James Spaulding

James Spaulding's pedigree is an impressive one. He has been called upon to add his touch on both alto saxophone and flute for countless classic 60's Blue Note albums. Now, as a leader and owner of the Speetones label, he continues to add to his rich legacy.

The Early Years

MC: Your father was a professional touring musician. Did he encourage you to take up music?

JS: I was strongly influenced by my father but it was because of the recordings he brought home for me to listen to: Charlie Parker, Illinois Jacquet, and Dizzy Gillespie, and I wanted to play like Bird. Unfortunately, my dad's music career was interrupted by his responsibilities of supporting a family. I was the third sibling of seven children. I remember his selling insurance to pay the bills, but he also often played his guitar while I listened. By the time I was born in 1937, my dad no longer traveled with his band. You could probably say that I was given a bugle to play by my dad at 5 years of age and from that first encounter, I knew that I would play a musical instrument. It was like a fish takes to water.

MC: In Indianapolis your father's band ("The Original Brown Buddies") was the first integrated band. This was in the 1920's, a brave thing to do and I imagine not an easy road to travel. Did he ever discuss this with you? Had his actions affected your world view?

JS: I really have no vivid remembrances of my dad's band leading days. I'm sure it must have been rough because even to this day, it's not easy to be a fulltime musician and support a family. Just think about it, here my dad was, now a family man, with three children, living under segregation and the after-effects of a recession. My father thought that I should try to seek a good education. To him, education was uppermost in importance. Another hindrance in being a musician was that my community thought jazz was the Devil's music.

School Days

MC: In grade school you played bugle. Did you formally study the instrument? How long did you play bugle for?

JS: Most of my training is self-taught. I continued to play the bugle, added the trumpet, tonette, and alto saxophone (I was shown the saxophone fingering by a classmate, Albert Walton, recently deceased, 2007). What I did acquire in school was more skills in reading music and in sight reading. If it were not for the band room at school, and being allowed to practice there and to borrow the instruments, my life would probably have taken a rather unfortunate turn. I was not very interested in sitting in the classrooms or studying academic subjects.

MC: Eventually you switched to clarinet. It seems that, in jazz a lot of the great multi-instrumentalists early on learn clarinet. Is there something about that instrument that would allow one to more easily learn others? Had you dropped playing bugle by this time?

JS: My playing the clarinet was due strictly to the music instructor's need for more clarinet players for the Crispus Attucks Marching Band. As a sophomore, I played the clarinet, led the marching band and played in the senior band, and the woodwind quintet and jazz combo. I also taught myself to play the flute. Fortunately, during that time students were able to check out instruments and take them home to practice.

First Gigs

MC: Your earliest gigs were in Indianapolis with a rhythm and blues group. To a lot of jazz aficionados that genre would seem almost too populist. Had you ambitions to be playing this type of music or was it merely a first job to pay your dues?

JS: I began performing professionally at a very early age; I must have been around 10 years old when my father escorted me around town to play with professional musicians who played Swing, the style of the time, for dances. I also played with the Shriners’ Organization Marching Band. The evolution of this music (commonly called jazz) comes out of the life experience of the Africans' introduction and indoctrination into the sociopolitical structure of American culture, and its traumatic effects upon our psychic being. There are quite a few texts that explain the progression of the music: Eileen Southern ("The Music of Black Americans: A History") and Amiri Baraka ("Blues People"), both are black scholars: Prof. Southern, a trained musicologist and author. Amiri Baraka was concerned with the music's political connotation. I have no such elitist concepts about the music; it's an integral part in my development. I would not be the musician I am today without having the actual experiencing of these invaluable music styles that are at the roots of the African American black life and culture

Flute and Alto

MC: Your first recorded appearance was an unaccredited flute solo on an album by Jerry Butler. Had you been playing much flute before this? Was there formal study on your part to be a flautist?

JS: Well, adding the flute was strictly by my choosing. I met musicians while out playing in jam sessions, and someone mentioned me to Jerry Butler's A & R man for the recording session.

MC: At what point did you decide to make flute and alto sax your main instruments?

