“Happy Families are all alike. Every unhappy family is unhappy in itsown way.”
Leo Tolstoy from Anna Karenina
When you look back on your relationships, what have you done that you
can be most proud of? What have you accomplished over the years that
have lasted? If you are under thirty, what do you want to build up and
achieve during your time on earth that will cause you satisfaction?
The reason these questions are so important is because so many of us
spend our lives in transient projects and relationships that don’t
ultimately produce the desires of our heart. Contrarily, pianist
Russell Ferrante has dedicated 30 years of his life creating music for
the long enduring band The Yellowjackets, which has been his artistic
focus and foundation for other creative projects. Like any
relationship, such as marriage (to which Ferrante has been just as
assiduously dedicated), Ferrante has worked through the “for better and
for worse” with the long enduring team of Jimmy Haslip, Bob Mintzer and
returning drummer Will Kennedy. The latest release, Timeline (Mack
Avenue Jazz) is a testament to the rewards of tenacity, teamwork and
trust in a relationship.
Russell, a local in the LA Valley, is pleased with the latest product,
as well as having original drummer Will Kennedy return after a long
hiatus. There was no drama with his return, however, as Ferrante
explains, “It just felt like it was time to make a change. Bob Mintzer
moved to LA about 2 ½ years ago, and we started playing some gigs
locally with Will, and it just seemed like the particular four of us
were really gelling, and Marcus (Bailey) had some other things that he
wanted to do, so it just worked out that Will was willing and available
to jump back into the drums here. It’s been about a year and a few
months. The very last gigs we played with Mike (Stern) he was there.
About a year ago at the Lincoln Center, Will did those gigs.”
One of the benefits of having the stability of a long lasting band is
that it can accommodate not only personnel changes, but occasional
guests. Last years Lifecycle included the eyebrow raising guitar of
Mike Stern, which resulted in one of their best albums yet. Ferrante
recalls the genesis of the idea, “It was hilarious. Mike is completely
out of his mind, but an amazing musician, and incredible guy. It came
about mostly at that time because we were on the same label (Telarc)
and a little bit before making the recording , Mike was the guest
artist at the Montreal Jazz Festival and he was playing with several
different groups. He invited us to play, just out of the blue. We
played this concert, and it was really fun. It was a nice blend of
talents. Several months later, we were making plans to make a
recording, and from that experience we wondered, “Working with Mike
went really well; why don’t we make a record with him and do some
touring?” That’s how it all came about.”
Stern’s enthusiastic ADD-like was a fun kick in the pants for the band,
and while someone with such a different temperament could have created
a difficult working environment, everyone’s dedication to the music
made the album, as well as the tour, a smashing success. Ferrante
recalls, “It was cool working with Mike. We had to make some
adjustments, and we tugged on his coat a little bit; he had to make a
few as well. We all wanted the music to happen. That was the most
important thing, so everyone made whatever accommodations necessary,
and they weren’t that difficult to make. We think of ourselves as a
team, and Mike was right there on the team. He didn’t ask for any
special treatments or preference. He was right there with the music as
the number one priority. That’s what made it work. “
Even with professionals such as Stern joining the foray, there’s no
substitute for hard work and preparation, as Ferrante states, “We have
to rehearse. With the record we did with Mike, we sent him out music
beforehand. He worked on it, and we went out a few days early to New
York and we rehearsed for three days. It was still challenging; Bob
Mintzer had written some really difficult music. And then, for this
last recording timeline, we did a similar thing. We send music, our
little demos and charts, but then we still need to rehearse, which we
did at my house, for about three days. Before you record, you don’t
want to be straining over the notes and the songs. You just want to be
working on the performance and make sure you’re getting a really good
sound. Give the recording engineer a time to get all of that down.”
