James Moody Interview by Monk Rowe - 2/13/1998 - San Diego, CA

we're filming today in San Diego and it's a great honor for me to have one of the great sex foam players of our day James Moody I am thrilled to be talking to you as you're a person that I listen to on the way up well thank you playing myself and the pleasure to be yeah you've had quite a career as a leader as a arranger and composer and playing with dizzy and would you do it all over again if I had to do all over again I would you know but a couple of things I'd do differently I'd go to a music school first interesting that you say that yeah why would you do that because something that a person is studying gets quicker it takes me longer to get to it you know what I mean mm-hmm when you study and you do it systematically like they teach you in school I'm assuming this is my assumption that you learned it quicker like anything if it took me four years like someone else could get it in one year you see that's what I'm assuming learning this theory and the chord structure and all that kind of thing yeah I assume also with arranging yeah perhaps all that that could help with that I would have know jazz has become quite an institution in schools now so there is a lot of places you can go for that well I'll tell you muck now maybe up boys are fun but mainly because of Chuck Mangione and I bet people up there like that and they've got a gap you know the guys over the pen a player form up there's good buddy of mine watch over mono sound mister what girl might have found this the cold you know yeah they were all my buddies you know you know and I think gold mono was in Las Vegas now I think that's where he's living but anyway like it seems like the people up there seem to go for gas a little more then another series but as far as people that far them teaching jazz in the schools I think that there are music for that matter I think that like a society Georgian and I think that it should be in all schools all colleges I think Josh should be taught in grammar school mm-hmm and the reason for that is because when you start learning music it takes your mind off of things that are really not important but you think they are important when you're young and then when you get older and you say why did I figure that place such as like don't know I'm the worried about what mary abhava gain to worry about what they're thinking and when you get older you find out it didn't matter hill of beans what they thought about you because they didn't give a damn anyway because they felt the same way you did maybe you know and they were worried about what you heard right about them and and and that's why that's one of the reason why they say is that's a shame that you should wasted on the young you know because like you think oh this is important the greatest day of my life graduation day all going over over prom I mean up nuna so what I know what I mean now I'm telling when I talk to my own children who are teenagers now some of the things that are so important to them and you want to say look you know 10 years from now you're gonna Chuck with this but you can't really say that to them no because like you're the nut but then about 10 years from now they're gonna say wow you've gotten smaller right I want to talk for a moment about one of your more recent albums and moody plays Mancini which is your soprano sound came off just gorgeous on that wrong and in fact I just wanted to see if I got this up here [Music] was this fairly spontaneous yeah yeah well it's a gorgeous sound how did this album come about well the company wanted a concept and that thing nowadays concepts right so so we came up with the concept Frank Sinatra before this and then after this man scene but that's how that came about does that bother you at all that you need to do yesterday's I'm gonna I'll have to be truthful yes there does because you'd see what I think is that and it's been like this for a long time the artists are the musicians should make the records and the record company should sell them but it's the other way around they want to make the records and then they want you to sell them you know I mean that that's the impression I get that the people that are told the purse strings are not musicians no it's never wrong they never were or here's my saying and I know my wife does it blessed are those that run run in circles for they shall be called big wheels and and and and in my and the the website would you call that honey and my website they have to do you have anything to say and that's what I say because if you notice like the people that don't really know are always telling people the people that are like you know what and then expect the other people like you know there's the old well yeah I'd like not a musician but he's got good ears that's a good catchphrase like so the musicians been playing deaf yeah have you had more luck with one label than the other throughout your career has there been times when you said I have to get off this particular label because well I've had better luck I have to say something yeah with some labels better than others but my you know wouldn't what one of my men what I would love to do I would love to be able to go into the studio with the musicians that I want and and the engineer should be there and I just do what I wanted to do the way I wanted to do it and and and that would that would be it rather than somebody stopping me you go to hold it take one more take permit you know I'd like to just be able to be that yeah well I it's distressing to hear with a years ago I didn't do it years ago you did oh yeah years ago with chests and checkered go in and and it's like whatever I wanted to do that was that I just I had to stuff and I'd stomp it off and play it and that would be it yeah it's almost as if the the budgets that they had for those records at those times was probably small yeah they said look get in there make this record in a day or two and that's what that's a week in him no not a day or two I mean we have to make albums in three hours now I make an album in nine years and plus you said something that probably was the key to that and that was you had the people you wanted and that you knew you could go in and play well get everything is like I just like to have some people that are the people that I could talk to and I know like I want I'd say hey I want you to do this I want you to