JS: The decision, I'm afraid was made for me; that I would be playing my alto saxophone and no longer performing with my tenor because I naively loaned my tenor to a fellow musician who neglected to bring it back, and I couldn't afford to buy another. My flute has always been a favorite second instrument, it’s great not having to prepare a reed and the flute has such a beautiful sound.

MC: In the late 1980's Bud Shank, who also plays alto and flute, put aside flute to concentrate solely on alto. Do you still play both? Is there a different way of thinking needed in regards to constructing solos on either instrument?

JS: I believe that I approach each instrument differently because I hear each sound differently.

MC: For both your instruments have you main brands? Did you go through much trial and error in determining which to use?

JS: If I had only been that fortunate, my King with silver bell was stolen from me when I first came to New York from Chicago. I had another alto stolen from me when I was playing in Max Roach's band and, as luck would have it, I purchased a Statler, made in East Germany, and have been playing it now for the past thirty-five years. My flute is an Alds Professional model.

Sun Ra

MC: 1954-1957 saw you in the army playing in service bands. During this time did you play only on base or had you a chance to play clubs, too?

JS: Yes, I was 17 when I joined the army and 20 when I was discharged. During this period I also played professionally with a group of young Indianapolis musicians which included Freddie Hubbard and Larry Ridley - we called ourselves the "Jazz Contemporaries.”

MC: After leaving the army you moved to Chicago and became part of Sun Ra's Arkestra. What had made you choose Chicago over New York with its then vibrant 52nd Street scene?

JS: I moved to Chicago to go to school on my G.I. Bill (more than likely thinking of my father's advice), where I attended the Cosmopolitan School of Music, and also to test the waters of really being on my own. I lived with my cousin and her husband, went to school and gigged. I studied flute for about six months under the tutelage of Professor Emil Eck. I also led my own group playing in local clubs and freelanced.

MC: How had you made the initial connection with Sun Ra?

JS: I would play at the jam sessions – and I met John Gilmore and Pat Patrick, who were both members of Sun Ra’s Arkestra. I met Sun Ra when I was taken there by John and Pat.

MC: In later years Sun Ra would have his own personal mythos and imagery, some cosmic and Egyptian motifs. In these early years was he already projecting a specific persona to the public?

JS: Sun Ra was a mystic and I think clairvoyant. He would say to me: “Play.” And I would respond, “Play what?” He would say: “Just play.” At first, I was rather resistant; it was totally strange from my previous music training. He encouraged me to play notes without structured time. This was my first excursion into the style known as “Free Form.” As a personality, Sun Ra was rather peculiar, I thought, especially when he spoke of space travel. He also predicted travel to the moon before the Russian Sputnik. I played with his band (musicians really had to be in tune and have simpatico) on and off during the period 1957 – 1958/59.

MC: Did Sun Ra have you playing both your instruments? Were there any recordings made while you were in his band?

JS: Yes, if anyone is interested they can check my discography on my website at speetones.com.

MC: Some of his band seemed to stay with him forever (John Gilmore et al). Were any of his long-term players in his band during your stint?

JS: I played in the band with both John and Pat.

MC: You briefly moved back home before finally taking the plunge and heading to the then Holy Land of jazz, New York. What was the impetus behind this?

JS: I was only in my early 20s and I started to miss my family, so I went back home for some of my mother’s home cooking and spirituality, which I needed to recharge my battery. From 1957-1959 I played rhythm & blues with The Sonny Thompson Band (dance rhythms and blues singer).

James Spaulding courtesy of Speetones.com

MC: Whenever one reads the biography of an artist, it is easy to read “so and so was with this band for these years…” but often overlooked by the reader is that those dates represent part of a person, the artist’s life. Is it hard moving onto another band? I sometimes think it may be akin to breaking up with a girlfriend.

JS: Mostly, it’s just great to be working. I guess you could miss certain bandleaders more than others. The one good thing is that you’re not married to the group.

MC: Although your later body of work is equally as compelling and rewarding, you are perhaps best known for the large body of work you did under the Blue Note label. How had you initially come to the Blue Note roster?

