Tony Scodwellin Conversation with Jonathan
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Tony Scodwell in conversation with Jonathan Lax JL Tony, tell us how members of your we could and did our best to imitate their dealing with the family introduced you to music, in your styles. We were also playing every gig we embouchure. He did formative years, along with your chosen could round up, mostly with a terrible have me learning new instrument and the music you grew to love piano player who had a knack for getting music and the Mendez and perform. the choice gigs in town. Choice gigs, solos published at the TS Round about the fourth grade I meaning $15 for a three hour dance job. time were certainly thought about taking up the trumpet. My I was first chair in the high school band a challenge for me. I mother wasn’t a musician, but certainly and played a solo on our concert doing had all the Mendez enjoyed being around them. Whenever La Virgen de la Macarena. The band recordings and tried the Eddy Howard Orchestra (“To Each programme in Wisconsin was quite a my best to learn them and play them in His Own”) was nearby, my mother and big thing and marching band has always solo contests. Funny, the judges at these my aunt Jean would invite some of the been a way of life there. My band director competitions scored me down a bit on my choice of material to perform, but musicians in the Howard Band to come was enamoured with the Michigan State it really didn’t worry me much. I was over for food and drinks. director and our concert season didn’t start until football season was finished. I another cocky young trumpet player and My father was always playing Louis also remember playing Deep Purple with obviously knew more than they did. I did Armstrong records and Sleepy Time Down our dance band after the game. I was play all the “war horse” solos as well and South seems to resonate with me. All playing many pro gigs by this time and the Clarke studies were a daily routine. I know is that the trumpet was special the band director asked if our stage band Soon after I sought out a fellow in town to me and I never considered any other would play for a big event in Lake Geneva who had been principal tuba in Pittsburgh instrument. It’s a bit odd since my uncle at one of the military academies, for free. and Kansas City and retired to my little George Stynosky, was a professional I answered with: “I’m a union musician town of Beloit. Now it was all about saxophone player from Chicago and freedom of blowing and started to introduce me to musical development and some famous jazz recordings. after a year or so he says to His contribution to my me: “I’ve gone as far as I can getting started was inviting with you and you need to go a wonderful trumpet player down to Chicago and study he worked with over to show with Arnold Jacobs.” me some basic things on my newly rented Blessing I still remember my first cornet. The cornet was lesson with Mr. Jacobs. He recommended as I was a said: “Play something for little guy with short arms. me.” I played La Virgen de I stayed with the cornet la Macarena and he stops throughout junior high me saying: “You’ve got school, getting my first technique, I want to work trumpet in high school. on freeing up your air.” His teaching theory was in its Playing lead trumpet in the formative years then (1961) high school Stage Band gave Tony Scodwell. Photo: Mary Scodwell and he had me inhale on me the desire to travel often the spirometer and wanted to Milwaukee and Chicago, and we don’t play for free!” A career the same amount of air exhaled. I could 70 and 90 miles respectively, to hear the as a diplomat wasn’t my calling and he inhale four and a half litres, but to freely likes of Maynard Ferguson and Duke kicked me out of the band right before exhale that amount was a challenge. He Ellington and their great bands along the big parade on Memorial Day. In also pointed out my tuning slide kept with other great bands that came through hindsight, I should have handled things a coming in as my blowing became more the region. Getting back home at two or bit differently, but by this time in my life I free and easy. All I did was play Brandt three in the morning and being awake knew I was going to be a trumpet player French horn etudes slurring everything. for the 7:00am start of school was good somewhere. Did I mention I lined up a Those Saturday morning drives to training for later life of the band bus paying gig on Memorial Day with Uncle Chicago were a little challenging in my tours which I did more times than I can Julius and his German Band, riding on a Triumph TR-2. Winter in Wisconsin and count. float? side curtains in my Triumph made for JL What was it like growing up in a small JL Who were your early mentors and a chilly ninety or so mile trip to “The town in Wisconsin and playing music in how did that lead to you having musical Windy City”. Jacobs lived on the south your school ensembles? By the way, do adventures in Chicago? And for some of us side of Chicago and my lessons were you have any amusing school band and/ too young to know, tell us about your time following his rehearsals with the Chicago or choice band director stories you wish to spent with Arnold Jacobs, one of the great Symphony Orchestra, usually with a indulge us in? brass giants of our time. guest conductor. My time with Jacobs was TS Growing up in a rather small town in TS By the time I had reached the ninth important and especially so since I had Wisconsin wasn’t so dismal as it might grade I was getting more proficient on my gotten a scholarship to the Berklee School sound. My best friend who was a tenor chosen instrument and as always seems of Music, in Boston, by this time. Then it player and I would spend hours in the to be the case, you want to practice more was time to leave for “Beantown”. basement of his home listening to the and more. I was studying with a French JL Now I know there are no short cuts in new Miles Davis sextet recordings trying horn player who had developed a system life, but how did you end up getting a full to understand what they were doing he patented called “Anatowind” and scholarship to the Berklee School of Music musically. We copied the music as well as his thrust was on muscle development and what led up to that point? 30 The Brass Herald October 2017 TS All through high school playing my like Trane.” Miles keeps walking and says little dance band gigs and trying to “Nobody plays like Trane.” understand what great jazz players were JL What was it like working with and for doing, via recordings, was instrumental in Harry James, Buddy Rich and both Dorsey wanting to pursue a career in commercial Bands? music. I was an avid reader of the music TS The Kenton Band finished 1963 with magazine Down Beat and noticed that a November tour of Great Britain. On the they held a competition for scholarships night before we returned to the States, to Berklee School of Music in Boston. Stan held a beautiful Christmas dinner I had narrowed my choices down to at our hotel, the Strand Palace. I didn’t Westlake School in Hollywood, North know it at the time, but Stan Kenton had Texas State and Berklee. Then I set up called Sam Donohue telling him that my recording equipment in a restaurant he had a young trumpet player in the where my friends had a trio gig. Piano, band that would be a great addition to bass and drums with me “sitting in” on his band. Although I was playing first a tune called Air Conditioned, a simple mellophonium with the band I had my blues tune that I had a record of by trumpet out at every opportunity. Dinah Washington called “Jam Session featuring Maynard Ferguson, Clark Terry Sam led the Tommy Dorsey orchestra and Clifford Brown”. That one tune which featured Helen Forrest, The Pied we recorded was sent to Down Beat Pipers, Charley Shavers and Frank which helped me win a full scholarship Sinatra, Jr. The Dorsey band had a tour of to Berklee. Berklee at the time was a Great Britain, Germany and Spain coming two story ex-apartment building on Tony with Minnesota Orchestra poster at up so I felt like a tour guide. It was a orchestra hall Minneapolis 2007. Newbury Street with a very elite group wonderful itinerary and we also played Photo: Mary Scodwell of teachers, all of whom were working in Las Vegas frequently. When the Dorsey Band disbanded, once again I was to jazz musicians. As I had won the big on mellophonium, an instrument being receive good fortune. scholarship, in the junior division I was championed by Kenton at the time. For assigned to the top band led by Herb sure I had never played a mellophonium, Sam Donahue had called Harry James to Pomeroy.