do this and okay this is it take one this is the tape that's it BAM see because the first take like that's it you know you can play something to like you know just to get the sound if you have to but when you're doing something man I am that's it you know I think she could do that better I think you could do that better okay well let me take you back a little bit you're from Georgia originally I was born in surrender born yeah but not like that okay we've been wetting Pennsylvania know nothing movie and how did you come to the sex one was it for your first choice of instruments I just loved the word look love the way it sounded yeah yeah yeah I told my wife Linda at then tell her innocence and North New Jersey where I lived around the corner where I lived was I lived on West Street and she went down a block I'm turning the corner knew that would Springfield safa and Avenue 2011 ooh there was a music store there called dawn and Kushnick and they used to have these windows and they were just lined up with saxophones you know just lined up and boys to go and just twist my nose look at oh man man you know and finally one day my uncle bought in here that he got me a saxophone but it didn't look like those I'm so verdant without though you know right like a night you know but later on I finally got but the but the first one I got when I got it boy song man I dug it and I got put it in the bed next to my hand and just looked at it I wish we had a photo with that yeah that was an alto alto yeah and you know what I've known even it must've been a Concorde had one of those goofing on it uh-huh cuz I even forgot what didn't I like to know there's I mean that didn't mean anything caught of ever this basketball but it was probably an older silver color one yeah where people still playing the were they selling the sea melodies back then - I don't know they probably were because I saw some but the sea melody that you know you know sea melody no that wasn't you know and then again I really didn't know how to alto tenor you know like I just want a saxophone yeah and then when I went to the theater and saw you know Lester Young and no no I didn't steal off the young but I mean I heard him on it I could become Basie well first of all Jimmy Dorsey was my first inspiration Jimmy Dorsey so he played Altos - okay well that could have been one of the reasons why I like that then I've been Charlie Barnet yeah and George also George old man that know I like that better than the others then I heard Coleman Hawkins and players now when I heard hawk he didn't knock me out like Lester Young did but when I got older I realized that Hawk was playing the changes better than Lester Young but Lester Young had that beef in that sound you know you know oh I like that and then when I heard Charlie Parker and Dizzy I said that's it over there that's it well that's how that happened and then then I I was drafted in the Air Force and they said send does anyone here play an instrument you know no they said do you have anything that's a job got one they said send for it later that that you could play as I said if we had after death so I sent for the estimate and they formed a band and in those days like it was segregated and I was taken in Greensboro Carolina so they had a segregated they wanted to have the base was like save us the base like this huh this 1/4 here was Negro and the other for the quarter was Caucasian all right so they wanted a Negro band so that's what they did they form one and they had the official with their fourth band come over and teach these any probe and they taught us and then the body years old man our band would really nice found it good but they they would come over and listen to our band doesn't please and I made some good friends with some of the guys because like even not when I played one of the clarinet players he always come by if he's in town for the gig when I play yeah you know yeah I remember you though yeah did your band ever go to play for the white servicemen oh yeah yeah you played for the officers oh yeah you played for them you know like that we were down there I was stationed in Greenville and I'm not sure if the Tuskegee Airmen came by there or not but I remember there was trouble in town one night and it had to do with officers because I was talking about the German prisoners of war jumping off the trucks and and going in the West when eating in Greensboro and and I couldn't go and eat in the restaurant because I was an evil see so there was some kind of problem in town and I and I was wondering if that could have had something to do with the Tuskegee Airmen who were there because this was an overseas replacement before when I went there with BTC number 10 basic the basic training center number 10 then it changed over to oh dude replacement Devils to overseas replacement Depot and I'm wondering if if the Tuskegee Airmen were getting ready to go overseas and that's when he had some of the problem and pound you know because Oh without you know the racism the process of learning to improvise for you mm-hmm you must have been getting getting into it even before you went into the service is it really improvising really you're playing when you heard Lester Young I heard Charlie Barnet and he and as you said that there wasn't schools to do at that time how'd you go about learning how to play jazz listening to records and there's something and then try to play it like I thought maybe it sounded and that's how I did and and I played by ear for the longest time and Tom Macintosh is the one that showed me changes you see so that's why I'll always be indebted to him and Mac I was on tour with the book Benton book Benton review with Ruth Brown the Falcons and the James Moody officer Davis was on the bus and we get finished playing again I had that set tap but yeah I had made the moody mood full of things if I had to septet and I came back from Europe and one tour and after we get finished playing a gig like one while we're on the road we'd be down with a blanket over I had in the back of the bus and he'd be showing me the chords you know just what a chord here listen for that nothing cuz I remember asking guide so what's the chord and they'd look at me and laugh Wow yes so up until that point even even when you recorded Moody's moon for loved well it was all coming by ear moody mood for love the same thing what I did was I would play antennae so Lord