Issuu

Gathering great men musicians together and getting their music heard by multitudes! Spring 2021

Issue #2

Men Who Pluck Strings spring 2021

south florida

since 2007

www.wijsf.org

Kui Peng (aka Erin) was born and raised in Shanghai, China. She is a logistics professional with international experience in purchasing, import/ export, warehousing, security, facilities planning, staff management, and cost controls. After college, she worked as a logistics manager in a multi-international company in Shanghai, before moving to the USA to pursue her career. She received her Bachelor’s in Transportation and Logistics and an MBA from the University of North Florida. She is a member of Certified in Transportation & Logistics from the American Society of Transportation and Logistics. She developed and implemented a Department of Transportation driver’s compliance program which brought the company from 0% to 100% compliance. Erin is intelligent, energetic, outgoing, and easygoing with a great love for animals. She is a licensed accountant, customs broker, and entertainment agent. With her wide range of work experience from logistics and retail to relocation of companies, she started a new career in the entertainment business. She is the coowner of World Entertainers Booking Entertainment Specialist Team Agency, LTD. based in Hong Kong, China (www.webestagency.com). Melton Mustafa Jr. Discography, Stage, and Film Credits • • • • • • • • • • • • •

More Than Words - Mr. Sax Butterfly St. Louis Blues Sea B Marrah Betty Pageant Ike and Val Woods Live at Tobacco Road Pieces of a Pisces Jesus Was A Capricorn Guest Artist for the show By Kids for Kids The Language of Music -Tom Dowd (Film) The Buddy Holly Story Actor’s Play House (Off-Broadway) Apollo Theater (Striker dance troupe) Scenes from Miami Vol. 1 The Traveling Man

Melton Mustafa Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and raised in Miami, Florida, where he started playing music in high school under the direction of Mr. Frank Neal at Miami Carol City HS. He is the son of international jazz trumpeter and composer Melton S. Mustafa. He is honored as a two-time GrammyNominated Educator and has been featured at Jazz in The Gardens in Miami. Mustafa holds a Bachelor of Science in Music Ed from Florida A&M University where he served as section leader of the saxophones and head of the Dance Routine committee for the legendary Marching 100. Mustafa performed with the FAMU Strikers at the Apollo Theatre and traveled worldwide with the Marching 100. Mustafa’s Master’s Degree is in Education from FIU, where he is working on his Doctoral Degree in Leadership. Melton works as Professional Music Educator at Parkway School of the Arts and is an Adjunct Professor at Florida Memorial University. As a director, Mustafa conducted the Star Spangled Banner for the Jr Olympics, directed a show for the Super Bowl entitled Global Rhythms Local Beat, served as the musical director for the From the Porch, featuring Danny Glover, directed the band and choreographed the featured Marching in Master “P” and Little Romeo’s music video, Two Way, on BET TV show Access Granted, the making of the video. Mustafa received a grant to start a community band at the African Heritage Cultural Arts Center.

Glen Moore

Chuck Israels

Three Bass Hit By Rob Scheps Essiet Okon Essiet

3 Bass Hit: Three of the finest bassists open up about their views, journeys, and wisdom by Rob Scheps Chuck Israels is from Portland. Glen Moore is from Arizona, and Essiet Okon Essiet is from Omaha and based in New York. All three made their mark excelling in different styles of jazz.

Glen Moore is a founding member of the band Oregon with Ralph Towner and Paul McCandless. Moore plays bass, viola, piano, and flute. He plays a Klotz bass with a dragon head that has a rich full sound and his own style of unusual tunings. Good humor and storytelling pervade his playing. His solo CD, Nude Bass Descending a Staircase is a quartet affair with Carla Bley, Steve Swallow, and Arto Tuncboyacian. He is featured on over 30 records with Oregon. He has performed in intimate duos with Nancy King and Rob Scheps for many years. After decades of living between Portland, Oregon and New York City, Glen and his wife reside in the Arizona desert, where he continues working in a music shed that she built for him. RS: How did you come to music as a child? GM: I grew up listening to the radio and records. At the end of WW 11 there were many great singers with big bands. My mother, Lillie grew up in a musical house. I learned the lyrics of the songs from the thirties which she sang as she danced around the kitchen of my house. When I finally began playing jazz bass, I already knew the bridges to most of the songs that were jazz standards. When we enlarged our house and bought a piano my younger sister Roberta started lessons with a neighbor woman. I began playing the piano and soon I would sit in the piano room in the dark and make up little songs. My parents decided that I should have lessons as well. RS: Did you study music theory? GM: I did not really study music theory until I began playing the Bass in college with very talented piano players. I listened to recordings and copied the playing of Ray Brown, Red Mitchell and Paul Chambers. When I heard Scott LaFaro and Bill Evans, I began music theory in earnest to learn to reharmonize standards. And I had the friendship of Ralph Towner whose piano and guitar playing were an enormous influence. RS: Do you compose music? GM: I began composing by making little etudes to use materials I was learning. This is still how and why I compose.

