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BLOG SERIES: Jazz Musicians I Have Known // James Spaulding.


 

James Spaulding


I grew up in the New Brunswick area just a stone’s throw from Rutgers college. In 1960's, Rutgers started one of the first “experimental” colleges by a major university, called Livingston was a leader in all things “progressive”. Its motto in 1968 was “Strength through Diversity”. Its campus was in an isolated area far from the main campus and was housing all the hippie types and Ethnic studies students that would be interested in new “progressive” classes that now are normal fare in colleges. It was located on the grounds of the famous Camp Kilmer. It was set up in five story block dorms situated around four courtyards called “The Quads”. At the height of the 60’s counterculture isolating the most radical student’s fat from civilization. What could go wrong? Surely the students would bear down on their books and diligently study. 


The place soon degenerated into a drug dealing haven for hedonism and non-stop partying. It was estimated that a large percent of all drugs dealt in Middlesex County emanated from the Quads. Drug dealers had made deals with the hippie dorm supervisors and had dorm rooms! I was robbed in one of my first purchases there. The dealers would see some dumbass high school kid and after the deal was made in the dorm, signal to an accomplice from the window to rob the young fools drugs they had just purchased knowing nobody would call the cops or retaliate. 


These overconfident dealers didn’t count on some tough kids and finally after some shootings Rutgers ended the great experiment cleaning out drug dealers and using Livingston Campus as an extension of the college mixing in regular students in dorms dispersing the hippie experimental class students. 


The one positive aspect of this campus was it housed one of the first accredited Jazz Studies programs. At this time Berklee College of Music was not accredited. Since at that time no real jazz musician had college degrees let alone a PHD Livingston waived the credential requirements and hired real guys off the street.


The heads of the departments were only required to start their education. Larry Ridley,

Kenny Barron, Ted Dunbar eventually all became Doctor’s of Music. But of course,

when hiring ten to fifteen real jazz guys not everybody can just up and change

lifestyles to do this, and why should they? To master the art of “Jazz” you already are

a “Doctor of Music”. Freddy Waits was the drum guy, I forgot who they had for trumpet, but Frank Foster, Paul Jeffery and James Spaulding were the sax teachers. This roster

was better than Berklee; who had guys who were famous as teachers rather than

famous players like Livingston's roster. 


I became interested in mastering Jazz around 1972 when I was 15. I had already taken lessons from the legendary Harry Leahey who had taught me everything I needed to know to start learning, scales, arpeggios, etc. Harry was very busy so once I realized that these legends were within walking distance, I took advantage of it. I already was playing hoops at Livingston gym and hanging there at night to party, so I started dropping by the music dept where, if I was lucky, one of the legends was in the practice room practicing. I spent many hours listening to these guys, particularly Kenny Barron who seemed to practice more than anybody. I became acquainted with most of the fellas but wouldn’t be ready to play with them for a few years. 


My last year in High School I got pretty good and when I got an apartment in New Brunswick and Jersey had lowered the drinking age to 18 so I started playing and hanging out in clubs. I can’t remember how Spaulding found out I could play. I might have bragged to him that I was one of the few guitarists who mastered the art

of “walking bass” with chords. There was no Aebersold jazz play along LPs back then

so Spaulding started using me as a practice guy. He had married a Livingston

professor and had the keys to her office so we would go there a couple nights a week

and I would lay down a walking bass on whatever standard he wanted to work on. I

started taping some sessions and still have the tapes.


It was an intense boot camp for the mastery of complex chord changes and

performance of bass lines and chords. The difference was James was not a tyrannical

master sergeant type. Spaulding had a gregarious personality, and his playing was too.

It was unreal to hear this guy explore the changes for hours on end. James would also

burst into song displaying a great singing voice. He had a few local gigs, and I became

his guitarist. Vibraphonist Steve Nelson was finishing his degree and was Spaulding

main accompanist but most of his gigs were in NYC and he would use legends like

Harold Mabern. He would have fights with his wife and come over to my apartment

many times.


Eventually he left Livingston due to complaints by somebody that he was drinking on

the job. I never smelled alcohol on James’s breath but supposedly someone complained, and they let him go. He lived in Queens, so we lost touch. In early 2000 I was visiting Jersey and saw he was playing in the Village, so I went, and we got back

in touch. We would talk at length on the phone so ultimately some “societal problems”

would come up during conversation.


Here Is Another Story - 


My buddy, Rob Cameron, the bass player for my first real funk band I was in in High School used to sneak away from his orderly job at the hospital around the corner from my basement apartment on Easton Avenue. On this particular day, I was jamming in the apartment with James Spaulding on saxophone. Rob had heard of him but didn’t really know who he was. I introduced him. He was quiet for a moment. He put the horn to his lips and played a slow haunting melody. Rob recalls “I was mesmerized by it, frozen until he finished. When he was done, he looked up at me. He said “that’s ‘Blue In Green’ man…did you hear it? Did you HEAR THE COLORS?” 


In 2008, he called me and said he was coming out to LA to play Freddie Hubbard’s

birthday party at Catalinas in Hollywood. I picked him up at his hotel and drove him to

the soundcheck. We hung out for a minute then came back to the gig later. Back in the dressing room before the show started was George Cables, Slide Hampton, where

I think it was Dwayne Burno on bass, I forgot who played drums. No Freddy? We were

sitting around talking when the bathroom door opened and Freddy walked out, he

paused, then exhaled a lung full of crack cocaine! At age 72! I thought to myself “he

ain't going to last too much longer”. He would die within a year. Everybody acted like

this was normal and I left to get a table. 


Years before Freddy had “blown his chops out”. This happened due to cocaine abuse which numbs your mouth, and you don’t know when you are injured. If you got a bunch of gigs and need to keep playing eventually you can permanently damage your mouth/lips. The music started and one by one every Freddy Hubbard song was played with Freddy conducting at first. He would get excited and try to blow but a incoherent steam of sounds came out and he would stop obviously embarrassed in front of the lineup. Everybody else was awesome and I have about ten minutes on a phone video. 


Back in 2008, the phone videos were of a poor quality. I talked with James a few times after that on the phone but again he kept handing the phone to his wife, I started dreading calling him. I did mail him some Dvd's and I bought him a mini practice sax that a guy was selling on Venice Beach but I haven't talked with him since around 2016. I should give him a call.


Here's A Good Story About Duke Ellington -


Spaulding played with Duke around 1970. He was looking at the drum and bass charts and noticed the charts were half the pages of other instruments. He asked Duke about it and he said “Never give the bassist and drummer too much information”



 


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