By Evan Tate
This interview was conducted on the 17th of May 2003 at the Jazzclub Unterfahrt in Munich, Germany. Greg was currently on tour with the 'New Sound Collective' (currently re-named "Structure") along with Terri Lynne Carrington, Steve Khan, and Jimmy Haslip. I spoke with Greg after the gig in the musician's room.
ET: You were born in St. Louis. How nfl throwback jerseys did you come to play saxophone?
GO: Well, you know (in) the junior high school band, 7th grade, 12 years old, there was a choice of playing trombone or clarinet. And of course I jumped to the clarinet because it looked more interesting. And one year later, this is 1972 actually, I got my hands on a saxophone and immediately fell in love with that because it was applicable to more contemporary performance situations. But I stuck with the clarinet as well because of the challenges. So I was doubling. And a year later I got a flute. So, by the time I was 13 I was playing saxophone, flute and clarinet. So, I took to it very rapidly because I enjoyed it so much. And after two years from the beginning, I was good enough to play with some the local bands. I was playing in Blues band, pop bands and soul bands, and R&B. Because you know in the 70's, they didn't have synthesizers so the cheap nfl jerseys bands all had to have a horn section. So, I learned to play in the soul bands, and to play and blend in a section. It was really good. It was important and critical to my development.
ET: Do you come out of a musical family?
GO: No, no musicians at all. It was just a stroke of fate, and I'm really happy that it happened that way. Because as the sole musician I could stand out and it was unique and music posed a whole set of challenges, and it gave me something to work on and to work towards.
ET: You mentioned that you played with local R&B bands and such. What brought you to jazz?
GO: Well, I guess while I was playing in those bands, it was a bit frustrating for me. Although we did take instrumental solos it was usually over one chord like a groove or some vamp. And even though I didn't know much about the higher properties of music, I learned that there was a lot more that could be done. There was a lot more potential. So, a friend of mine, he gave me a Charlie Parker record and I had never heard anybody play like that. I never heard saxophone played so intricately and with so much detail and complexity. So, I got my hands on every Charlie Parker record that I could. And then Cannonball Adderley and Sonny Stitt followed. You nfl jerseys know, saxophone technicians. Master players of my instrument. So that started it. Because I said, "Wow! I didn't know that this was possible." And then I studied on my own and I questioned a lot of the older players around St. Louis. I always asked a lot of questions. Not formal study, but badgering them. Actually, following them around to their various gigs and being a pest. When you're young you have to be shameless and full of will. You can't afford to be shy. And you can't be afraid of rejection and you can't be afraid to expose the fact that you don't know something. Wherever the information lies, you have to go for it. From players in your peer group to players who have been playing a little longer, or older players. So, I just jumped in headfirst.
ET: Who were some of the older players in the St. Louis area?
GO: People like saxophonists Willie Aikins, and Freddie Washington, and guitarist Richard Martin, these were local players in St. Louis. People may not know them on a national level, but they were important to the local scene and very inspirational to me, because I was able to see and hear at a young age, great players on that level, of that caliber, on a professional level. They were actually very generous with the information (they gave me). They told me exactly what I needed to study, and what I needed to approach and do. So, it was good. I was informed properly at an impressionable age.
ET: You studied at the famous Howard University and Berklee College of Music. Could you tell us what were the greatest "highlights" of what you got out of these institutions?
GO: Well, interestingly enough, while I was there (Howard Univ.) I was very resistant to what was being taught at first. The fundamentals that were being presented to us were primarily Western European theory, choral writing, counterpoint and things like that. I was resistant because I didn't see the value and purposefulness in that. I couldn't see how that information could be applicable to any kind of contemporary situation. By "contemporary" I really meant "moneymaking". I called it "powdered wig" music. [Outburst of laughter] [Terry Lynne Carrington: "Powdered wig" music?] Yeah, I said; "I can"t make any money playing this. I'm not going to get in any orchestras playing saxophone." So, then I became very impatient during my second year there and visited the Berklee College of Music. I had some friends studying there. And after sitting in on a couple of ensembles there, those instructors wrote letters of recommendation about me to the Director of football jersey Admissions. So, I got offered a scholarship to study there also. So, the next year I transferred from Washington, D.C. to Boston. There was a higher caliber of players, there were a greater number of players and it was also much more intense because it wasn't a university, but a music conservatory. So, it was great. Now, in retrospect to look back at the things I learned initially, the choral writing, figured bass, counterpoint and all that - now, that encompasses a great deal of how I approach music. Dealing with form and structures. I refer to all of the lessons that I've learned.
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