Joe McPhee Quotes

I started playing trumpet at age 8 years. My dad was a trumpet player and fortunately I had a good teacher from the beginning. Although my father was not a jazz player he was a big fan of the music and Alfonso Cooper, leader of the Savoy Sultans, was my mother's uncle. So, there was that influence. My interest in jazz came through friends, as a listener more so than a player. I didn't attempt to do any improvising until i was about 22 years old. Sadly, in the school bands, improvisation was not only frowned upon, it was actively discouraged or forbidden. Later, I played in an army band and while the training was excellent, the same attitude prevailed. It was with fellow musicians in the army band that I began to seriously investigate the process of improvisation.
Joe McPhee