"He's the one who took me from playing notes to playing music. We always believe that music should make the people listening feel something. If they don't feel anything, you have not accomplished your job.
"That overseas experience in Algiers made me think maybe I could do this for a living. So we started recording. I made my first recording with my trio at the Athletic Club. There's nothing like the energy you feel when you are playing for a live audience.
"You can lose that in the studio because you start thinking about trying to refine it and make everything perfect, and you can refine away the music. In a live performance, you have that interaction and inspiration from the audience.
"Then I started with my own label, Rainbow Records. That was picked up by Intima, which was Capitol Records, my first national recording. I went from there to Ichiban Records out of Atlanta. Now I'm back to my own label, colortones.com.
"In the '80s, I spent a lot of time on the road. We played all the jazz clubs, the Blue Note in New York, Blues Alley in D.C. We played in Florida and out west, in Brazil and Switzerland. But I always came back here, because this was home.
"When I started playing with all musicians from Charleston, that was a turning point. It's kind of a balance. I like the quality of life here. My friends are here. We get a lot of support here, which means a lot.
"I've been playing here at the Boulevard Tavern on Tuesday nights for probably 17 or 18 years. This is where we get it together, where all the new music happens, where we get to play for our friends and fans.
"I learned in Charleston. In order to learn, you have to be able to play. In order to play, people have to come hear you. You won't be playing long if nobody shows up. People in this area have come out and listened, and that has enabled me to grow.
"In today's world, with the Internet and the way music is structured now, you can be anywhere. New York used to be the big center, now not so much. You go there when you have to.
"I do a lot of writing. That's an essential part of what we do. I'm fortunate to be playing with such talented musicians who all bring something new to the table, something of their own.
"I try to write music that gives everybody an opportunity to express their musical tastes. All of them could have their own bands. I'm fortunate that they choose to play with me.
"Driving is when I get a lot of ideas. If I write at the piano, I tend to fall into the same patterns I always do. Away from the piano, I can just focus on the music and get the basic idea.
"I always have something in the car that records, my phone or something. Before we had all that, I used to call home and put it on my answering machine.
"I try to write as little as possible to make it as open as possible. Then, when I give it to the guys in the band, they always make it something much more than what I had envisioned.
"I was on the original pilot show for Mountain Stage. Andy Ridenour got the idea for Mountain Stage from recording my trio down at Cagney's Pier at the Elk River Holiday Inn.
"Andy said we should do live music from there. Hugh McPherson came down, and we did a live radio broadcast that morphed into Mountain Stage. I was a guest in the beginning. Then in '91, they needed a piano player. I said I would do that for a while, and I'm still there.
"I used to teach 70 to 80 students a week. I still have a few. Most take a few lessons and work with that, then call when they're ready to come back.
"I did some teaching as an artist in residence in Kanawha County schools. That's something I may get back to with the new West Side school. I'd like to go in and help kids with piano.
"We still do our holiday concert every Christmas. We have a singer coming in this year, Tom Lellis. I worked with him years ago when I played at the Top of the Inn.
"I feel so blessed to be able to do something I enjoy every day and to play with talented musicians. When I'm playing, that's when I'm at home. That's when I feel like I'm really being me. That's probably the only time the real me comes out.
"I'm an easy guy. I take things as they come. I try to keep a positive attitude about everything I do. I like to be around positive people and younger people with energy. That keeps driving me on.
"I haven't started my bucket list yet. In my thinking, I'm always at the beginning. I always feel like I'm just starting out. I'm not thinking about the end."
Reach Sandy Wells at san...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5173.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- What can you say about Bob Thompson?
In jazz circles, he's the man, the king, Charleston's revered jazz pianist. He's a composer, teacher and nationally recognized recording artist, the consummate musician.
Reared in New York, he landed here in 1960 as a scholarship student at West Virginia State, where he formed his first band, the Modern Jazz Interpreters.
He honed his contemporary style in Charleston nightclubs. One gig spawned a radio show that evolved into Mountain Stage. He signed on as a Mountain Stage regular in 1991.
On Tuesday nights, the jazz king holds court at the Boulevard Tavern. There, friends and fans nourish and inspire him. He could play anywhere in the world, and has. He stays here because of them, that connection with his people.
Wherever he plays, the music flows from him like honey, sweet and smooth, as mellow as the genial gent producing it.
He will play Friday at Haddad Riverfront Park, a Live on the Levee concert for FestivALL.
He's 68.
"I grew up in Jamaica, N.Y., in Queens. My dad retired from the Navy as a lieutenant junior grade. He was into photography.
"My mother played church piano and sang in the choirs. She had a lot of recordings, everyone from Hank Williams to Duke Ellington, so there was always music playing around the house.
"When I was in sixth grade, I went to my junior high, and they had a little assembly, and the doors swung open, and this little drum and bugle corps marched in, and I thought, 'Man, I want to be a part of that.' So I got a bugle and learned to play.
"I had a piano teacher who came from Manhattan out to my house. He had several students in the neighborhood. He told my mother he thought I had something and offered to teach me that summer for free. I wasn't interested because that was going to take up my summer. Later, I went back to New York and tried to find him to tell him I was playing piano.
"I played horns in school bands. And we had a little doo-wop group, the Chanters. We used to sing on street corners. We did six or seven recordings for King Records. And we did shows.
