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 Biography
Full
Bio -
As far back as I can remember I was always banging or strumming
on something in a musical fashion (at least I thought it was musical!). My
crude attempts became a little less annoying when I discovered
the bass guitar. I had a few lessons early on but never had the
discipline to sit still behind a music stand… fortunately
I was gifted with a strong pair of ears so I picked things up quickly
and spent hours every day playing along with records in my room. My
first real gigs were playing bass in piano bars with my mother,
Evelyne, who is a fine singer and pianist and has a true gift for
interpreting a song. Like most young musicians I started
out wanting to play all the notes all the time. However, playing
those early gigs with my mom gave me an appreciation for what it
means to be an “accompanist” and I learned how to “play
the song”, not just how to play the bass. This remains
a guiding principle for me to this day.
SEX, DRUGS & ROCK N ROLL
In my late teens
and early twenties we lived in Reno NV - I sowed some wild oats
playing with Rock, Punk and Heavy Metal bands in that area. I was
playing hard with a pick on a Rickenbacker 4001 (damn, I wish I’d
never sold that bass!). I loved the reckless energy of Punk, the
cocksure force of Hard Rock - I still enjoy playing in that fashion
whenever I get the chance – yet I
always felt like a bit of an odd duck in those circles. After
the gigs I’d be off somewhere listening to something completely
different: Stravinsky, Willie Nelson, Duke Ellington, The Beatles,
Lou Harrison, Nina Simone, Elton John, James Taylor… composers
and songwriters with a penchant for melody were the people who
really rocked my world. I was especially drawn to the work
of the arrangers & producers behind the scenes, such as Paul
Buckmaster with Elton and George Martin with the Beatles. It was
a fun time in my life, but I reached a point in my mid twenties
when the lifestyle became dangerously self destructive for me. It
was Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll, literally in that order - the music
was starting to take more of a backseat to the lifestyle.
BACK TO SCHOOL
Around that time I got a call from
a friend who was living in LA. He needed a roommate and I jumped at the chance for a
change of scenery. I didn’t have a lot of money and
my VW Bug blew up on the drive from Reno, so I did a lot of walking
and riding the bus in LA. During the days I worked at a
factory in the City of Industry; it was a repetitive job that required
no mental engagement on my part and on retrospect it was probably
one of the best practice routines I’ve ever gotten into:
I’d put in my earplugs, get into the physical groove of the
job and practice the bass in my head, visualizing the fingerboard,
running scales and patterns in my imagination. At night I’d
come home, eat and shower and play “real” bass for
several hours before going to bed.
I wanted to go to MIT (Musicians Institute of Technology) but
couldn’t afford the enrollment so I made due taking private
lessons with Paul Farnen who was a teacher there. Since I
wasn’t gigging I was essentially playing bass in a vacuum. Paul,
more than anything else, helped to keep me grounded by stressing
the fundamentals of bass playing and reminding me not to take the
social aspect of music for granted.
I lived in LA for about a year. It was a pivotal place and
time in my life but I was gradually becoming disenchanted with
the quality of life there. I came to Santa Cruz to visit
a friend over a Labor Day weekend and immediately fell in love
with the area - the ocean breeze, the Redwood forests, the Bohemian
spirit on the streets – it felt like home to me. While visiting
I chanced to pick up a copy of the Class Catalogue of local Cabrillo
College and saw that one of my favorite composers, Lou Harrison,
was teaching Gamelan classes there. I had no idea what Gamelan
was but resolved that, if Lou was teaching it, I was going to learn! I
went back to LA, packed my bags and moved to Santa Cruz.
I attended Cabrillo College for 3 years where I studied music
theory, music notation, composition and Gamelan (traditional Javanese
music) with Lou Harrison and Jazz arranging with Ray Brown (the
other one!). Ray is a great musician, composer and arranger in
addition to being a gifted teacher. With Ray’s encouragement
I bought a standup bass, began lessons with Stan Poplin (the venerable!)
and threw myself into playing with and writing for a variety of
Big Band and Jazz ensembles.
At the same time I was getting deep into playing Gamelan music
in Lou Harrison’s classes. After a few months in his
class I made bold and wrote a Gamelan piece called Endless Gift. It
turned out pretty well and Lou suggested I take composition lessons
with him. I showed up on his doorstep the next day! Over
the next couple of years I had the privilege of recording and performing
with Lou in concerts, many of which included my compositions, in
Santa Cruz, Berkely, New York and Vancouver BC.
NO
CHOICE AT ALL
Upon
completing my studies at Cabrillo I had some choices to make. There
were several obvious, established paths that I was considering
at that point: I could stay inside academia and work to become
a Music teacher or an ethnomusicologist, I could become a composer
of “serious music” (love the music – hate the
title!), I could move to NYC or back to LA and try to make it
as a studio musician.
And as I was struggling with these weighty decisions the unexpected
happened: I fell in love. I got smitten by a girl named Mary. Overnight,
all my priorities changed and now it seemed I had another choice
to consider… although, as everyone who’s been there
knows, in matters of the heart one really has no choice at all… Love
is weird that way. Mary and I got married and a year later
our son, Colin, was born. Looking back on it, I realize that
it was the best choice I’ve ever made.
My student loans had dried up and the need to make money was becoming
a real priority. I began playing out and about with some of the
local dance bands and within a few months I was working my way
up the ranks of “working musicians”.
A PRETTY COOL THING
TO DO
I often run into people who, upon finding out that I make a living
as a musician, invariably express admiration for the fact that
I do so. It helps me to remember that playing music is
really a pretty cool thing to do. One thing is for certain:
it’s seldom ever boring! In those early years after
my son was born I was scrambling to make money and I took every
gig that came over the wires. I remember one particularly
surreal weekend: I played a country gig on a Friday night, a
Jewish wedding Saturday afternoon, attended the premiere of a
modern classical piece (my composition) in the evening, then
played R & R in a biker bar the next night… Born to
Be Wild, cranked. For me, one of the great things about
music is that it can be experienced in so many ways: intellectually,
viscerally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. It’s
something I try never to forget, never take for granted.
Through Ray Brown I was introduced to Bill Hopkins who was leading
one of the busiest local dance bands. In the mid 90’s
I became Music Director for his group, The Bill Hopkins Band, a
10 piece group of extraordinary musicians. This group has
grown to become one of the San Francisco Bay areas premiere Special
Event bands and I am proud to be a part of it’s success.
Having a family and working with a busy band tends to fill up
a calendar real fast. Despite an oft-demanding schedule,
original music remains a priority for me and I make it a point
to be actively involved in new music as both a writer and collaborator
(see Credits & Links). I am currently shopping
some new songs for publication and working to complete my first
CD of original instrumental music. This CD represents something
that I’ve wanted to do for a long time – a marriage
of virtual, electronic and acoustic instruments within a framework
of compositions drawing from the disparate musical influences that
continue to inspire me.
jeffrey wash
October 16, 2006
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