Interview by Eric Nemeyer

JI: Can you talk about what it is about the music of Hank Mobley that attracted you to write lyrics to some 40 of his songs?

GJ: What attracted me to the music of Hank Mobley was his swinging, soulful energy as well as his melodic and lyrical approach. I fell in love with his music the first moment I heard the compositions “Soul Station” and “Dig Dis.” He was definitely one of the most lyrical saxophonists in Jazz. When I listen to Hank Mobley I feel like he’s actually talking to me in conversation. It’s like a friend I’ve been knowing all my life. I can feel his soul, spirit and the notes he plays sound like actual words. Note for note, he reminds me of an orator telling a story with his horn. There were moments when I was in tears while writing lyrics to his music. Charlie Parker was another saxophonist that had that tear-jerker affect on me and the world. Hank Mobley had this special spirit that I could feel and he makes me want to get up and dance especially with the driving force of Art Blakey behind him. Once I started listening and writing lyrics to his music I couldn’t stop. Each one of his compositions was like magic. He drew me further and further into his world of improvisation and soul... The first set of lyrics I penned was to “This I Dig of You”. Next was ”East of the Village.” Here’s how it all began. While in New Orleans performing with Larry Ridley and Jazz Legacy Ensemble at the IAJE convention in 2000, I met a very enthusiastic jazz couple, Nick & Sophie Peron of Albuquerque, NM. I gave them a demo of a self produced CD Next In Line and we traded email addresses. We corresponded regularly by e-mail for about 5 months. They even traveled to Washington DC to catch my performance at BET, a now defunct jazz club owned by Bob Johnson. The Peron’s loved what I was doing and invited me to visit them in Albuquerque at their Bed ‘N’ Breakfast they operated called the Jazz Inn. Lots of traveling musicians stayed there when passing through performing at jazz venues in the area and they occasionally had live sessions in their living room. While visiting they were planning a session and at this particular one I was being featured with a group of musicians which included saxophonist Doug Lawrence. It was being recorded and I needed some new material/lyrics immediately. This is where I had my first challenge of writing lyrics on the spot. I had less than one day to prepare, so I asked my friend Nick Peron to play me some LP’s and make me a cassette tape of compositions I could write some lyrics to. To my surprise he pulled out Soul Station by Hank Mobley. While listening, “This I Dig Of You” caught my attention. I heard it many times over the years and always loved it. That evening I listened to it over and over several times in the garden, and within about 20 minutes I penned the lyrics and went on the write lyrics to several others including “Hard Times” David ‘Fathead’ Newman’s signature recording and “Tommie and Tillie” by Doug Lawrence. All were recorded the following day at the session. In fact, while singing I was actually reading from my note pad. I also found out that Don Sickler of Second Floor Music published Hank Mobley’s music. I needed permission to record the lyrics, so the two put me in touch with Sickler and arranged a meeting in Washington, DC while he was working at the Thelonious Monk Competition. I was invited to watch and later we met up at his hotel room. During that meeting we talked for several hours and Don told me he loved what I was doing and that I had full access to Hank Mobley’s music. Nick Peron mailed me several copies of Hank’s recordings and from there I was hooked On Mobley. Everyday for next several years I was consumed by Mobley and started researching and listening to everything I could find. Another longtime friend, WPFW jazz host Rusty Hassan, knew of my aspirations and loaned me about 15 Hank Mobley CD’s. Once I started I couldn’t stop.

JI: Talk about your upcoming performance in New York at Minton’s Playhouse on May 31, entitled "Soul Station: The Music of Hank Mobley - 78th Birthday Celebration."

GJ: The performance at Minton’s Playhouse is a work in progress that I have been refining for the past 6 years. It’s my Sistine Chapel, my personal masterpiece that will help establish my place in the history of jazz vocalese, and more importantly, bring more needed attention to the music of Hank Mobley. Many feel he’s one of the most under-rated saxophonists in the history of jazz. He played in the shadows of Rollins and Coltrane and made many great recordings on the Blue Note label. Because of re-issues, fans and critics have been taking a closer look at his music. I’ve assembled a group of musicians who I feel can reproduce that same spirit. Don Sickler a five-time Grammy award winning producer, arranger and prolific trumpeter has played with and written arrangements for many in the jazz world. He’s highly respected throughout the recording industry. Our relationship is growing and he has been very impressed with my progress over the years. Everything is in place to record soon. Drummer Victor Jones is right out of the school of Art Blakey. You can expect a lot of excitement. I met him back during the early 70’s when he was playing with Eddie Jefferson and Richie Cole, and years later we played together with James Moody. Victor knows my spirit and how to compliment Mobley’s music. He’s always been one of my favorite drummers and will be the driving force with the group. Raymond Angry on piano is my favorite young pianist. Everyone will be in for a big surprise. Like McCoy Tyner has lot’s of fire and possesses that soulful, gospel feel like Mobley himself. We met while he was working on his Master’s degree at Howard University. Patience Higgins a Harlem favorite and an unsung hero is a prolific reader that can swing with the best. This is the second Mobley project we’ve worked on. Fred Foss a native of Queens and has been transplant in Washington DC for the past 30 years. I’ve had the pleasure of playing regularly with Foss over the past five years.