"There was a big alumni association in New York from West Virginia State. Every year, they gave scholarships to two students to come to West Virginia State. I got that. I didn't know where West Virginia was at the time, but I thought it would be fun to get out of the city and go live on campus away from home.
"I came here in 1960. I saw that integration-in-reverse happen during the years I was at State. The population was about 10 percent white, mostly off-campus commuters. So that was an interesting time to be there.
"I started as a trumpet player majoring in instrumental music. I thought I was going to be a high school band director.
"They had a five-piece jazz band on campus -- trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass and drums. The trumpet player just passed away this weekend, Mitchell Lee. He was a great trumpet player and a great mentor. I started playing piano just so I could play in the trio with him. I thought when he graduated I could move into the trumpet spot. That never happened.
"When he graduated, I was left with a trio, the Modern Jazz Interpreters, my first band. We had piano, bass and drums. Once I started playing piano, I found that was my home, the instrument I really loved. I could play chords, harmony, and I could play by myself. With the trumpet, I always had to be involved in a band.
"The first place we played was right down the street at the Charleston Athletic Club. We also played on the West Side at the Crazy Horse, and on the East End at the Palm Gardens, all these after hours places.
"That was before the private club law. You went to the Crazy Horse, and there was a big fence around it, and you would push a buzzer and someone would look out a window and let you in.
"It was quite a music scene in Charleston then, lots of great players. You would play your regular job downtown then migrate over to the Crazy Horse or Palm Gardens. Jam sessions would go on until early morning.
"That was really night school. Musicians would let you sit in. When they figured you could handle it, they would sit down and let you play. Frank Thompson, Rabbit Jones, Francis Taylor, all these people were really helpful to young musicians trying to learn.
"Bunky Green taught me a lot about music. He's a great alto saxophone player. We went on a State Department tour to Algiers. One of the things he always said was, 'You have a responsibility if you are playing this music. You should never just jive around.' He said to play as though it is the last time, like you might not get another opportunity.
"He's the one who took me from playing notes to playing music. We always believe that music should make the people listening feel something. If they don't feel anything, you have not accomplished your job.
"That overseas experience in Algiers made me think maybe I could do this for a living. So we started recording. I made my first recording with my trio at the Athletic Club. There's nothing like the energy you feel when you are playing for a live audience.
"You can lose that in the studio because you start thinking about trying to refine it and make everything perfect, and you can refine away the music. In a live performance, you have that interaction and inspiration from the audience.
"Then I started with my own label, Rainbow Records. That was picked up by Intima, which was Capitol Records, my first national recording. I went from there to Ichiban Records out of Atlanta. Now I'm back to my own label, colortones.com.
"In the '80s, I spent a lot of time on the road. We played all the jazz clubs, the Blue Note in New York, Blues Alley in D.C. We played in Florida and out west, in Brazil and Switzerland. But I always came back here, because this was home.
"When I started playing with all musicians from Charleston, that was a turning point. It's kind of a balance. I like the quality of life here. My friends are here. We get a lot of support here, which means a lot.
"I've been playing here at the Boulevard Tavern on Tuesday nights for probably 17 or 18 years. This is where we get it together, where all the new music happens, where we get to play for our friends and fans.
"I learned in Charleston. In order to learn, you have to be able to play. In order to play, people have to come hear you. You won't be playing long if nobody shows up. People in this area have come out and listened, and that has enabled me to grow.
"In today's world, with the Internet and the way music is structured now, you can be anywhere. New York used to be the big center, now not so much. You go there when you have to.
"I do a lot of writing. That's an essential part of what we do. I'm fortunate to be playing with such talented musicians who all bring something new to the table, something of their own.
"I try to write music that gives everybody an opportunity to express their musical tastes. All of them could have their own bands. I'm fortunate that they choose to play with me.
"Driving is when I get a lot of ideas. If I write at the piano, I tend to fall into the same patterns I always do. Away from the piano, I can just focus on the music and get the basic idea.
"I always have something in the car that records, my phone or something. Before we had all that, I used to call home and put it on my answering machine.
"I try to write as little as possible to make it as open as possible. Then, when I give it to the guys in the band, they always make it something much more than what I had envisioned.
"I was on the original pilot show for Mountain Stage. Andy Ridenour got the idea for Mountain Stage from recording my trio down at Cagney's Pier at the Elk River Holiday Inn.
"Andy said we should do live music from there. Hugh McPherson came down, and we did a live radio broadcast that morphed into Mountain Stage. I was a guest in the beginning. Then in '91, they needed a piano player. I said I would do that for a while, and I'm still there.
"I used to teach 70 to 80 students a week. I still have a few. Most take a few lessons and work with that, then call when they're ready to come back.
"I did some teaching as an artist in residence in Kanawha County schools. That's something I may get back to with the new West Side school. I'd like to go in and help kids with piano.
"We still do our holiday concert every Christmas. We have a singer coming in this year, Tom Lellis. I worked with him years ago when I played at the Top of the Inn.
"I feel so blessed to be able to do something I enjoy every day and to play with talented musicians. When I'm playing, that's when I'm at home. That's when I feel like I'm really being me. That's probably the only time the real me comes out.
"I'm an easy guy. I take things as they come. I try to keep a positive attitude about everything I do. I like to be around positive people and younger people with energy. That keeps driving me on.
"I haven't started my bucket list yet. In my thinking, I'm always at the beginning. I always feel like I'm just starting out. I'm not thinking about the end."
Reach Sandy Wells at san...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5173.
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