Avery Sharpe is regarded as one of his generation’s greatest and most imaginative bassists. His unique and versatile style has earned him respect and attention from musicians and critics alike. His influence has been mimicked and embraced by those who have come after him. Jazz pianist McCoy Tyner was once asked to describe Avery Sharpe in two words, and he responded with “Impeccable Rhythm.” Avery continues to captivate fans worldwide with his distinct and enjoyable musical style. He graciously took the time to discuss his career, offer advice to young musicians, and talk about his latest album titled “I Am My Neighbor’s Keeper”.
Thank you for agreeing to catch up with Occhi Magazine. You have been around music for the majority of your life. Please tell us more about your upbringing and what drew you to playing bass.
I was born in the southern part of the United States, in Georgia, when things were legally segregated between black and white people. My mother was a piano player in the church in particular the Church of God in Christ, known as Pentecostal, Holy Roller or Sanctified church. I am number six of eight children that my mother and father had. My mother taught all of us piano, but it didn’t seem to stick to until they got to me. I begin piano lessons at the age of about eight years old in the Sanctified church, Pentecostal church. Church was pretty much every day. Sunday we were in church all day 10 AM Sunday school followed by regular church service at 11:45 until about 2 o’clock, or whenever the Lord touched the preacher’s heart to let you go. You went home for Sunday dinner and you came back at 6:30 PM for what they used to call YPWW, Young People Willing Workers, which was, basically Bible study class. Then you had another regular service that night which started at 8 PM and usually went to about 10 PM. Monday night you might be off but Tuesday there was another Bible study class. Wednesday was usually women’s Bible study class then Thursday night was choir rehearsal, Friday nights were regular church service that started at 8 PM, Saturday you might be off or they might fellowship with another church and you would have another church service on Saturday evening. I started playing electric bass at 16 years old.
I did not want to sing in the choir or anything else and asked the minister if I could play bass with the organ player, who was also the minister’s son. I was also starting to play in funk bands or rhythm and blues bands. We played music from James Brown to Motown. I Wish I could say there was some esoteric reason why I begin playing electric base at 16, but like any other adolescent, I was trying to impress girls. But once I started practicing and playing the bass, I really got into it. I spent most of my time playing sports in high school and practicing bass and playing in church and in my funk band. But before I started playing bass as a kid, I had always been drawn to baselines, especially the music coming out of the black community of Gospel, funk and jazz. I also, as a kid, would remember all the baselines of the themes from TV shows. I was fortunate enough to be at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst during the beginning of the 1970s with people like Max Roach, Archie Shepp, Reggie Workman, Horace Boyer and Fred Tillis. These people were my first introduction into Jazz. I had them as my professors and they saw something in me and they spent a lot of time helping to develop my artistry. By today’s standards, I started upright base at 19 years old, which is relatively late, but Reggie Workman was my first double base teacher. I also had Max Roach, one of the fathers of bebop music, Archie Shepp, a John Coltrane prodigy and Reggie Workman who played with John Coltrane, these people were my first experience with Jazz and I had them right on a campus setting.
You’ve performed with such notables as Archie Shepp and Art Blakey. Please share your early career experiences, lessons learned from collaborations and guidance from such artists.
Archie Shepp was one of my professors at the University of Massachusetts. He took an interest in me and started using me on regional gigs. Eventually I grew musically and he took me on my first tour of Europe. On that tour, Archie had a big band of about 30 musicians, we recorded a live album. The third night of our performance, which was in Paris, was not recorded and Art Blakey sat in with the band. He really dug my playing and asked me to join his band. Archie Shepp was a great mentor of mine. He, as well as Max Roach taught me the importance of knowing the history of jazz music. Both Archie and Max were historians of the music as well as being part of the history of jazz. They shaped my outlook about the music. The respect and seriousness they took about the music affected me in the same way that I know am an historian and have a greater respect and take the music very seriously as well
You’ve had stints as a sideman with many jazz greats, from Dizzy Gillespie to Pat Metheny. How have these experiences shaped your approach to collaborating and more importantly developed your style of Leadership
I have been fortunate enough to work with some of the greatest musicians on the planet. My stint with Art Blakey led to me working with McCoy Tyner for more than 20 years and recording more than 25 records with him. I have also been fortunate enough to work with musicians like Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Yusef Lateef, George Benson, George Coleman, Wynton Marsalis, and many more. Being able to play with such great musicians, many of who are no longer here I learned so much. I learned from McCoy Tyner in terms of being a leader was his quiet way of leading by example.
Looking back at your early experiences and working in the industry, what would you have done differently?