Golan who was a very fantastic bow to a jazz player in Sweden good musicians in Sweden boy wonderful he had this beat-up-looking so powerful sitting by him at the record date I asked him you mind if I looked at it he says no in old days it was different you played other people's horn you know you would never do that now right so anyway they said you have one more cut to do what would you like to do I said how about I'm in the mood for love okay and it's okay so Gustav failure this is the truth the arranger you went into the John and put jotted down you know the harmony and then came back out and put him up on this thing we did it in one take now here's why it sounded like it sounded when they hit the chord boom I said people people you know I'm trying to find a notes cuz it sounds old not tenor you know and people said oh you must have been inspired I said yeah I'm spired to find a final note that's what I was into you know I mean that's great yeah Wow so and it became a big seller uh-huh so then one day I'm in New York because I wasn't gonna come back I was living in France then in Paris I wasn't gonna come back because I never will forget I used to write and I used to write things to my mother and I used to say things you know like I I shouldn't have said it but that's the way I felt you know you know because in old days but like if you say an old fake at that matter of Caucasian person no faith for I'd put us a land odo faith you know my mother was saved they'll put you in jail for that average you know because I have had it like with the racism that went on I mean it you remember I told you about the Brook Benton review yeah I'm gonna tell them about the donut honey after we won the tour and we I forget just where we were but I had a hundred dollar bill if I went into the donut shop to get some donuts they said they didn't have any change so I want to cross the street to an automobile company so what I sell all mobile asperton they didn't have it there so I said ah to heck with it I got back on the bus so when I got on the bus in a minute book Benton called me says a movie says what if the state trooper want to see you so I thought it was joke they - I look down sure enough there's a state trooper down there so I get off the state trooper looks at me says what's your name moody says what do you do west as well see yes if my name's on the bus pass they don't the band mr. Benton no book sir maybe I can ease to get the hell out of here get over there I'm not talking I'm talking to him you know so there's how much money they have I said I don't know maybe four or five hundred dollars so he said let me see it well within one pocket and pulled out my traveler's checks another pocket I had cash but I wasn't want to give you know something told me don't do it so I didn't it 760 about 700 bucks and five let's check cuz I hadn't paid the band so he looked at the traveler's check it looks at me says too much money but what am I supposed to say we had it too much money I mean I didn't say he looked again too much money I said well I says but I'm the leader here and I said I have to pay the musicians I haven't paid a voice that much money you know so he put it down and he was singing and looked at me again - mighty musta centers about 15 or 20 times then he calls for another car and another car came with a lieutenant and they talk and then a captain came they talk after this crap went on about half hour 45 minutes they gave me the came over again bitter again too much money too much money and then I mean he know what just heard him he gave me the traveler comes back and he left now you know what happened when I went into to the automobile store every necklace they didn't leave over here with a hundred dollar bill he probably stole it huh so the cop thing and that's how that came about me you know it's distressing to hear and in fact Ruth Brown told us a story about how she got pulled over and they all the musicians were in the car and they had to get out and play on the sidewalk or on the side of the road yeah to to prove that they because they had a Cadillac or something yeah while I was on the bus when we were doing the tool with Ella Fitzgerald and we were late for the gig about two hours late we pulled up for the players like Aziz I mean everybody had gone on like that and some guys wanted Ella Fitzgerald yeah died he had the old wrapped up in her sin you know and and she wasn't feeling well tired oh no the place wanted her to sing for his wife did things get better in the 60s with the civil rights movement and all that did it get did it get better they were going good they were going alright they seem to be going good because people seem to have they seem to be sensitive to these things and the morale of people would like seem to be picked up a little bit and and the Caucasian people seem to have a feeling that Wow boy that's the drag and then Reagan became president you know and he messed everything up again set it back 50 years and that thing hooked me when they named that Airport after him all those trickle down trickle down how about trickling up yeah you know yeah the money to go to the big business in general and you haven't either nevermind money should have been in you know trickle up yeah you know let's go little people get it and give it to the big businesses but he's I mean I didn't want him to get shot you know I don't want any harm to come to him that way but I could do without him I mean it was a sad-ass president waiting cleaning yeah you know and so with Bush taking you're not a Republican no I'm not a Republican yeah and you know was nice I was on a plane one time going somewhere and a guy gave me the space for my saxophone I put it up top and then somebody said something to me and I said all know a song song so wait and so and so I said those Republicans it and the guy says what he said give me my spot back but he was joking but it was nice yeah oh boy tell me about we had just gotten up to where you heard dizzy and Charlie Parker that's it yeah so you got into Bop did you find it music when you to be more of a challenge to play let me put it to you this way if you don't know anything about something as you just doing it and then people start acquaintance to you like dislike that is hard I mean you know what I mean right I was in Las Vegas and I was playing this clarinet part and and I'm playing it and the lead Alto player looks