JI: What kinds of early experiences in life led you to pursue this creative path?

GJ: My first real experience with music was growing up on Benning Rd, S.E. Washington DC as a kid. My father had hundreds of albums in every genre, but mostly so called jazz - from Bird to Diz, Trane, Miles, Sarah, Ella, Billie Holiday, Carmen, Monk, Stan Kenton, Duke, Basie, The 3 Sounds, Max Roach, Betty Carter, Milt Jackson, Eddie Jefferson, King Pleasure, Lambert, Hendricks and Ross, Sam Cooke, and many, many more. The list goes on. I used to sneak into my father’s collection, pull out his microphone and sing along with the music. I also sang in the school and church choir as well as do wop in the hallways. Music has always been a part of my life from the beginning. My father’s best friend was the resident manager Spencer Payne. He was also a pianist and played local clubs, parties and hotels etc. Mr. Payne gave jam sessions at his house several times month. The Paynes had about six kids who were our best friends, so we were there almost every day. They called the parties jam sessions but they were really “Rent” parties. The ladies used to fix and sell fried chicken, pigfeet, chitterlings, barbeque ribs dinners with potato salad, greens etc. A few of the close friends in the neighborhood would be there as well as musicians like Keter Betts, Bertel Knox, Calvin Williams, Harold Minor, Shirley Horn and many other local musicians. This is where I got my first real schooling in the art form - on the spot, old school. I couldn’t learn this experience in any University in the world and wouldn’t trade it for anything. My sisters and brothers and I would spend the night at the Paynes with their kids. Sometimes the grownups would ask us to show them the latest dances and on occasion, let us sing and give us loose change. Our parents would tell us to go to bed, but we would crack open the door and sneak back out to watch. All those events were sinking in over the years and I never forgot those roots. This went on up until high school and til Mr. Payne passed. I sang Doo-Wop in the hallways in school and was in the choir all through school. I was also in a few singing groups, but nothing serious, just having fun. During the 60’s, we danced and partied to all the artist and my father brought home all the latest 45’s every week. James Brown was everyone’s favorite. “Say it Loud, I’m black and I’m proud”. We didn’t use the “N” word then. There were two things you didn’t do. If you called a brother a “N” or talk about a person’s “Mamma” or you got your but kicked. We didn’t play that mess. That’s why I get flashbacks from these young men on the scene now. But Motown was kicking and after the 70’s things got funky. Marvin was hot also. At the age of 23 and the encouragement of family and friends, I seriously considered a career in music after realizing that I had a natural gift of writing lyrics, poetry and producing beautiful sounds with my voice. While listening to a radio broadcast about a Jazz Workshop being held at Bill Harris’ Nightclub called the Pigfoot, in N.E. Washington DC, I met pianist great John Malachi who helped to shape and guide my career for the next 12 years. I got my start singing with Malachi at the Pigfoot. We called it University of John Malachi. All the musicians and singers went there every week to perform and study with John. It was owned and operated by guitarist Bill Harris. We became very close friends. In fact, once the bug bit, I was hanging out at the club practically evening. John Malachi was the pianist who wrote arrangements for the original Billy Eckstine Big Band.

JI: Would you talk about your association with James Moody?