RS: How many songs have you composed? GM: I have composed dozens of songs often times as answers to questions from students. RS: Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? GM: I joined ASCAP and eventually GEMA. RS: Have you worked with women musicians? GM: Yes, I have, my very first gigs were with a very talented accordion player named Niki Stewart. I worked with a pianist Serena Wright in college at the University of Oregon. I played with singer Nancy King and made several recordings with her as King & Moore. I performed with singer/pianist Terri Spencer; pianist Jessica Williams; violinist Hollis Taylor; pianist Joanne Bracken; singer Flora Purim; singer Jay Clayton; singer Lorena McKennit; singer Susan McKeown; saxophonist, Jane Ira Bloom; singer Annette Peacock and I taught several young women who became very successful. Most of these students were already quite advanced by their school music teachers. In 1984, at the New Westminster, BC high school jazz camp I taught: jazz trumpeter Ingrid Jensen; singer/pianist Diana Krall and pianist Renee Rosnes. At Portland State University I taught bassist/singer Esperanza Spaulding who had been in several great programs since the age of 5 in Portland, Oregon. Two of my very

RALPHE ARMSTRONG

Ralphe Armstrong by Veronica Johnson With over four decades as a musician behind him, the affable and outspoken jazz bassist Ralphe Armstrong feels he’s earned the right to speak out publicly or privately on subjects dear to him, and to school young musicians on what’s required to succeed in the music game. His work history is legendary, having performed with a mix of famous musicians such as Carlos Santana, Frank Zappa, Aretha Franklin, JeanLuc Ponty and Herbie Hancock.

sessions. I just did a recording with Carlos Santana. It’s on YouTube, called Quarantine Blues with John McLaughlin, Cindy Blackman, and Narada Michael Walden. VJ: You come from a musical family. When did you first get interested in music? RA: Oh, yeah. I was born into a musical family, that definitely played a part since my whole family, everybody played an instrument. My Aunt Ravi played guitar. My mother’s sister, Aunt Ruth played the piano. On a Saturday night, they would have one hell of a jam session. My uncle L.C., Lee Crockett, was the one that got me to play the bass. The coolest thing I ever saw was that big gold bass he had. My dad kept trying to get me to play the violin, but I hated the violin. When I saw uncle L.C. play that bass with that low sound, I wanted to play the bass! I was seven and my dad made me a bass. That’s what got me into playing the bass. I wanted to be like uncle L.C., who drove a Cadillac. VJ: Did Uncle L.C. play professionally? RA: Oh yes, he played in Paradise Valley, and all over. He was better at the guitar than the bass, but he was a bass player. My dad played bass too. VJ: What part of Detroit did you grow up in? RA: I grew up on Belvidere and Forest near Indian Village. It was a beautiful neighborhood back then. VJ: You come from a legacy of Detroit bassists such as Ron Carter and Paul Chambers. Who were your musical influences? RA: My biggest influence was the man who taught me and mentored me, Ron Carter. Ron Carter taught me at the age of 14. Also, the great James Jamerson was the reason I got my big break out of Detroit. He was a big part of it because he introduced me to the fretless electric bass. Then, I auditioned for John McLaughlin, who was instrumental in getting me a break. John McLaughlin just went crazy and the next thing I knew, I was in London, England, five months later, recording for George Martin and the Beatles. VJ: You had an affiliation with the great James Jamerson of the Funk Brothers. Did he connect you to other musicians? RA: When I met Jamerson, I was already playing with Motown. I played with Smokey Robinson and The Miracles when I was 14. My counselor told my mother I needed a therapist because they didn’t believe me. My mother went to the school with the airplane ticket and the check.