over at me and looks at the party says all manis and I'm glad that's not on my part and the next show I missed it oh because you know what happens if you let that happen pointed out to you to the dance really hard yeah see but for me I always tell students there's no such thing as difficulty there's nothing ever hard what you have to do is familiarize yourself with it that's what I tell our boys I said familiarization is the key to everything when you familiarize yourself with it you've got it and then I go into a thing like I say well say meow meow now put a bill on that be me out no meow put a bill within their be out life get a nice sound right yeah y'all good anyway but I told my son Ben and then that and then and then they say oh okay Danny and then find the other I'll say you speak Chinese I can say Niihau meow yeah well how good about it honey yeah how do you stay watching Chinese dad I don't know think that's my thing see I'll say it for the familiar would it you got it you said it just before ah yeah yeah yeah that's why see what I mean now you're familiar with right I probably won't forget that either knows it because I set you up but it's thank you but you see what I'm saying though like if and like if a kid sees something and you show it to him and he can do it slowly and he for me oh I see that mm-hmm it's simple they call it the light bulb going on you know yeah but you can and I always say this way like I've been kind of fortunate because if I explain something to you this way you don't get it I can explain to four or five or six different other ways you know like I think I can because I've been pretty forth and I've been able to do that anyway because I hate for someone to come to me for something and I'm trying to show them and they don't get anything out of it you know so anyway but like you said about the bebop thing but people says well how did you feel playing bebop when you join this band when I joined to his van and 46 month with the piano player loneliest month 10 o'clock with the drummer wait brown base of Milton Jackson five log Howard Johnson alto lead Alto the butter fall with the baton play then later later C foot pain came in earning Henry then later John Brown David burned miles in the bass back nerve I know I mean but I was young I didn't hey man that's oh this is what I thought I was gonna sneeze I think I will close in one moment okay doll this is cool that's all I know it goes along with it it's right this is life yeah thank you honey so I didn't realize it you know and I tell people the father knowing I probably would have fainted and it's better than I didn't realize right you know so it was but really interesting to know things and I came right in the club and and played the music you know and I mean everybody everything was fine where did most of those arrangements come from from it hill full of water full of water full of did the arrangements and and then after a while I think general Wilson didn't but they did a couple things I never will forget because they're wolf and did something and this cord kept coming up at 5:00 but I look back now and people asked me since well how did it feel being with Dizzy what did you learn from him and how you know how was it working for him and I tell him that's a man like everyday like something pops up and I say like I could be on a plane in Europe somewhere oh okay those piece of music yeah my honey she's heard that a lot of times because that's faster oh okay and you know what when does he pass I would call home and and my wife wouldn't answer the phone okay then I says honey I says man I said I called you as it was five six nine forty seven five you know just funny that dizzy number I would be called in his nose thinking I was called was that band wasn't a struggle to keep it solvent well I would assume that it probably was because one of the twenty forty seventh Avenue that was that address I think that was it and dizzy and Lorraine's apartment was like mean it was okay it was funny but the guy that worked for dizzy who wanted he hired carpenter his apartment do a police question was they said wait a minute Delaware anyway like later on they found out oh and how stupid can you be because he lived on the first floor they lived what's the matter we're not partners anymore yeah you know one for me you know no that one for you two for me one for me okay well when you were in Europe you considered staying you said look the way you considered staying in Europe oh yeah yeah but you did know he eventually came back and and why did you decide well I came back because the the the the record were they hit and and they kind of convinced me that go over there make the money and then come back I said okay that's what I did yeah then when I got over the SS ridiculous for me to run away from the place where I'm born I'm raised I have every right to be here more so probably than some other people so why should I you know oh that yeah did you avoid certain parts of the country when you had your own no I played everywhere I play Jackson Mississippi Alabama Georgia you know yeah but but you know what I like southerners and the reason I like the southerner is because of southern over tell you I don't want to be bothered with your breezy behind get the hell out of here Oh either I love you now and whatever one he says you can left to fill it to put the New Yorker you know oh what a wonderful person oh and babuna back so you never know what expect yeah but when you get married I'll be 73 next month you can kind of smell it and feel it and you can put on the thing and smile and they think they got you but you know what's going on your and I do I can smell it a mile away yeah and it's it's it's still around them of course this is well yeah and you know what but you know what bad about it the thing is is for a person to think that they're better than someone else that think that they're different from someone else when in essence like if you look at any look at anyone look at the similarity I mean all the singularity the only so-called difference is the pigmentation of the hue and the reason for that is because of the different climate and if anybody think that I don't know what I'm talking about like I dare them to read a book called the 12th planet yeah by zecharia sitchin s5 TCH onion it has to do with with people coming from other planets oh and the gentleman is rooted he like when he