As I look back on my career and early experiences, I don’t think I would’ve done anything different. If I had, it could’ve changed my trajectory of where I am today. I believe people come across your life who have a profound effect on you and you owe it to yourself and others to pass on that great knowledge and energy to others. I had and have an incredible support system from my parents and my sisters and brothers as well as my wife, which made it easier for me to pursue the career I have.
What advice do you give to young enthusiastic jazz musicians?
The thing I would tell young musicians coming up, of course, the usual of practicing and perfecting your craft, but also being a good person first. I would also remind young musicians if you pursue this as a career, to remember you are really self-employed and must be self-motivated, and to handle your money well, and save as much as you can.
Which three traits define you as an artist.
I think the three traits that defined me as an artist; 1 is sensitivity, which is what you need in order to play this music called Jazz in terms of the improvisation energy and spirit, 2 is I always try to be on the positive spectrum of life, both spiritually and attitude wise, 3 is my work ethic, which comes from my parents, I work hard at my craft, but because I love music so much it does not feel like work.
You composed music for a one actor musical portrait based on the Harlem Renaissance titled “Raisin’ Cane.” Please tell us more about the origins of this commission and your creative process.
The actress Jasmine guy is a friend of mine and I have known her since she was 21 years old, we did a tour of the Broadway show Bubbling Brown Sugar back in the early 1980s and we stayed in contact over the years. A friend of mine, a classical cellist Harry Clark had commissioned me to compose some music for his classical Trio. Harry also moonlighted as a playwright and had written a number of short pieces for actors and classical musicians. Since I had written pieces for his group, he approached me about doing a jazz play/portrait, and we decided on the Harlem Renaissance. We decided to use the writer from the Harlem Renaissance, who is considered the spark of the literary part of the Harlem Renaissance and that was Gene Toomer. He had written a literary work in 1921 named Kane.
I wrote music that was indicative of the 1920s. Some of the poems that were used in the play were timeless and so I also wrote some more modern sounding music as well. Jasmine guy would recite poems behind the music that I composed along with singing and dancing. It was quite an experience. Although much of the music was written, some of it was also totally improvised with the poems and dancing. Jasmine was not used to the freedom that Jazz musicians incorporate with improvisation. She commented that, I was making her a jazz actress because she had to improvise with what we were playing.
You recently released the wonderful “I Am My Neighbors Keeper”. Please tell us more about the origins of this project and your selection of talented musicians
My latest release, I Am My Neighbor’s Keeper, came about because I was thinking of American politics in the last 40 years and how much it has changed. From the 1960s when you have the Apex of the civil rights movement, the women’s rights movement, gay rights, disability, rights, and Society was trying to help its poor and middle-class. In the 1980s much of that changed, you have austerity touted by England’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, which had an effect on the American president at the time Ronald Reagan.
There was more of a push of doing less for poor and middle-class, and catering more to the rich. It has really accelerated to the point where people are blamed and looked down on for being poor. Some people believe that they are rich because God loves them and if you are poor or middle class then you are not as good or smart as they are. I just felt as an artist society needs to come back to its humanity and think about others. Nobody makes it in this world by themselves, we all get help, everyone. The theme of this, I Am My Neighbor’s Keeper, is to get us back to our humanity and start to care for one another. I decided to approach this project a little differently. I had a quartet; bass, piano, drums, balafon and African percussion and combine that with a string quartet; 2 violins, viola and cello. I was fortune enough to get a grant from New England Foundation for the Arts to do this project. We did a few gigs and then went into the studio. For the gigs, I had an African dancer and we also bought the African dancer into the studio to help with the vibe as we played the music. I was fortunate enough to have on piano Zaccai Curtis, on drums Yoron Israel, Tony Vacca on balafon and African percussion along with the string quartet. The artwork on the front cover was painted by my niece Sofia Rivera, she is a great visual artist and a great singer and lyricist
What other projects are in the pipeline?
I recently did a performance of my previous recording 400: An African-American Musical Portrait for a for Juneteenth celebration in Springfield Massachusetts. It was the premier of the orchestral performance of that piece. The performance included my sextet along with my Extended Family Choir combined with the Springfield Symphony Chorus, and full orchestra Symphony Orchestra about 120 people on stage and we performed all the tunes from the recording orchestrated for Symphony and choir. So that project I’m trying to get performed by other orchestras, that is the long-term goal. I will also be pursuing another symphony performance for an original piece that is in the beginning stages.
Where can our readers find out more about you? ( Please share your website and social media feeds)
My website is averysharpe.com. You can find me on Facebook Instagram and you can get all my recordings on all the streaming lines, iTunes, Amazon, Apple.
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