The latest record not only has the return of Kennedy, but it also has
founding member Robben Ford coming back into the fold for a cameo
appearance. After thirty years together in the music business,
however, the task of putting together a viable album is different than
when the band was fledging. Ferrante explains, “This particular
recording, it just so happened that Bob and I took the lead on the
writing. Will contributed a really beautiful song (“Rosemary”)and Jimmy
and I had co-written something that had been on the backburner for
awhile, which we thought would be a real cool song (“Magnolia”)for
Robben Ford, and that came about. We invited him to be a guest on that
tune.”
“The big difference between the Yellowjackets now and the Yellowjackets
years ago is that everyone has gotten really busy now. We all have a
lot of different commitments, so we can’t concentrate all of our
efforts on writing and learning the music, because everyone is playing
in different situations and teaching. Both Bob and I both teach at USC,
and everyone has a lot of commitments. We have to really make it count
in the preparation timeline. Bob and I both had a little period of time
where we could devote to writing, and we just jumped in there and tried
to come up with as much good music as we could. All the guys seemed to
like it; everyone is very giving and no one’s like, “You have more
songs than I do.” There’s none of that.”
Playing as a quartet also opens up other musical possibilities, as
Ferrante has joined with Mintzer for a more paired down project. “We’re
playing at Vitello’s, a duo gig,” he states,” and we have a duo tour in
Europe coming up later this year. We’ve done it a few times; it’s
really fun. Really different, so everyone’s doing various other kinds
of work. It keeps you on your toes. It makes you have to learn new
music, and playing a bit differently. You can’t get too comfortable
when you get thrown into these other situations.”
At this stage in their respective careers, each member of the
Yellowjackets has his own personal projects. Ferrante, for instance
also performs with singers like Marilyn Scott. As with most functional
families, the loyalty of the team still remains. “It’s still the number
one priority for everyone, “Ferrante emphasizes. “I structure all of my
other things around The Yellowjackets. We’re still travelling around a
lot. We tour a fair amount of the year; about 4-5 months we’re together
on tour, so for me it’s still the center of my musical activity, and
for the other guys as well.”
As with most long lasting relationships, there have been difficult
times through the years; challenges that brought the band to the point
almost of no return. “The most difficult time that we experienced was
when William (Kennedy) left in 1999, and it happened to coincide with
us losing our recording contract, leaving our manager, leaving our
booking agent; all of the main pieces of the puzzle were dismantled at
that point. I don’t know if we were going to break up, but it was a
very challenging time, and it certainly made you question yourself. It
was like, “No one wants us, so what do we do here?” But, that actually
lead us to make the recording Mint Jam which we did on our own. That
was a real positive experience as we felt, “Hey, we can do this on our
own; we don’t have to wait around for everyone else to do something for
us. We can take the initiative, and that was a real successful project.
You have it within yourself to make things happen, and you don’t have
to wait for the various business entities to do it for you. “
Besides his work with the Yellowjackets, Ferrante puts something back
into the music industry by teaching music at USC. Some of the students
know about Ferrante’s fame, but to others, he’s simply Clarke Kent with
the keyboards. “To some of them, I’m just a guy from a different era.
Some have no interest, or I don’t know if they know anything about me.
I think that some of them do, and some of them express interest in the
music. We talk about it. I do all private instruction at USC. Some
people come to me and have an interest in composition. But then, I have
beginning students, too. I had one student this year who had never
played an instrument, had never played a note, he didn’t even know
where middle C was on the piano! It was a real challenge. I have
students at every level.”
Ferrante is encouraged by the upcoming talent,”You have it all across
the spectrum. There are some SUPER talented musicians that I’ve been
working with over the last few years. Guys right out of high school
that could start playing professionally. They’ve got it, and when you
work with them, they are really quick to pick up on the ideas to use.