makes a statement he showed you the writings in the Sumerian Texas and things that substantiate what he says you see the earth revolved 365 days of the year the planet that these people come from 3600 yes involved that's one year for them imagine that lifespan well they were considered gods no and they the Nephilim were the one that's created us I see and a nanaki's now the good thing about the book is he said if the Nephilim created us who created the necklace I mean we know there's something great but it's but because when I was a kid I used to say boy wouldn't it be strange just like like we stepping on these ants if a Bigfoot would come down and step on us you know there was a Twilight Zone episode about that yeah but I didn't see that I don't know yeah I didn't see that but you know when you think about things and then check this out in the configuration of where all the planets are around the Sun okay all the planets are there in the world NASA if they're now 6,000 years ago Galileo and and we are not all defensive they didn't know anything about Pluto Neptune Uranus they didn't know but the Sumerians did six thousand years ago and in their thing I mean in on the little with stolen thing with the carving you see the same configuration as NASA but there's one more planet there that's our planet that's the one the fish that comes every 3,600 years and when it come what happened but like I'm sort of waiting to see what's going to happen the next time now the flood what had happened like it wasn't something that happened because the gods were angry I mean man was destroyed because the gods were angry at man because man was a drag but they knew that the flood was coming because of the configuration of certain planets certain things happened the ice melts yeah and all that but I'm telling you this book the 12th planet evil that called the earth chronicles and I think six books five books and and the 12th planet is one one of the book the hips thing about it I got the hardback cover you can just read one chapter like man when man first came to a different saying how different things happened and when you read it you will not think the same anymore now people think well we're talking about music what has it got to do with music everything because the Annunaki who is one that has produced music so I mean there's a whole lot happening Wow how did you come across this this world are the friend of mine who would the Provost at the University of Pittsburgh and he's a very good friend of dr. Nathan Davis who's the head of the death that is this is dr. Donald Henderson and he and his wife I mean he's retired now oh he told me some stories about being a full vote on you I mean racism boy you know like usable to send a picture with his resume cuz it was accepted at five different colleges you didn't send a picture and it was accepted of everyone and when he came to Pittsburgh cuz that's the one he chose they said if you were sent the picture you would have gotten this job then they set him up anyway but he would be tired now so he goes and he does space thing they when they have the space outed in Mexico and his wife they go that he thinks flying saucers and he introduced me to these books now this man is nobody's fool and like I'm not dumb I mean like you can't pull the wool over my eyes but so far but I mean four liters three deep things I mean leave me monk there's something to it there's something to it and all this is applicable because I tell students when you play in musics like no matter what did you do I don't care what it is everything is applicable to everything else it all goes together it does you know because like if I practice and play I play for every way when I get finished my relaxation is too rude to grow spiritually I want to go now last night my wife and I we looked at the TV and swaggered put on TV you know there the sweater he's sitting there and and people got the arm raising - oh Jesus oh Jesus oh yes oh jesus oh Jesus we love you Jesus oh jesus lord jesus oh jesus you wonderful for 45 minutes that's all he said then that night now the polls I've taken my saxophone and say oh my saxophone oh my saxophone always wonderful that's wonderful my wonderful sex applause and for that I mean a good boy and not only that but like I haven't said anything you know that's what's wrong but and it said the synagogue the Baptist Church the Methodist the direct appeal it all these churches have filled the people you know why because they don't say anything they tell you what the Bible says the Bible doesn't say anything they have really heard the Bible say something no you see what I mean yeah Jesus how can Jesus be the Son of God and then all of a sudden he's gonna be God you see my wife and I will behind we believe in all of the prophets if the Americans are so stupid have to think the Jesus is the only prophet I mean it's ridiculous because if that were the case then that means that God loved the Chinese people better than we did because they're far but they made over a and a half people today I mean the bigger and half of them right and we know what I mean that's not so but music goes with all of that all of that and the reason is because when it didn't have anything else to say about oh I Love You Jesus Bennett oh geez uh the ones he told you so people and dizzy also practiced bhai Disney with a behind yes like but he didn't tell me anything about it you know I got the apparent to it my wife and I we became behind because we would go to the to the chapel where we went and for that very same reason the minister we'd be talking about and if you just said do good and Jesus said do this and he said be good and don't do that don't know but he wouldn't really say what should be said you know like you shouldn't like to hate a person and you shouldn't teach your children to hate because you think that this is that and whoa no no they didn't do that right oh and another thing in all the schools see now they come up with that voicing thing about jazz I was in France and and the French were saying oh yeah well you know that the Negro plays better than the Caucasian man because all people are the same and if you've got the ability and you hear the music and you like it and you study it you can play it you know you can't play a record and tell me who planned you can't play like that who tell me what color anyone you just like we can't take some blood and