No matter how vast and varied his resume is, Armstrong’s natural habitat is jazz, which can be heard in his work with saxophonist James Carter. Whenever Armstrong desires to transform from sideman to the stars he fronts his own ensemble. He built his name on Detroit’s music scene. Because of his devotion to craftsmanship and his deep musical acumen, he is as well-respected the world over as other renowned jazz bassists Ron Carter, Paul Chambers, and James Jamerson. He released numerous solo records including the Grammy-nominated album HomeBass (2013) and is working on a follow-up to his album Detroit Rising (2015). Musicman Magazine caught up with Armstrong, recently, and picked his brain about a variety of topics, including musicians navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, growing up in a musical family, touring with Motown acts as a pre-teen, his preference for collaborating with female musicians, and other matters he was in the mood to discuss. Veronica Johnson: Being a musician, you are in one of the many professions impacted by the pandemic. How are you doing and how have things been for you since gigs have slowed down? Ralphe Armstrong: Well, mentally, I’m hanging in there. It is really bad right now because there is nothing going on. In the spring, musicians played outside, under tents. At the Dirty Dog, a jazz club in Detroit, we played under glass. VJ: Yeah, especially with the weather changing, it was easier to perform outside over the summer. Now, it’s impossible to do anything outside. RA: I can practice but there’s nothing like playing. I’m okay financially. I’m old and I invested some money. But a lot of my colleagues are in bad shape. I am on the executive board of the Detroit Federation of Musicians. I do stuff like that and I have been doing

(Con’t on page 37)

B BOBBY G

Bobby G Interview by Gail Jhonson

“He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most and is steadily developing new instructional material. High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” In addition to hosting his own popular YouTube (Psalms 91:1) channel, he has also published instructional guitar courses on Soundslice.com. Bobby Griffin Jr. a/k/a Bobby G | Professional Guitarist and Music Educator As a recording artist, Bobby Griffin Jr. has enjoyed success at radio with his single, Dearing Avenue in Bobby Griffin Jr. specializes in gospel, R&B, and jazz. 2019. His follow up offering, Samba Heights, promises He is a guitarist for various music ensembles and not to disappoint, by elevating his fans to his savvy churches in the Fresno area alongside instructing guitar samba nuances. Produced by Gail Jhonson, guitar courses. of the Jazz in Pink and Grammy winning guitarist, Norman Brown fame. This single is sure to be well Bobby was born and raised in Fresno, California in 1959, received; for she brings her piano chops, producer to Ruthie and Bobby Griffin. In 5th grade, his father skills and smooth jazz celebrity from Shanachie gifted him with his first guitar with which, under the Entertainment. Bassist Sekou Bunch, and Drummer instruction of Larry Hudspeth, he developed his craft Tony Moore rounds out the ensemble. Mixed by and learned to play gospel music. Over the course of London’s own Mike Parlett, delivers a jam packed and his youth, his love of music grew immensely and in energetic groove. Samba Heights is set for release in 1980 he studied under the guidance of Gospel guitar late February 2021. legend Chalmers “Spanky” Alford, an experience he regards as his “most prized possession.” Greetings MusicMan Magazine Readers! I recently connected with guitarist Bobby Griffin Jr., in Fresno In 1981 Bobby moved to Los Angeles, California, CA, and here is my interview with him… initiating his noteworthy career onstage with R&B legends Stevie Wonder, Al Green, Gladys Knight, and How did you come to music as a child? Did you study Dionne Warwick, as well as gospel icons like Kirk music theory? Franklin, Andraé and Sandra Crouch, Kurt Carr, and As a child I grew up listening to various styles gospel, the L.A. Mass Choir. Prior to this, he served under jazz, blues, and soul music. My dad bought me my Howard McCray, Patrick Henderson, and Judith first guitar and I had taken two lessons on it. Well the McAllister; as well as gospel projects for Keith Pringle, following week someone broke into our home and Norman Hutchens, and James Cleveland. stole my guitar while I was at school. Well as blessings would have it, my friend not knowing it was mine During his career, Bobby has performed across Europe bought it on the streets for $5. I had gotten a tip from with the Harlem Gospel Singers and has ventured to a friend that this guy was joining our high school Dubai, playing with the R&B Group, We Have Evolved band with my guitar! So when I confronted he kindly Together. His musical success further permitted him allowed me to purchase my guitar back for $5! So my to accompany Fred Hammond, Marvin Sapp, Byron musical journey began first playing gospel and R&B. Cage, Bishop Paul Morton, Tye Tribbett, Martha Then I attended Fresno City College and took theory, Munizzi, and Tramaine Hawkins, to name a few. guitar, and piano classes. I also played in several Jazz In 2001, he studied music formally at Fresno City combo groups and Jazz ensemble groups. College. Since then, Bobby has become a dedicated Do you compose music? If so, how many songs have you music educator teaching lessons in-person and composed? virtually for international students. Yes, I compose music. My first single “This Christmas” Bobby has served as the Minister of Music for various was recorded in 2010. My second single “Dearing Ave churches, and local bands in Fresno. He was also was recorded in 2019. Now “Samba Heights” will be recognized as a performing artist at Kevin Wilson’s my 3rd single. And many more in the hopper! International Musicians Summit.

Do you have a publishing company with ASCAP or BMI? (con’t on page 38)(con’t from page 29, Bobby G) At present, Bobby Griffin Jr. continues to play regularly