Derek Pinkham spent a little time in Milwaukee, where he got to know a lot of jazz musicians. He interviewed many of them for his new book.
"Milwaukee Jazz Profiles: Lives & Lessons of Musicians from the Cream City," published in paperback by Marquette University Press, goes right to the source to learn more about the history of jazz in Milwaukee and the state of the scene as it stood in recent years.
While he was here, he studied with local legend Berkeley Fudge and worked at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
We caught up with Pinkham via e-mail from Lexington, Va., where he works at the Center for Leadership and Ethics at Virginia Military Institute and where he plays, repairs and builds saxophones.
OnMilwaukee.com: Can you tell me a bit about your Milwaukee connection?
Derek Pinkham: My wife and I moved to Milwaukee as part of her internship -- kind of like a residency for medical students -- for her Psychology doctorate in 2000. It was not a random selection, but it was done as a computer match. We were really excited for our move from central New Jersey. The internship was only a year long, but we stayed two extra years because we loved it.
Eventually we needed to get back to family on the East Coast ... and to the post-doc job. At the beginning, it was a hard transition for me; hard to find a job as a chemist, my heart wasn't really in the work anymore. As the first chapter of the book suggests, I got hooked up with the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music and was introduced to guitarist Paul Silbergleit. He is responsible for much of my interest in Milwaukee jazz people.
Eventually I found work at the Conservatory. I spent so much time there practicing anyway; I think they felt bad for me. I ended up as the Branch Coordinator out in the Fox Point satellite before we left for Boston.
OMC: What was your reaction to the jazz scene here when you arrived? Did it feel vibrant or wanting? And in comparison to other places?
DP: It is hard to remember; I guess the scene is "beneath the surface". That is, once you know a few people and places, you start to realize that there is a lot going on. Early on, once I started taking music lessons at the WCM, I was introduced to many of the great players in town. You go to their gigs, and you learn who else plays and where.
I was curious to know about the history of the scene and that is one of the reasons for the book. I also lived on Prospect Avenue, so I wasn't too far from The Estate, and they had really great music every night. When I moved to Milwaukee, I had not lived in another city, big or small, with any jazz scene to speak of, so I cannot compare. I lived close to Newark and New York City and was able to visit and sample jazz, but never consistently like in Milwaukee.
OMC: Do you think there is an appreciation of the local jazz scene among non-musicians?
DP: Yes, to a certain point. It is jazz after all, not pop or R&B or hip-hop. There is support for the musicians who consistently play the music well.
DP: I haven't lived in Milwaukee since 2003, but I would think that parallel scenes are in the very least and in part still there. It is funny because the music, at this point in its development, transcends race or ethnicity, and all musicians can learn from different genres and different styles.
I believe that you will find the best musicians are the ones who work in all of these scenes.
OMC: How did you decide who to interview and who to include? Did you include everyone you interviewed?
DP: I interviewed the musicians I knew or who I was able to come in contact with. I didn't want to be intrusive or make anybody uncomfortable, including myself, ha ha. I did include all that I was able interview. I was lucky that they were all very good interviews; really, each musician was very thoughtful and intelligent. I didn't have to scrap too much. It was a pleasure to sit down with them. They taught me a lot.
OMC: At the risk of getting you in trouble with a couple dozen musicians, do you have a favorite among the interviews?
DP: It is so hard to pick favorites because they all were so thoughtful and forthcoming. If I had to choose, the very first interview that I did, the one that set the tone for the rest and set me at ease was Jim Paolo -- what a great guy and sensitive musician.
The others that stand out for me are Luis Diaz, because he has such a positive outlook, and Mike Standall, because he was so easy going and sincere. These interviews were fun. Some interviews I had to go back and listen again to know that they were good. Luis and Mike I knew right away.
OMC: Were there some folks you wanted to include but weren't able to?
DP: Oh yeah, there were lots, but I knew I couldn't do it all. It would just be too much for one person to handle. I hope that my book is at least a start and that others will delve more widely and deeply.
Greg Tardy comes to mind, Eddie Allan and Gerald Cannon. Of course there are those historical players like Tony King, Hattush Alexander and Jabbo Smith. One person, the only person, who didn't want to do an interview was Martha Artis. I regret not getting a chance to talk to her -- what a treasure she is and what a whole lot she could teach us! Then there are all of the musicians who have come since I left in 2003 who could be included.
OMC: If there's one now-departed Milwaukee jazz musician -- from any era -- that you could have interviewed for the book, who would it have been and what would be your most burning question for them?
DP: The one person for me, because I play saxophone, is "the tenor angel" Hattush Alexander. By all accounts, he was a beautiful person, and could blow the horn with anyone anywhere. Tony King comes in a really close second. He was the architect of the WCM jazz program that taught so many of the great musicians I had the pleasure to talk to. Some of them were second and third generation from Tony.
The most burning question is how I started all of the interviews for the book: "How did you get your start playing music?" The interview I suspect would flow without much direction from there.
OMC: What's the state of jazz scene in Milwaukee right now?
DP: I don't know really; it has been seven years since I left. I suspect it hasn't changed too much except for the economy. There are personnel changes, of course, but there is a good tradition of handing down the music, at least among the musicians that I had the pleasure to talk to, so the scene is always going to be small, but of professional caliber.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