JS: Duke Pearson was the A & R man for Alfred Lion at Blue Note records. He liked my playing and called me for the sideman dates.

MC: Whose was the first session on which you appeared? Did Blue Note try to promote or emphasize one of your instruments over the other?

JS: My first recording session was as sideman with Freddie Hubbard on an album called Hubtones. I was what you’d call a musician that “doubles.” This way sometimes the producer got two instruments while paying for only one. If a song called for flute or called for alto saxophone, I was your man. From 1962 until 1964 I was playing Hard Bop/Cool with the Freddie Hubbard Quintet, and recorded with the band on several Blue Note dates. One recording in particular, The Night of the Cookers, has now become one of the classics. I was the only saxophone on that date.

MC: You were on so many Blue Note albums in the sixties, to ask everyone their favorite would produce a diverse list of titles. Which is your personal favorite?

JS: I think Wayne Shorter’s albums were my favorites. There was great energy and creativity: The Soothsayer, The All Seeing Eye, Schizophrenia; I contributed one of the songs, “Kryptonite,” to Schizophrenia.

Randy Weston

MC: Randy Weston was your first New York job. How long where you with him? After the 1950’s he often seemed to have larger ensembles. What was his band comprised of at this time?

JS: I think there were six of us. I was with Randy on and off for about 2 or 3 years, from 1963 – 1966. Randy Weston (Third Stream Music) was my first encounter with polytonal and polymodal musical elements accompanied by African drums and instruments for an extended period of time. This was an extremely important and invaluable addition to my music vocabulary

MC: There was a European tour with Randy. Had this been your first time in Europe? Do you recall where you played and the reception you received from the audience?

JS: I think the people in Europe have always been more receptive to our music. They would bring us flowers and show us so much appreciation and acceptance. My first trip was to the country of France.

MC: Both in his music and interviews there has always been a spiritual aspect to Randy Weston. I imagine there must have been some interesting conversations on the road.

JS: Randy was like a teacher to me. I admired him so tremendously for his music, rooted in our African heritage. It was my first time of being accompanied by African drums and instruments for an extended period of time. My regret is that when Randy offered to take me to Africa to perform with the band, I missed the plane. We were going to Morocco.

Max Roach

MC: Was there ever any specific thing which dictated when you would leave a band?

JS: Jazz is experimental, sometimes you prefer playing another style or the leader hears a different instrument for his music. It’s not like a day gig, as you can imagine. Also, some bands are hired more than others, and this is great for the rent.

MC: A George Wein tour next brought you to Europe. You were part of Max Roach’s band. You seem to have a deep appreciation of bop, building off of it, adding your own ingredients. It must have been exciting sharing the band stand with one of the genres main progenitors. Were individual groups on stage or was there a sort of “house” band backing star soloists?

JS: Although I dreamed I would play with Max before I met him, it was probably one of the most important points in my career, being a member of Max’s band. It was so hard to say goodbye when he passed this year. He was one of my heroes.

MC: What were you listening to at this point and how did it affect your playing and artistic ambitions?

JS: In 1966, I was introduced by Bobby Hutcherson to higher harmonies – the extensive use of ninth, eleventh, thirteenth chords and beyond. In the African tradition of oral learning, I continuously evolved. In 1967, I was recommended to Max Roach by Charles Tolliver, and this is when I experienced playing hectic tempos and rapidly moving chords. It was very challenging and required that I acquire a thorough knowledge of harmony and had to practice technical skills.

Also, in 1967, I worked with Leon Thomas, the great musician that used his voice as an instrument. Leon had developed a unique vocal yodel sound, and sang the blues, jazz and African rhythms. It was fortunate, that in my previous music encounters, I had acquired musical idioms that were necessary to accompany Leon's unique vocal style. From 1974-1975 I became a member of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, under the leadership of Mercer Ellington, this was mostly swing arrangements and individual players taking improvised solos. I was hired to be a member of this legendary band because Mercer Ellington liked the way I played, "In a Sentimental Mood." During 1987 – 2000, I became a part of David Murray's Octet and Big Band. David's use of expanded harmonies came as a natural progression to add to my music vocabulary.