My Jazz Roots

A Few Numbers by my Walt Whitman High School / Alumni Band.

Jacob Jones, featuring John Gatchell on trumpet (center, back row), John Dellera on tenor sax (left), and showcasing each section: saxes, trombones, trumpets, and rhythm.

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On It, featuring John Dellera on tenor sax (to leader Clem DeRosa’s right), Mike Hughes on piano (far left in the first picture, off camera to the left in the second), and Alan Gauvin on alto sax (standing center) – as well as Eddie Balsamo on drums (2nd picture), and Ron Smith on bass (2nd picture).

The only time I ever “practiced” trombone in those days was during rehearsals led by our leader Clem DeRosa, aka Mr. D. But what the heck, here’s a recording from Jr. High days, featuring first John DeFato on trumpet, and then me on trombone in Moonlight In Vermont.

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About some of the guys who went on to pro careers:

Alan Gauvin: saxophonist (mostly lead alto) with Lee Castle, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Gerry Mulligan, Buddy Morrow, and Ray Charles.

John Gatchell: prolific trumpet player in New York City recording studios, became one of the founding members of the horn band Ten Wheel Drive, then Gotham, and was among the musicians hand-selected by Paul Simon, who chose whom he considered to be the finest studio musicians for the 1981 Simon & Garfunkel Concert in Central Park (John shines on “Late In The Evening”).

Joe Randazzo: bass trombone (right side of trombone section in pictures above). He played with Ray Charles, Stan Kenton, Astrid Gilberto, The National Jazz Ensemble, Bill Watrous, Chico Hamilton, Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, George Benson, Betty Carter, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others. Broadway show orchestras as well.

Mike Hughes: Piano. Transferred after one year at MIT, where he was on the Dean’s list, to the Berklee College of Music, where he received his Bachelor of Composition Degree. He taught there several years as well. He was musical director for “Hair” in Boston and has backed up many artists including Thelma Houston and Kenny Rankin. As a writer, Mike has composed a rock opera (Rock Carmen) that was performed at the Roundhouse Theater in London, England, written and arranged music for the Buddy Rich Band, and written and performed music for the television shows “The Untouchables”, “Wings”, “Cheers” and “Dear John.”

Larry Schneider: saxophone ( 2nd from right, front row in the second picture). Has played with Billy Cobham, the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra, Horace Silver, Jim McNeely, Mike Richmond, and Bill Evans in New York City. After moving to San Francisco, he worked with Hein van de Geyn and John Abercrombie. In Europe he has played with François Jeanneau, the Orchestre National de Jazz, Marc Ducret, François Méchali, Alain Soler, André Jaume, Éric Barret and others.

Ron Smith: bass. Played with Gary Burton, Elvin Jones, Marian McPartland, Jimmy McPartland, Dorothy Donegan, Rose Murphy, Mary Tocci, Jimmy Dorsey, and Buddy Rich.

Note: John Dellera, tenor saxophone, heard in the samples above, became a lawyer.