GJ: I first James Moody at a tribute to the late Eddie Jefferson at Carnegie Hall, NYC back in late 1979, a few months after I moved to New York. May 9th 1979 Eddie was tragically killed while leaving Baker’s Keyboard Lounge in Detroit, Michigan. I found out through a friend Jim Harrison, who was the Editor for a Jazz Newspaper The Jazz Spotlite News, that the concert was being organized and coordinated by Jon Hendricks, featuring the Manhattan Transfer, Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Richie Cole, Hendricks, Hendricks & Hendricks featuring a new singer on the scene...Bobby McFerrin. Also on the bill was a comedian named ‘The Professor’. The main attraction of the concert was actually the Manhattan Transfer and their newly released LP featuring a R&B hit once sang by the Contours, “Talking about the Boy from New York City.” I had just moved to New York a few months earlier from Washington DC. I packed my bags, hit the city and put my belongings in the lockers at Penn Station - fifty cent a day back then. With no place to stay I rode the ‘A’ Train each night after club hopping, sleeping with one eye open for about 1 month. I wouldn’t advise anyone to do that today. I was a very adventurous 29 year old, with lots of heart then. The first night in New York, I went to the Tin Palace to hear George Coleman, Harold Mabern, Jamil Nasser and Philly Joe Jones. It was a great first night. Very exciting! George Coleman and Harold Mabern saw me walk in the club and invited me to the stage. We had a ball. I had met Harold Mabern and Philly Joe while each played with Eddie Jefferson. George and I met one night in DC after he played a gig. He dropped by to hang out with John Malachi at the Pigfoot. A night club owned and operated by guitarist Bill Harris. The next day after riding the “A Train,” I heard on my portable radio that there was a tribute taking place for Eddie Jefferson. I was very excited. I wanted to go this particular evening to Carnegie Hall to hear the tribute to Eddie Jefferson and meet other childhood idols - namely James Moody, Jon Hendricks and Dizzy Gillespie. I knew Richie Cole from my tenure of mentoring with Eddie the previous 5 years. I had played with him many times. With me, I had a cassette recording from a night in Philadelphia in 1977. EJ surprised me and invited me to come up on stage and sing duets on “I Got the Blues” a/k/a “Lester’s Leap” and introduced me as “next in line.” Jon Hendricks was the coordinator and I wanted him to hear it since it was a tribute to Eddie Jefferson. Eddie was my mentor and I had been fluently singing his songs since I was about 9 years old. I let Hendricks hear tape and he was estactic and excited. He told me he was going to have that portion where E.J. called me “nextin line” played over the loud speaker at Carnegie Hall, and bring me up to sing a song. I couldn’t believe it because I didn’t even ask. It was like a dream come true? Very excited I left and immediately I called my mom collect and explained the situation. She was very happy and asked what I needed because I told her about my situation. I had no money, no place to stay and was hard on my luck trying to survive in the big apple. Mom sent $100.00 via Western Union and said, “Don’t tell your daddy.” I couldn’t let him know because when I left DC, I gave up my job working as a driver for Metro bus, my apartment and everything. To top it off, I was sleeping on the subway trains. That’s a entirely different experience. Everyone thought I was crazy, but I had to come to New York City to pursue my dreams. I immediately went to Andy’s Cheapies on 3rd street at St Marks and purchased a second hand outfit. I was sharp as a tack! I bought a pair of blue gabardine slacks, a white dinner jacket, red sparkle tie, white shirt and a pair of two-tone spats (black and white). All used clothing and for only about $50.00. I washed and changed clothes in the restroom of Penn Station and rushed back to Carnegie Hall. This was surely going to be one of the greatest days in my life. Sad to say, for reasons I will not mention, and after several excuses, it never happened as Mr. Hendricks promised. On my way out of the Carnegie Hall celebrity waiting room, openly hurt, James Moody grabbed me by the arm and said to me, “Be at Sweet Basil’s at 10:00 PM that night as my special guest.” I didn’t know it at the time, but at this performance Moody was going to pay tribute to Eddie Jefferson as well. I kept on the same outfit and arrived at the club a few hours later. In the audience was each of the entertainers I mentioned earlier. I sat there nervous, curious, listened to the first few tunes. James Moody spoke about Eddie Jefferson and called me to the stage to sing a few numbers. He called me Eddie’s protégé. Chills were going through my body and my adrenaline was flowing. This was the great James Moody, one my childhood idols calling me to the stage. I couldn’t believe it and had no idea he was going to do this. In the band was Harold Mabern, Rufus Reid and Eddie Gladden. They also played with Moody at the Tribute as well and I had met them on occasion while following E.J. those previous years. This was special and I had to do my best. Moody asked me what I wanted to sing. I knew my keys and we kicked off “I Got Rhythm” in five flats, and the rest is history. Next we did “A Night In Tunisia,” “Now’s The Time,” and Dizzy joined in as well. It was a great moment. I had my cassette recorder that night as well. Smile! It was indeed one of the happiest and greatest days in my life - like when Eddie Jefferson surprised me and called me to the stage for the first time that night in Philly. Twenty years later I produced my first CD and called it Next In Line. The opening number includes the 16-second sound bite of Eddie Jefferson. Moody and I just smiled at each other the entire evening. On my way out Moody grabbed me by the arm again and put a $100 bill in my hands. That night I stayed at a hotel. I never went back to the streets. My first night with James Moody led to about 7 straight years of performing with my childhood idol. Moody put me in many, many great situations including the 1985 Live New Years broadcast @ Sweet Basils in NYC featuring the James Moody Quartet and the Heath Brothers. Moody even brought me back to Carnegie Hall for a Live NPR coast-to-coast broadcast. We also appeared at Town Hall Tribute to Charlie Parker “To Bird with Love” with strings arranged and featured Barry Harris with a 100 voice choir. We played at the Village Vanguard, South Street Seaport, 92nd Street Y, Seventh Avenue South, Bottom Line, and concert halls around the country. Performing with and being a friend of James Moody was like going to a University, with a private teacher. Before and after each performance he always critiqued and gave me valuable advice. During the late 80’s I got a job as a conductor on the railroad to provide for my family which consumed much of my time. I was on call 24-hours a day. Working on the railroad made it very hard to travel and make the five-nighters, so I told Moody I had to leave the group. It hurt, but not-taking care of my family was not an option. Music was not paying the bills and the business of music left a sour taste. I did it for the love! Every now and then I go out to see Moody, and occasionally he asks me if I’d like to sing a few. The only thing I regret is that during that span of time we didn’t record. Moody is always full of surprises, so you never know what the future holds. I love James Moody! I’m so glad he reached out and grabbed my arm...tears of joy!

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