I had a great 3 hour lunch with my college mentor & piano/composition professor, the great Jay Flippin. Prof. Flippin was visiting New York with the Lexington (KY) Singers—and our schedules aligned so that we could actually spend some quality time together—catching up on life, baseball, music and, per usual, eating a huge meal. I originally met Jay as the professor/teacher of my brother David at Morehead St. University. After attending THE Ohio State University for a couple of years, I felt that my well had run dry, artistically—and was looking for some forward motion/progress in my life (a trait/condition that still pops up from time to time—for better or worse). Initially, I called Jay, now a family friend, for some advice on a couple of University programs that I was considering transferring to—and Jay immediately told me you need to come HERE—we want you, and youll get a ton of playing in our groups, small & large..... While my family is from Kentucky, I was born and raised an Ohio kid, more comfortable with bricks & flat than trees & hills. But, man, I just needed a CHANGE. Forward. In reality, the Good Professor really just needed a slightly capable musician to sub on piano & vocals for all of the gigs he used to double-book himself on, LOL. Jay is THE CAT in Eastern Kentucky—make that in ALL of Kentucky. Equally versed in Jazz, Classical, Rock & Beyond, he always had something cooking. A wedding reception, a Big Band concert, guest soloing with the Lexington Philharmonic at a moments notice, writing Kentucky Fried Chicken spots (!), he was comfortable wearing all those hats. Said yes to everything. And STILL DOES, with the best attitude one could ever hope for in a genius that packs his own gear and breaks down Hindemith harmonies with equal passion & skill. God, I hope he doesnt text while driving these days, because I saw him write a string arrangement while driving his second-hand purchased Hertz cargo van. He gave me the keys to his office—filled with scores, books, grand pianos and a record player—and I used it as my own office until the school security complained about the rumors of an unsupervised kid playing music in ungodly hours. I then simply turned the light off at Midnight and played to a music stand light. So many stories—Ill tell you about my lessons, later—but let me wrap it up by telling you that he helped me tie my collegiate shoelaces in just two short years—sending me out a deeper musician and an even stronger man. Simply, by: listening, suggesting, cultivating, asking, empowering, and trusting a 19 year old who wanted to follow his musical curiosities. No borders. Jay is still playing more than a dozen gigs a month, teaching, and following the L.A. Dodgers—and surely screwing up his schedule more than ever, packing it with too many songs and shows for too few hours and days. All, while fighting a serious fight on the battleground that is his body. He informed me on his latest status today with science, truth, odds and Faith. I simply listened, suggested, asked and trusted the man that helped me find the way at my own crossroads so many years ago. The Dodgers. Really? We shared a train downtown after lunch and moved into a 30-minute discussion on the history of Payola and the record biz from the 50s thru the 60s. That led to the discussion of two or three books. And then saw a brutal fistfight between two guys in front of his hotel. He looked at me and said welcome to New York. In 1989, we called that a lesson. Tell the folks who change your life for the better thanks. And pay it forward. And dont text or physically write musical arrangements while driving. jk
Posted on: Sat, 07 Jun 2014 03:02:13 +0000
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