Then, there are others that seem either not interested, but they
haven’t listened and aren’t familiar with the vocabulary. It’s very
painstaking; you just have to take them by the hand and lay it out for
them so clearly, and they won’t do much more than what you tell them to
do. The people that are going to make the most progress are those that
take the information and really do something with it. Go beyond just
the rote exercises, and be able to teach yourself too. That’s how I
really learned. I took a few lessons, but I think that most of what I
learned I pieced together from all of these various sources, and no one
really gave me a clear path to learning how to play. I kind of figured
it out for myself. “
Even after playing in the music business for over 30 years, certain
infallible truths are still relevant for young musicians, “Playing is
crucial. Even if it’s just with one other person. Some of the students,
maybe they’re not in a circle of musicians, but they may know someone
that’s starting to learn. I always use the language analogy: if you
don’t play with anyone it’s kind of like trying to learn Italian out of
a book and never getting to speak with anyone. If you only read it and
have it intellectually, but never viscerally and don’t get a chance to
use it in the real world, you’re going to have a tough time. I also
encourage students to play with people that know a lot more about music
than they do. That was my experience when I started. I was in this one
big band, and all of the horn players could play more piano than I
could! It was really cool; I learned a lot, and everyone was very
generous with sharing their ideas and information. That’s how I learned
to play.”
Another timelessly tried and true vehicle for musicians is by learning
music in church. Ferrante himself grew up playing at his father’s
church, which was good for his musical experience as well as his soul.
“The main gigs for the young musicians are church gigs. So many of the
players, that’s where they are getting their playing experience, and a
lot of them will bring in the tunes they are working on. A lot of the
church music nowadays is drawing on pop, R&B and jazz, and
sophisticated harmony. It’s very cool, and an excellent setting to
learn how to play. It’s also cool that, generally speaking, in a church
setting, people will be much more welcoming and nurturing, and not too
cold to the musicians.”
“I occasionally play at the church that I go to. I now go to an
Episcopal Church. I grew up Assembly of God, and my family is still
involved with that. My sister is the music director at a church in the
Bay Area. At the church we go to now, most of the music is classical
and choral oriented. They do have what they call The Jazz Vespers
service a few times a year. It’s a little jazz concert during a
religious service. It’s cool; I like it.”
The relationship between his faith and his music frequently intertwine,
as Ferrante sometimes experiences the same spiritual communication with
God at church or in the jazz club. He states, “I feel this way: music
is a way to access something beyond yourself. And even for those
people that don’t believe in a God, most people in order to be
creative, have to tap into something greater than yourself like a
universal consciousness. I think music is one of the vehicles that can
get you there. Kind of make yourself disappear and be absorbed into
this other state of consciousness. That’s what the ultimate payoff is
when you’re playing and you’re able to there. It can’t be conjured up
on demand. It’s very elusive, but when it happens, it’s like nothing
else. All of the combination of circumstances make it happen, and other
times it’s not there. But you keep striving for that. In music, you’re
always trying to make that connection between the music that you hear
and just being able to express it. Not getting too much in the way;
just be a conduit for the music.”
Ferrante’s loyalty isn’t just to music. As many of us, he has to
balance his career with a wife and family. The same principal that
keeps his band together has created a healthy home, as he points out,
“The challenge is the amount of time that it takes to practice and
travel and so forth. And, the amount of energy that music absorbs. Even
when you’re not playing and performing it goes around in your brain
all the time, or you’re working on a song or something. I’ve been
married 30 years; part of it is luck in finding someone who is really
understanding , someone who has their own independence and activities.
That’s critical. The other thing is for me to be willing, once I get
back home, to really jump back into the home routine and not expect
any special treatment or time to “recover.” I mean, I’ve been out on
the road, and now it’s time to do my part at home. So far, I’m still
with my wife. My daughter’s now grown, she’s 28, but we made it through
all of it. We took some great trips looking at colleges. We make sure
we visit her in Boston.”
Whether it’s music, family or faith, the same principals of teamwork,
trust and dedication have given Russell Ferrante a satisfying career
with the inspiring music of the Yellowjackets. Check out the new disc,
and see them together for a classic example of selfless teamwork. Make
going to the gig a business workshop for your staff!