RCEditions

The first time I played for him was at the Kennedy Ctr. in Washington, DC for Charles Ives Centennial. W played a short piece call 'The General Slocum,' which Gunther had reconstructed, and the baritone saxophone represented a ship's whistle. Originally the school had planned to have the pianist play the sax part to save money, but when I heard that I marched into the President's office, asked to see the President (who was not available), and began writing a treatise on how important it was to have a saxophonist (whether me or someone else) play the sax part (and I've never stopped making that point during the last 40 years). Anyway, I timed my completion of the paper to Gunther's exit from the office, placed my letter on top of the pile; Gunther grabbed it-looked at it-said, 'Where will you be for the next hour or so?' I said, 'the record library (pre cd)'. Sure enough, he came down shortly, and said 'You're right, and you're playing.' That night at the Kennedy Center was also an important night, as the first time I was able to control my nerves. Because of the pressure I put on myself in previous years, and also trying to get the approval of my teacher, I had begun to 'gag,' wretch, lose my cookies, and the like. In a lighthearted way, a member of the orchestra had given me an American Airlines motion sickness bag as a 'gag' gift. But unfortunately I needed it! I was obsessing about being a tugboat whistle, playing my lowest note loudly, but with the proper tone for a tugboat! I will never forget when Diane Schutz (one of the sweetest most sensitive people I have ever known, and violinist in the orchestra) walked over, put her hand on my shoulder and said, 'I don't why you're worried. Everybody in the orchestra likes you. Everybody in the audience likes music. Everybody's your friend.' Well I believed her, and I've never stopped believing it. That is my life philosophy. It is a conscious decision, because it's too easy to consider the alternative, without a certain amount of vigilance. And by the way, the note and performance came out fine. Thank you Gunther for the opportunity to play, reading my letter, and Diane Schutz (who married my friend Chester Schmitz, tubist of the BSO (can you imagine the last names of the kids, were they to hyphenate), who doesn't remember the event. But to me it represents an indication, that she said nice and sensitive things to people all the time as a part of everyday life, every minute of every day.

Getting back to Gunther, I played bass clarinet, clarinet and all the saxophones for Gunther in his recreations of the music of Paul Whiteman and Duke Ellington. I learned about music I had NEVER listened to as a classical musician, while Gunther literally wrote the book on 'Early Jazz.' And after our last recording session of Whiteman (the band that first played Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue), which ended at 3AM (of a still available recording called 'Happy Feet'), after being congratulated as a group by Gunther, one trumpet player made the mistake of saying, 'Just send the check.' Thereupon Gunther gave us a short lecture on the joy of music, having a good attitude, and told us we would later remember these recording sessions as one of the great musical moments of our life. Now we are all older and wiser, and of course, Gunther was right.

A Salute to (My) Teachers

5. Composers and Other Inspirations (cont.)