicMarketingDotCom.com * P.O. Box 30284 * Elkins Park, PA 19027, 215-887-8880
Visit www.JazzNewsWire.com
To Advertise CALL: 215-887-8880 July 2011 � Jazz Inside Magazine � www.JazzInsideMagazine.com
39