Interview with Victor Goines from Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra

Previously published on Torontoist, February 23, 2012

Victor Goines went to kindergarten with jazz superstar Wynton Marsalis and, forty-plus years later, they’re still making music together.

If you’re a jazz nerd, you’ve been listening to and admiring Victor Goines for years. Born in New Orleans in 1961, Goines’s talent on all manner of saxophone and on the clarinet has led him to play with some folks you may have heard of, like Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Diana Ross, and Stevie Wonder. Tonight, he will be appearing with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra; we spoke with him on the phone after he wrapped a rehearsal in New York.

Torontoist: You’ve been with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra since 1993, so this isn’t your first trip to Toronto. Any thoughts on the city and what it’s like to play at Massey Hall, a venue with such a solid jazz pedigree?

Goines: You know, Massey Hall, that’s special for the obvious reasons. Many, many great musicians have spent their time up in there, including that legendary recording with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. So to be a part of that tradition is fantastic. Who would turn down the opportunity to play where Charlie Parker did? Or where Dizzy Gillespie played? That’s about the closest we can get to them, in fact.

What can we expect from the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra on February 23?

One of the things about Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Wynton as Artistic Director, is our mantra that “all jazz is modern.” We’re willing to play, and we have the capability to play, things that come from the early parts of jazz history from New Orleans and then we’ll turn around and play not only something that has been created recently but something that has been created recently by a member of the band. We like to believe, and I think we’ve been somewhat successful, that we play the history of jazz. And that’s what our audience anticipates. We also have a large enough book [repertoire] that it allows us to really cater to the needs of our audience, because the audience is a very important part of the music. We may have a program picked but if that program turns out to be not ideal for that audience, Wynton has been know to change direction and play something else that he thinks will bring the audience more into the program.

Wynton comes by that behaviour naturally too, doesn’t he? His father Ellis (a piano player), who you’ve studied and played with over the years in New Orleans, is notorious for not planning programs ahead of time. That keeps the players on their feet, doesn’t it?

Yes, that’s very accurate! You know, as a student of Ellis’ and playing in his band for eight years, I’d say that was one of the most educational things in the world…that might be where Wynton gets some of that particular behaviour. 

Right now in Toronto we’re facing more budget cuts, and what some might even call hostility toward the arts, especially in schools. I’m wondering if you have any thoughts, as an educator with years as head of the jazz program at Julliard and now in your capacity at Northwestern, on the impact these cuts have on students?

Well, it’s difficult. What they’re doing by cutting arts in schools is taking away children’s exposure to music. And not just jazz, but to all music. So therefore, now, the average kid has no exposure at all. We always say at Jazz at Lincoln Center that music makes us better people. Everybody’s not going to be a professional musician and that’s not really that important. The prize is not being the best; the prize is being a participant. 

Tell us about your new Quartet recording, Twilight.

Twilight is a CD that definitely needed to come out now, because it’s been seven years since my last release. It’s on my own record label and it’s 10 of my different compositions…I like to take the opportunity, when I do a recording, to explore all the different avenues of what I can do. The Quartet is a group of really talented young musicians working with me, who are all former students of mine.

That’s so cool to see. Do you find it gratifying playing with your former students?

It is gratifying. I try to make sure whenever I play with them, that I recognize them on the bandstand so they know how I feel about them. You know, I remember years ago, Ellis Marsalis told me “never get on a bandstand with anyone you’re not willing to get in a fox hole with.” You have to trust the people you’re with. And it is very gratifying when your former students come to that level.

It also means you taught them well.

They taught me a lot of things along the way too.

You've got to entertain the whole audience: An interview with George Benson

Originally published on Torontoist, June 25, 2012

George Benson wears the title of “entertainer” with pride. After 10 Grammys, a lifetime in the business (he’s been performing since he was nine years old), and memorable hits such as “On Broadway,” “The Greatest Love of All,” and “This Masquerade,” you’d think he’d rest on his laurels a little. Instead, as he approaches his 70s, Benson is exploring and touring, always with his audiences in mind. We sat down to talk with him about his latest recording and his upcoming show at the Toronto Jazz Festival.

Torontoist: We’re excited to welcome you back to Toronto. You’ve played here a lot over the course of your career. Do you have any Toronto-centric memories you’d like to share with us?

George Benson: Well, I remember there was a street called Yonge Street and there was a jazz club down there. I played there a couple of times. That was my introduction to Toronto. Another time was when I substituted for Buddy Rich, the great drummer who was unable to fulfill an engagement here. I brought along a girl nobody had ever heard of to join me. Her name was Randy Crawford. She was just a kid then, 19 years old. She tore the place up. She was a great singer, you know. I’ve got some good memories of Toronto.

What can we expect from your show here on June 26th?

We bring our own little arsenal with us when we come. Of course we can’t play everything because I have many, many, many, many years’ worth of songs. We do a variety of things with our show and usually it works out well. I have no set program. Every show is its own show and I play according to the vibe that’s coming from the audience. I’ll call out tunes and the band will jump right on it. We turn each night into a special evening.

There’s been a lot of discussion floating around about “modern” jazz festivals and the challenges that they face with their booking practices. You strike me as a booker’s dream. I think you’re one of the rare artists who straddles both the mainstream audience because of your pop success and the audience that’s looking for straight-ahead jazz. Do you care about that stuff? Is that even on your radar?

In the old days, when they first started doing jazz festivals, maybe Newport way back in the ’50s, I remember Ray Charles was on that bill. He wasn’t a “jazz man” but he was the most popular thing on that show. So it started way back then. Think of it this way. Let’s say you’ve got two people, the man might be a jazz fan but his girlfriend might like country music. What do you do, leave her at home? You’ve got to entertain that whole audience. I remember, I was on the road with the Kool Jazz Festival that came along later in the ’60s and the ’70s. They would hire a pop artist like Marvin Gaye. Why are they doing that? I can do that! If you want to do some R&B, just tell me! Even my manager would say, “Aaaw, you’re just jealous,” and I’d say, “No I’m not jealous,” I just figured hey, if you’re going do that, let me have that role. I like that audience; I know that audience; I know how to make them happy. It took me a few years…and a few records to prove my point.

Can you tell us a little bit about your latest recording, Guitar Man?

Guitar Man is a very successful album from this point of view, not necessarily in terms of sales, but from day one we went straight to the top of the jazz chart. A week later we were at the top of the jazz contemporary chart. So the critics jumped on it right away. Radio started playing the first single right away. It’s got a good variety of things on it from acoustic guitar to solo guitar and classic jazz tunes that nobody expected me to do. So it’s got a good variety of things and I think it satisfies.

I was surprised to see “Tenderly” on there, considering you recorded it (on the album of the same name) in 1989 with McCoy Tyner and Ron Carter.

It’s a totally different performance.

It couldn’t be more different. How much fun is that? Going back to the well, revisiting something, a tune you have an infinity for, and turning it on its ear like that?

Well, one is dedicated to a jazzy approach. I was trying to show how much dexterity I had. It’s full of harmony and theory and fast licks and crazy stuff, you know? And that worked good for that era. We’re talking about 20 years ago now. It’s a different day now, and the acoustic guitar has really come into its own for me, so I thought I’d try my hand at it and see if people would accept that kind of thing from me. Sure enough, I got a nice audience. Now that tells me that there’s a different future ahead of me.