He's Back! - New Jersey Jazz Society

took a couple of years to get up the gumption to
move. I kicked around with different road gigs,
playing in a house band, doing this and that and
just really practicing for a couple more years. I
graduated in ’84 and moved in ’86. I think it’s a
good thing I moved to New York, because I’ll be
sitting on the subway singing some weird bass line
to some tune that’s floating through my head and
the people next to me don’t really care because
there are a lot of wacky people on the subway.
In ’98 or ’99, Bill Charlap played piano with us on a
tour in Europe. I mentioned to him that my wife and
I were looking to move out of the city and he said:
“You’ve got to come out to Maplewood.” So we
actually used his house as home base three or four
times to come and crash with them and look at
houses. It was kind of fun because I got to know
Bill better too — he is one of my favorite piano
players — crazy good. So my wife and I moved to
Maplewood in 2000. I love our town here and it
really works out great for me in terms of just being
able to jump over to Newark airport and head out
on the road and hop into the city if I have something
going on there. There are a lot of really good
musicians in this area and it’s nice to know that you
February 2009
JerseyArticlesJazz
Photo by Alfonse Pagano.
In ’98 or ’99, Bill Charlap played
piano with us on a tour in Europe.
I mentioned to him that my wife
and I were looking to move out of
the city and he said: “You’ve got
to come out to Maplewood.”
can pick up the phone and call
a couple of guys down the
street and say: “Hey, I want to
book a little gig at this club or
something local just for fun.”
JJ: Would you tell us about
your musical mentors?
DM: It’s funny that you
mentioned that because one
just retired in April — Steve
Brown who is head of the jazz
program at Ithaca College. He
was a big influence. My high
school band director was a
classical oboe player and he,
along with my parents,
encouraged me to pursue
music. He gave me way more of
his time then was ever expected of him. Actually,
the first alto sax that I played was his. He lent it to
me for two years before I could afford to buy one.
His name was Dennis Ritz and he just retired from
running the orchestra department at Shippensburg
University in Pennsylvania.
As far as musician mentors, I can’t say that I’ve had
the opportunity to study with person X, Y or Z. It’s
been more just listening to all the people that influenced
me. I’ve certainly had people that I’ve put up
on my little pedestal, like Bobby McFerrin. I’ve had
a chance to meet and sing a little bit with him, but
never a chance to really get my hands in there and
see what that would be like.
One of the sadder days for me in recent history
was the day that Michael Brecker passed away.
Occasionally, I’ve had the experience of meeting
musicians that were big influences on me, only to
discover “Oh wow, he’s not that nice; or he has a
big ego.” But the truth is in jazz, more often then
not, that’s not the case. Usually there’s not room
for those egos to survive. I remember when I first
met Michael Brecker I was really nervous. I introduced
myself and he was the mildest mannered,
most humble guy I’d ever met. He was just the
sweetest soul and always a student of the music.
He was always out there trying to learn something
new, besides the fact that he was a phenomenal
talent. He could play the tastiest eight-bar solo
behind Joni Mitchell and then take 17 choruses
next to Liebman at the Blue Note and was equally
adept at both. It was amazing. What a sad loss.
JJ: Did you major in music in college?
DM: Yes. I actually have a degree in classical
saxophone — which some people would call an
oxymoron, but it is what it is. My intro to jazz came
a little later. I grew up in an environment that was
more classically oriented — my parents listened to
classical music and I went to a small public school
that didn’t have a jazz program. I really got interested
in jazz when I was in college. By then, I had
already started my classical studies. I started college
as a sax major with a minor in bassoon. I also sang
in various choruses, but all in a classical setting.
Then as I got introduced to jazz I thought: ”Wow! I
really think I want to go in this direction.” So I had a
lot of catching up to do in the sense of understanding
the music and the vocabulary and all that.
JJ: What was it that turned you around,
going to a live performance or listening to
recordings?
DM: A little of both. My father actually is very
interested in jazz, but he didn’t play it much when
I was young. But toward the end of high school I
remember him buying me an Art Blakey record and
a couple of other things to introduce me to Sonny
Rollins and guys like them. Then in college a couple
of friends were way into jazz and were throwing
everything from Charlie Parker and Phil Woods to
the Brecker Brothers at me and I was just eating it
up and trying to check out whatever concerts I
could. I started college at the University of Southern
Maine but there wasn’t a ton of jazz going on in
Portland, so it was mostly recordings for me. I do
recall two really memorable live concerts during
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