tell me what call us that one is you know so I mean there's so many discrepancies in the world and the way people think people think that if I look a certain way I'm better than you automatically you know sounds like you ought to write a book well a book has been written about me octopi and relation Davis's wife there's a doctor fillet Davis she's writing a book about my life's holder but but you know what I like I would really like for people like sometimes when you put it like and and so-called black and white people still don't want to see what you know about I guess the act is speak louder than words you know but jazz is a wonderful music as far as I'm concerned a night I hate all the different you know smooth jazz sweet jazz a bittersweet dance a fast gasps whoa yeah all the labels to take yeah that they're putting it a jazz the dead-bang music you know you like it or you don't now when I don't like something if I don't if I tell you I don't like that okay you ask me anything you want about it and I and and and if I can't answer all question I don't have a license to dislike it huh you know what I mean sure but if I dislike something and you say well why don't you like it and I answer because that's pretty stupid in them that's one thing that some programs I've worked in public schools that we try to do is to get the kids to be able to make judgments about things so that is that they simply don't say you know I don't like that at all and to get them to be able to discern why it's a struggle sometimes but exactly what you're saying well check this out mo if I if I play do you know something all those like take something that you really hate you can't stand musically and and you have to do something and put it on and it plays over and over again you know what your mind will do your mind especially you being a musician your mind will find something in that thing to like to go with okay and what's happening like my saying that I say blessed are those that one one and circles for they shall be called big wheels these people at the radio stations they don't know they're but from holes in the ground and those are the people that are choosing the music to play for people if I give you something that I think the one I haven't given you anything but if I give you something that I know is good and I feel that it can help you grow spiritually or something and I give you that I've given you something when I play for a person I don't play but I don't play for you I play for me and the reason I play for me it's because I want to play better today then I want to play better tomorrow than I did today by that I'm saying I want to grow musically and spiritually thought when I'm playing for you I'm giving you honesty but if I see you and I figured you wanna hear me whoa whoa and scream that's over yeah that'll get you I'm being dishonest yeah see and for me that's not vetted music see music consists of three things melody harmony and rhythm one thing alone doesn't make music okay for all that other stuff that they play on a radio for people because they think and make big bucks yeah but you know what it makes big bucks but you watch it also they're tearing down the moral fiber of usefulness I mean in other words the young kids are being like you know smothered with me the only wagon that would and you know that saying if you can't bathroom they can't dazzle them with brilliant baffle them with you've heard that saying well that that's what's happening today not only musically but every which way across the board and entertainment in medicine and and and every which way because first of all look at open anytime a person can't say well oh yeah Wow well I'll be damned beef is that Beth would you know what I never think I'll eat another hamburger again mm-hm but because she had this show and and somebody because look 20 million people calling a television set an automobile doesn't make it one but but if something is good for you and you like it I don't care what somebody says about I'm gonna still do it see so like if beef is all that good for you people are gonna eat it but because Oprah said she would eat a hamburger think that's true enough for ten million dollars you know in Texas you see yeah but and if you notice anything that's really good give me you know that the good stuff if not there musically or any other way you ever notice that I mean the guys that could really play always say the good has to get to the earth you know because their God they play their buns off man you don't hear them that much look at their but good thing Benghazi oh oh man he'd be bad I mean people here man Boyd I mean he's playing some stuff you know what I mean I look at first of all it oh thank you very much look at did you know like people want to forget about him like like he never existed you know but do you think there's too much emphasis on something has to be new but that's just the point they living anything new but everything the same only give me only it set I know what it is there's no air in here only only it's turned another way you see because when you get up no matter what it is it's different if I play a see scale today it's gonna be different from tomorrow even though to me it sounds as if it's the same but it's different and the reason it's different is because first of all look at it one trillion billions of us of an inch I mean it's been there nothing okay but if you playing music and that that's not my point I'm trying to make here is what would the point I had there what was I saying we were talking about new things all right that's it if I'm playing a skill today if I play a skill not da da da I'll tell you what hello hello okay good we say that every day almost don't we and you know what it's never the same ever you know because when you say hello at that now hello it's not the same and you know the reason it is in the same because it's just a billion for the second order and it's different huh and I don't care what it is everything is like that you see so when people say oh I want something new and people say there's nothing new Under the Sun I'm inclined to agree with that there's nothing new I mean it's all here we just don't know where it is and just like when did said with the music like man I don't care what the music is it's bad all you gotta do is get it huh you know it's there you see and once you play it it's gone but a thousand or maybe two