World-renowned saxophonist Tim Warfield has been a mainstay in the world of jazz for more than thirty years now. He has played with many greats such as Donald Byrd, Marcus Miller, Christian McBride, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Coles, Isaac Hayes, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith, Kenny Barron, Nicholas Payton, Terell Stafford, Stefon Harris, and the list goes on…and on…AND ON! In 1991 he placed third alongside Chris Potter in the legendary Thelonious Monk Competition, which boasted one of the most legendary Monk Competition classes including winner Joshua Redman and runner up Eric Alexander. He would release his first recording as a leader in 1995 entitled A Cool Blue which was selected to the top ten recordings of the year by the New York Times critic’s poll. He would go on to record many successful albums with his famous rhythm section comprised of Cyrus Chestnut, Tarus Mateen, Clarence Penn, and trumpeters Terell Stafford and Nicholas Payton. His 1998 release Gentle Warrior received an equal critical claim, proclaiming him possibly the most powerful tenor saxophonist of his generation.
A very humble and gracious artist of the highest caliber, he is a legendary figure in the world of jazz and continues to evolve as an artist as well as serve as a mentor for a new generation, especially in the city of Philadelphia. I have been a fan of his since I heard him and I am grateful to have had the chance to do this interview with him. I could go on and on about all the accolades he’s received, but then we wouldn’t get to the interview so…. without further adieu.
You are easily recognized as one of the great tenors of our time, and I feel like one of the most distinct reasons people can automatically tell it is you playing is that SOUND! If you can, how did you develop this concept and at what point in your development did you say “This is it, This is my sound?”
By following the old traditions shared by my mentors. Playing this music is like addressing a situation so serious, that you would only trust resourcing advice from someone older. Because of their experience, you’re confident the advice they will provide, will not only have intellect but wisdom. The two combined together equal depth. One of the first things emphasized to me, was the importance of finding your sound. Sound is resonance, vibration, and frequency which equals color. I believe we all have the capacity for sonic individuality. We already have our own voiceprint which is characterized by how we choose to manipulate resonance and rhythm. When learning any language, we first learn the fundamentals of speech. We then slowly begin to incorporate influences into our speech patterns. Some of these influences are deliberately chosen, and happen through mimicry, whereas some parts of this influence are merely environmental. We go through a very similar process when learning to improvise. We meticulously add details of sound to our instruments by the way of mimicry, quite often through the process of transcription. But there is also a great deal of influence as a result of just being exposed to familiar sounds constantly being reintroduced environmentally, very much like the process of picking up a portion of an accent verbally that is indicative of a certain region.
As far as my personal sound? I don’t know if I’ll ever say “this is it.” Though I’m certain I have a strong core to my sonority, I’m still being influenced by both prior musical history as well as music in the present. I’m sure this will continue, so long as I continue to listen and study music.
You’ve been in the game for awhile obviously and have achieved great success. I know you studied at Howard briefly, and then afterward started performing quite a bit. Was there a gig, a recording, an award where you felt like you “made it” and allowed you to keep pushing forward with your career?
Success is a subjective term and I’m pretty certain I’ve never really used it to describe me or anyone else’s career for that matter. I have sometimes used the term in a valediction to people. Success for me is much more accurately a journey than a destination, so there is no one certain gig or recording that signifies this idea. I just try to keep my energy positive, with continued forward motion. Slow or fast it doesn’t matter. I do however believe that certain accomplishments can signify whether you are on the right path, but ultimately it is based on your level of pursuance, commitment, perseverance, and faith. One of those moments for me was being invited to play for Wynton Marsalis at the Village Vanguard. I had just turned 20 two days before. It was a very memorable moment and felt significant enough for me to work even harder.
You played in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Baltimore quite a bit in your younger years. Can you share with us some mentors you might have had in these settings and even from your hometown of York?
I can gratefully say that I’ve been blessed to have many people who have generously committed time to support me along the way, but a few people, key to mention, who have impacted me musically and personally would be:
CENTRAL PA: There were many, but most notable would be my elementary school band director, Holmes Royer, my private teacher Gerry Gingerich, record salesman & Jazz Aficionado Torling “Rit” Ritter, architect & drummer Tommy “Squire” Holman (Check out Eddie Gale’s “Ghetto Music,” on Blue Note records), saxophonist Chris Bacas, trumpeter & educator Ronnie Waters, pianist Jimmy Wood, flutist Leslie Burrs(Grover Washington, Live at the Bijou) who is from Philadelphia, PA, but taught as an Artist in Residence at my high school for a year, my former karate teacher, Kenneth R. Newman, my grandfathers the late Aquilla Green and John Warfield Sr., and of course my parents, Tim & Justine Warfield, have always been influential to my career and personal life.
