John has a larger than life physical presence but a calm and quiet disposition. He was comfortable with long periods of silence, very thoughtful, articulate, friendly and a staunch realist. Rejecting my hopes of becoming a great player in 6 months, but within the same breath encouraging my efforts.
Our two and a half hour meeting was a combined interview and lesson. A lot of info to say the least! For the sake of digestibility, I’ve separated it into two parts. Part one (below) is the interview. Part two (coming later this week) will cover the music lesson.
PART ONE - The Interview:
Levi Downey: Well, first I’d like to get your take on my whole 6-month plan.
John Gross: I read your plan. Everybody has a plan. And everybody has a plan B. So just make sure you have a plan B. In case your plan A doesn’t work out. The truth is, there has never been a worse time to try to make a living as a musician.
LD: [nervous laugh…] that’s not the best thing to hear.
JG: I have been playing since 1961 on a professional level and there has never been a worse time. Period. It will probably get worse than it is now. Somebody sent me a link recently. It said that as far as government funding for the arts goes, the US spends 1/40th the amount of money that Germany spends. And that’s just government money.
LD: Wow, so is it true that in other countries you get a stipend for being an artist?
JG: I have a friend who works over in Freiburg [Germany, if you couldn’t tell]. Really good trumpet player. He got a job as musical director of a private Jazz band. He earned a good salary from them and now gets a pension. And in France if you get something like 19 paid jobs that go through the union or the government, then you get a stipend for life.
LD: The lack of support for the arts here seems to put a lot of pressure on the artists.
JG: If you want to relocate then you might get more support. But, that won’t do anything to lessen the competition. The players over there are just as good as they are here and there aren’t a surplus of jobs either.
If you’re going to devote your life to playing music then I’d suggest you have another way of making a living wage. Because remember, there are 168 hours in the week. If you work 40 hours - factor in travel time and make it 50. That still leaves you 2/3 of the week left to do whatever you need to do.
LD: I see. So what is it that brought you to Portland?
JG: Well I was working in LA as a musician and I had never had health care. I found out that if you were poor (at that time) you could get free health care in Oregon. So that’s one of the primary reasons I moved. That and the musicians were very kind and welcoming. I made several trips up scouting.
But, now, because of Obamacare, I could’ve moved to any state and gotten decent health care. But, my choices were really limited then. When you get to your 40’s you know you’ll start to have some health problems. I’ve been really lucky. But if something were to have happened I wouldn’t be able to afford anything. I would have been getting less than good care in LA.
Now that I have medicare, we can move anywhere though.... But, what other questions do you have?
LD: What’s your take on “work life balance” [then]? Being married, in this field, doesn’t seem like an easy thing to do - with the amount of time, energy and sometimes very little pay.
JG: Well that’s between you and your partner. If she’s willing to support you for many many years, and not know whether anything will really ever happen for you in music - good luck with that. Everyone I know in the music business does something else. With the exception of the very tippy top who only have to play. But, it’s getting harder for them too.
Lots of guys have gotten their masters and sometimes their PhDs so they are able to teach at a university. That’s a comfortable living. But most of them - everybody I know - were well established as a player first. You know Darrell Grant at PSU has been there for years. But, before he got the job he played with the famous people. George Colligan played with famous people first. They are both great musicians but before they ever got a teaching job they had to establish themselves as bona fide high level players.
So, that’s how a lot of Jazz musicians survive. Teaching at a University or music school or private instruction. Most of those jobs are out east. But, there are some over here. Getting the jobs is difficult because there’s a lot of competition for them though. There’s always someone waiting in the wings.
LD: So after the doom and gloom. What is it that...
JG: Well it’s just reality. There is a whole s-load of 20 somethings in this town that are going for it anyway. And when I was growing up there was a whole bunch of people my age going for it. Even at that time it didn’t look that good. It’s worse now, but there is something about the music that drives you to do it.
LD: What was it that drove you to music?
JG: I just liked playing it. And it was hard. I heard people do it and wonder how they did it. I thought, wow, like that.
LD: Is there an intent or a greater purpose that drives the creation process for you?
JG: Well now we’re getting into philosophy and everybody has their own. I remember seeing a guy who was paralyzed - paraplegic. He painted paintings with his mouth. And somebody asked him why he does it. And he said, “well it’s something to do until I die.” Hah! I mean, you have to ask yourself; how do I want to spend my life?
The majority of people I know that have achieved some level of success - including myself - are still very glad that they kept playing.
It’s really up to you.
You don’t need to practice 8 hours every day. You can get everything you need to get done in 2 to 3 hours of SMART practice per day with a day off to let your body process what you’ve done. But, we’ll get into all that. What other questions do you have?
LD: Who are some of the non-musicians that have influenced your playing the most?
JG: Way too many to name. There are so many wonderful thinkers and people that have had some kind of influence. You know, being a saxophone player - you’re just a saxophone player. You’re not discovering a cure for a disease. You’re not trying to save starving children or working for world peace. You’re just a saxophone player - I’m just a saxophone player.
You know, we get all wrapped up in our little world and we think that it’s more important that it is. I mean art is important. It’s great to be part of the cultural life of the planet. If we can be involved in art it’s wonderful. But on an individual basis we aren’t. The Jazz world will go on without Dick Berk [died several days earlier] or me or anyone else.
There are a handful of people that really changed things but had they not existed, somebody else would have come along and done the same thing. If it wasn’t Louis Armstrong, it would have been someone else that would have taken that space. It’s like a force. A flow of history.
Remember where you are. And where you fit in. And how important you are and how unimportant you are. You have to remember how lucky you are to have won the sperm lottery and live here.
Most people would trade places with us in a heartbeat. You have to understand that it wasn’t your hard work that got you here. It was luck, fate, Karma - call it what you will. I was born in this country. I have it better than most people on this planet. I have to remember that. I think a lot of people forget how lucky they are.
 |
| John Gross' 2005 trio album: Strange Feeling |
LD: So at your level, do you ever turn down gigs?
JG: No, I’ll try anything once. I rarely say no. Unless it’s something I know I won’t do well. See most Jazz musicians would rather be working than not working. I like to develop new bands with some of the older people I’ve played with. And I like to try new groups with new people. I try it at least once. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, then at least I tried. But, it’s weird. I think if you reach a certain point then you start to get more work. If you’re really old and can still play.
LD: Like an icon that’s [only] here for a limited time?
JG: Right, but I don’t have any complaints. I’ve been able to work a lot. And I’m grateful for every gig. But, it’s really different for everybody.
Well, are the questions done?
LD: Yes! All done. Thank you so much for all your great information and perspective.
JG: You’re welcome. Becoming a great player in six months might be unrealistic. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t do it in a matter of years. Incredible progress can be made in a short period of time.
Your desire to want to be part of the music scene is great. You know - good luck. It’s not going to be easy. But, who’s to say it’s not going to be successful. Not me. I would never say that and I’ll help you anyway that I can.
LD: Thanks John. Thanks so much for your time and all your advice.
No comments:
Post a Comment