thousand three thousand years from now they'll be able to turn on a little machine and pick up the sound from when you were a baby when you were first born when you came from your mother's womb and the sound would be able to like a fingerprint they'll be able to get you you mark my words what's gonna happen anything that's some heavy stuff yeah but that's what's wrong people think it's heavy but that's some like tough compared to the Nephilim than Enoch yeah no but just imagine the people are created the Nephilim how heavy that must be you see so man need to get up off his behind and creating someone and thought thinking about what the truth really is and leave clinton alone yeah you know is this some your philosophies about this thing does it find its way into your music of course because first of all tell me like you can't do anything no matter what it is anything you do what ever did you do like like now you're sitting here talking to me you have children at home right okay your wife you can't tell me that why we were talking here something something fleeting didn't go through your mind about you see what I mean that's true and that happens with everybody so that's why I say no matter what it is everything is applicable to everything else everything is entwined you know and it would be nice if we could all be loved you know but when you put hate in there let me see yeah and it's all that has to do with music and you can tell some people say but a bah bah bah bah bah okay that might sound like their Andy but no there's not necessarily someplace because they both but do you know what you can still get it after Wow you can pick up on it you know what they say speak softly and carry a big stick but I'll tell you did the thing that would really help the world would be for people love but the thing is people don't love themselves and I tell people I'm clearly about me all head and all I love me mainly because of what my mother was you know in the way she brought me up and when I look at that and then I look at other people there's no one on this earth anywhere better than me I don't get nobody but by the same token I'm not better than anyone else yeah you see that's the way I feel but I see people and they come up and they did the same thing why I say oh yeah you know but inside I know yeah and they can kind of pick up that I really don't give a crap you know and you ain't pulling all over these eyes you know I mean maybe you might but you're not going to you know Italy you know it's a very healthy attitude right and music super the savage beast and music is truthful and I'm telling you I've told a lot of lies to music and music of look at Minnesota know you don't and the proof of it on my leg a lot of them boy yeah oh yeah man I try to do this over there and they covered it up a cell man and I'm gonna blind of guys if I make a mistake leave it on yeah that's me leave it there no you know do you listen to your own music no no no no could I always figure the next one I can do better yeah yeah what I hear something I've done I think damn Wow I did that remember I could play that you know you and in Disney were quite an exuberant couple on stage I'd have to say mm-hmm did that kind of interplay come natural to you too well to be honest yeah you know because I you say something funny I'm you know if you make me laugh yeah yeah yeah it's like I like this joke I've sold it and you know it's the key joke and it it's about the two burglars robbing this home and I snuck in this home and they heard a voice and the voice said Jesus sees your lion behind you know Jesus sees you and they become frightened they looking at you almost only a path in the past days yeah but Jesus is a Doberman can I get a Kleenex yes but there's man I'd be playing we'd be on the bandstand and did was say come up with in my moving the Flies opening and man I'd then finish man and their dad and he'd look at me with that look you know yeah oh gosh well Bill crow he's probably read bill crows book as some anecdotes you know uh-huh he he had a story about how you guys used to after you played the head together something about you kind of bump into each other like oh yeah I'm gonna do the solo first yeah well it helps to put the music across with a certain amount of exuberance in well I guess there wasn't so much put in the music of course I guess it's making the people relaxed because the music is the same see you to me yeah it's like it's like good guys saying I'm gonna go to dinner and you want to eat but you're sleepy so you go get some sleep then you go to doing it I mean the same but you feel better about it don't you uh-huh well I guess that's the same way dizzi felt because I always call him dizzy like a fox yeah you know we like people what brought you to San Diego my wife Linda yeah yeah the first time I came I came to lay oh the club the wild was playing and then next time I came I came to Linda McGowan yeah Linda moody right and how long have you been married nine years they pull the food and when I left here after playing the two weeks I was here I was in love when I left I didn't want to forget me so I had them sent her a dozen roses every Monday and I went on tour with dizzy to Africa we went was it a month honey month and a half pump that's all anyway my my mind and my phone bill with 1200 bucks a week so and they made dizzy a Basheer chief in the Africa you know it was funny because we're sitting in a tribe was out there and the chief was sitting up on the thing and and so did he get this happy you know the best year and everything you know like that and then I look and he's flip the chief a bottle of Gordon's in because the chief like that the bottling took a little sweet boy out then you said have seen a smile on his face okay and you know we had to fly on two chartered planes they were from the Gulf the Gulf oil because the planes over there man you know so but that was a that your huh oh man where else have you played around the world probably been to Japan oh yeah number times yeah everywhere except India mm-hmm India we want to go to India and mainland China yeah mainland China want to go there but people are the same all over the world no matter where you go they are the same and people want the same thing you know like they want to be able to make a living they want to look decently they want to take care of that family you know and we went to the island of glory