Washington DC: Pianist Lawrence Wheatley ran a jam session that I eventually ended up subbing as the guest horn player per the recommendation of saxophonist Paul Carr (Check out the One Step Down Jazz Club), my professors at Howard University, Fred Irby, Dr. Arthur C Dawkins, & especially Dr. Reppard Stone who consistently called me throughout my career, randomly showing up at my gigs throughout the east coast, until his passing in 2019, as well as my best friends saxophonist Paul Carr & Gerald Pennington who at the time was known as trombonist Gerald Reid.
PHILADELPHIA: It wasn’t until my late 20’s that I began to venture into Philadelphia. Organist and jazz legend Trudy Pitts, bassist Charles Fambrough, saxophonist Tony Williams and of course the legendary organist Shirley Scott with whom I had an extended musical tenure were all-important major to my development in different ways.
There are a plethora of people not mentioned, but these are the people who have had a major impact on me musically and or personally, who unselfishly and generously shared information and guidance with opportunity during my teens and very early twenties. I’d also have to respectfully recognize my best friend Terell Stafford who is still even to this day an important influence on me musically as well as personally.
Aside from hometown mentors, what other players in the history of jazz have influenced you the most?
Everyone, improvisationally, compositionally, artistically and from the viewpoint of bandstand etiquette. Entirely too many to mention to be perfectly honest, but a few include, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Freddie Hubbard, Woody Shaw, Bobby Hutcherson, Tony Williams, Herbie Hancock, Junior Cook, Frank Mitchell, Billy Harper, Charles Fambrough, Steve Wilson, Buster Williams, Hank Mobley, Wardell Gray, Lester Young, Terence Blanchard, Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster, Sphere, Eddie Henderson, John Coltrane, Horace Silver, Nat King Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Jordan, Art Blakey, McCoy Tyner, Wayne Shorter, Betty Carter, Billy Pierce, James Williams, Dori Caymmi, Carter Jefferson, Geri Allen, Daniel Gary Thomas, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Jean Toussaint, Donald Harrison, Gregory T. Osby, Donald Brown, Mulgrew Miller, Kenny Garrett, Ralph Moore, Michael Brecker, Ralph Peterson, Steve Grossman, Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington,Sidney Bechet, etc., not to mention the musicians of which I’ve had the opportunity to spend long tenures on and off the bandstand like Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Shirley Scott and Terell Stafford.
I’ve barely scratched the surface as to the many artists that I’ve spent time studying. There are so many names that it almost feels disrespectful not to mention them all, not to mention my listening purview goes way beyond just traditional jazz. I listen and am influenced by many other genres, maybe more subtly than others, but nonetheless influenced. There is so much to check out, with something to learn from everyone.
Although you’re originally from York, PA, essentially you are associated with the city of brotherly love, which boasts a very rich jazz history. Can you speak to the essence that is Philly jazz? There are players such as yourself, Christian McBride, Joey DeFrancesco, Orrin Evans, George Burton, Dwayne Burno, Mickey Roker, Byron Landham, …. the list can go on…all of whom seem to have their very own distinct identity and don’t sound like anyone else. And then there’s that swing! Can you share with us the secret of the Philly jazz swing?? Any unsung local heroes the world should know more about?
The Philly sound you speak of in my observation comes from all of the sharing and commune that happens “on and off” the bandstand from the different artists who participate in performing in different genres and sub-genres of music. The significance is the result of their commonalities, the strong reverential attitude held by the artists who perform these genres and most importantly, the strong interaction that still exists between youth and seniority when passing on these musical traditions. This would be my guess as to what has allowed Philadelphia to develop such a definite sound indicative of its region. You can see a parallel dynamic within the cities of Detroit, New Orleans, and even Chicago.
There were a plethora of local legends that I met, performed with or heard about when I first came to Philly, like organist Trudy Pitts, vocalist Nina Bundy, drummers Billy James, & Bobby Durham, pianist Sam Dockery who performed and recorded with Art Blakey, saxophonist Jimmy Oliver, pianist Sid Simmons, bassist Spanky Debrest, & drummer Edgar Bateman to name a few. Some of the those still living would be saxophonists Tony Williams, Sam Reed, Bootsie Barnes, and Larry McKenna, drummer and singer Len Bryant who is the brother of the now-deceased pianist Ray Bryant, not to mention bassist saxophonist Marshall Allen who currently leads the Sun Ra Orchestra and Jymie Merritt, who toured and performed with Art Blakey and Lee Morgan.
Dovetailing off of the last question. You never spent much time in New York and yet have had a very successful career. Why did you never really want to live there and do you feel your playing or perhaps your career path might have changed drastically if you did? Do you think jazz musicians must live there to have a successful career?