you know what do I do with the thing over - Oh buddy that's where they the players shipped off oh good going yeah well that was an experience to see that uh-huh you know to see that yeah but being with this is wonderful cuz you go places we'd be in Yugoslavia Czechoslovakia I mean at the time you know they're all hungry you know hungry you know Buda and pest the two separate places Buda and pest are two separate did you know that light who depends no I didn't know that and hungry in Budapest Buddha is on this side of the bridge and on the other side is pest at two different places - Kabuto pen I'll be damned but going to all those places and that's what was funny when this passed and I went back to these places it was really sad because every place that I had ever gone the first time I went I went with dizzy you know Japan Australia China first time I went with this and then the goal and he's not there now that that was kind of hot knocking a little bit yeah yeah did you share his his love of Latin music well I have to be honest with you like partly I like chicken tikka didn't attend to things like Adam Google don't go don't that ticket a ticket into that will get in my ear you know but I learned to like it more and more as I did it you know so I like because I I've been on tour with Tito Puente did it take you a while to get used to the as you were saying that they're gone like they don't usually put the bass notes where we've learned to expect them at least to my ears and to me I think that would be the part that I would have the most trouble getting internalizing mm-hmm no it doesn't bother me because I listen to the overall thing you know they said go with the flow yeah you know so that I can kind of do that you go with the flow until I get my own flow can I go yeah well you've got a growing list of recognitions here for the International Jazz Hall of Fame and Newark Hall of Fame and the NEA jazz masters so it's nice to see that that your career is being recognized yeah I told my wife it was really nice she came to me and she had tears in eyes and she told me this thing it said that I was being I was nominated and it's nice to be nominated by your peers I appreciate that mm-hm but I feel that I'm lucky like like very lucky because I don't think this in a derogatory way or a bad way but like you takes burn like man I don't know how many millions of sperm cells that are there and like for even to be born we're lucky you know so for me to get that but I feel the same way I was lucky yeah there's so many guys yeah what's in the future and me a near future for you as first I want to make my wife very very very happy yeah they make my honey happy yeah because it took me 60 for you to be found uh-huh you know and like it just seemed like it just get better yeah and you understand what I try to do like you know I want to practice or something this honey don't forget practical and it only do that you didn't ask me to get a day job like that so like yeah romantic yeah your romance the music I still get the roses well that's great yeah and it's been real insightful talking to you no thank you and gonna have to read through this and maybe get that book yeah check it out it's really something to check out I'm telling it the 12th planet yeah yeah I've been saying this I said it at the club at the you idiom when I was there yeah total people get that book man you know do you like going to New York to play oh yeah all the time my wife and I were clearly about New York yeah go to New York it does have an atmosphere oh yeah yeah yeah you got a you got a charge up your batteries to keep up with it yeah you know and you know the good musicians here know but they don't support it man like you have you know your Holly Hoffman wonderful flower is here wonderful and a cosmic birth and he lives here Daniel Jackson is a the piano player honey the bass players used to work at a lot of those Bob Magnuson and Holly the piano player Mike Wofford Mike Walker a lot of good musician - yeah but the people don't they don't see mr. Porter but you put that rock crap in there and then do it and it's funny because people look at other people and call them savages and then be able seeing themselves when you put that boom boom boop boop don't oh my goodness yeah you know what did the what did buddy let's say rock music is played by for imbeciles something like that it sounds like buddy yeah but I think that that I think that good rock is played by good musicians you know because while music can be good if it's played right mm-hmm but just for someone of no.22 chord in root position and play you know that's kind of yeah you know and that's what bugged me you know because like yeah I'm 73 years old and man I'm trying to find out if learning this and learn that and and you hear something Oh Bobo baby be born and people just wing all with and that wonderful you know like if an insult yeah yeah I have a pet peeve about standing ovations for people just seem to they're not discerning enough in some cases that it they don't recognize real talent perhaps but that's another issue well you know what and then all the screaming how why would someone want look at take six you go take six right when do you hear them how often do ya see what I mean yeah and and we pick a melody like BB cream over [Music] and then when you scream scream light but to see this gleaming the wrong anyway well it's been a great pleasure well thank you Mark James Moody saxophonist and philosopher and vocalist - I don't know about that yeah yeah but music you know people always say why musicians think they can say well I'm not a balladeer but at least I can say Bobbie DVD [Music] bbbbb you know what I mean my interval D D D D dog is one dddd dddd you know that one like put forth on there dddd dddd [Music] man I got to take this tape home now and have a saxophone lessons follows intervals yeah all right well thanks so much for your time I hope thank you sue warmed when you come out east can I get a hug maybe I can I love [Music]

Channel: Fillius Jazz Archive at Hamilton College

Views: 4,336

Rating: 4.9487181 out of 5

Keywords: Dizzy Gillespie, The Twelfth Planet, music tours in Southern U.S., Jimmy Dorsey, Moody's Mood for Love, jazz concept albums, Fillius Jazz Archive, James Moody, Monk Rowe, Hamilton College

Id: FqUVKAujDMo

Length: 68min 52sec (4132 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 02 2018