Actually, I spent a lot of time in NYC, I just didn’t live there; at least not long enough to mention, but I was there exploring the scene in the early ’80s, even while attending college, often visiting now-defunct clubs and restaurants hosting jazz, like Mikell’s, Sweet Basil, the Angry Squire, Bradley’s, Augies, B. Smiths, and Visiones, including clubs that still exist stalwartly, like Birdland and the Village Vanguard. I was 20 years old, sitting in at jam sessions held at Visiones and of course, the Blue Note, who at that time had musicians like trumpeter Ted Curson, trumpeter Philip Harper, and a 14-year-old alto player, we now know as Justin Robinson hosting those sessions at different times. To answer your question, my career is my own dictated by my vision and not a city. I do think that being acknowledged as part of a scene can be a great feeling, but I do believe strongly that working diligently towards some sort of impacting artistic recognition or acknowledgment whether it be NYC or someplace else, is much more productive and significant in the longterm. I also believe that being a part of an artistic community does have importance, not to mention frequent inspirational opportunities, but that the drive for your own artistic identity, no different than your financial sustainability will always be solely your own. Whether or not you now have to live in NYC longterm or at all to meet those achievements is questionable as made obvious by the many accomplished individuals who no longer or who have never lived there.
Your resume includes playing with some of the greatest such as Donald Byrd, Dizzy Gillespie, Nicholas Payton, Christian McBride, Shirley Scott, Mulgrew Miller, Terell Stafford and many many more! Who are some of your favorite artists you have worked with throughout your career either as a leader and/or sideman?
All of them. I’m extremely grateful for every single opportunity that I’ve acquired or been given. All the artists mentioned have been strongly impacting the jazz idiom in one way or another and are therefore incomparable. I will admit to having a stronger sentimental viewpoint towards the musical relationships I developed in my longer tenures with Marlon Jordan, Christian McBride, Nicholas Payton, Shirley Scott & Terell Stafford as well as the long-term relationships developed with musicians in my own groups like Cyrus Chestnut, Tarus Mateen, Clarence Penn, Stefon Harris, Rodney Whitaker, Pat Bianchi, Byron Landham, & Daniel Sadownick.
Who are some up and coming young artists that have caught your attention?
This is a very difficult question to answer because there are so many young people attempting to play this music, not to mention, the word “young” in my case would be subjective by comparison to my age, so I’m only going to mention the few younger or ‘lesser-known” artists with whom I’ve performed or worked with educationally in the past few years, which would be pianists Seth Finch, Victor Gould, Jesse McBride, Neil Podgurski and George Burton, vocalists Lucy Yeghiazaryan & Christie Dashielle, saxophonists Stephen Gladney, Christian Lewis, Immanuel Wilkins, Jonathan Ragonese, and a very young alto player named Ian Munoz, drummers Nazir Ebo, Mekhi Boone, Brian Richburg, Savannah Harris, Joe Dyson, Chris Beck, Wayne Smith Jr. Billy Williams Jr., and Mark Whitfield Jr., bassists Jeremiah Edwards, John Murray, Pablo Menerez, Romier Mendez, Runere Brooks, & Eric Wheeler, guitarist Matt Sewell, vibraphonist Joel Ross, Cellist Tomeka Reid & vocalist trumpeters Marquis Hill, and Jason Palmer are a bit more established, but also important to mention. There are many others I’ve heard like saxophonists Emilio Modeste and Yesseh Furaha Ali, drummer Kojo Roney, pianists Brandon Goldberg, vibraphonist Jalen Baker, Chien Chien Lu, etc, but again, I’m only mentioning people with whom I’ve interacted educationally, or with whom I’ve shared the stage within the past few years formally or informally. I’m certain there are more than a few names I have forgotten to mention, but these are who I can remember off the top of my head.
You now teach at Temple University alongside your longtime colleague Terell Stafford. Is it a joy for you to be passing on the knowledge you’ve gained to the next generation? What kind of skill sets do you try and instill in them to get them prepared for the real world?
Yes, I love working with students. I want them to become great musicians, great business people, and hopefully profound artists. Many of the students with whom I interact regularly want to be leaders. Leadership comes in many shapes and forms. One of the first things I explain to them is that the term to lead means to be out front. It’s a positioning that requires individual thinking. It requires vision, with the purpose of acquiring an ultimate goal. To stay in the lead requires a certain fortitude. As a leader, to look back is to find everyone else behind you. Leading, therefore, is a very lonely place with little empathy It requires a lot of energy. Make sure it’s what you want.
I always try and give audiences a sneak peek of what might be coming up with the artists they are reading about so…. any new recordings coming up or big news we should be on the lookout for?
Referring to our world’s immediate pandemic concerns, I’ll say that all things are clearly on hold, but I do have new music written for my sextet that I hope to soon record. I’m currently organizing some 300 partial ideas, that are voice recorded on my iPhone, with the intent of using part of this enforced downtime to develop some of them into full-blown compositions. Though I believe this too shall pass, we’ll have to wait patiently to see what the future holds for all of us during this time of adversity.
For further information on this legend of jazz please visit www.timwarfieldmusic.com
Photo credits: Steve Stoltzfus -911 Photographics
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