Go-Go Marc, Cary On! An Indigenous Person Tells his Story

Phil wishes he was a musician (well, he is one, but he wishes he were a good one) but he's not frustrated by it. He's frustrated with a lot of other aspects of the so-called biz. Therefore, he's excited by independently released jazz.

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Published: May 27, 2004

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So, we worked five nights a week with Front line Jazz Ensemble...trombone, bass, Frankie Addison, the leader of the group, played alto and tenor, his brother Tony played drums, and Judd Levy on guitar. We were a hot group. We played hard-bop on a lot of standards, for dances. Many great musicians were down there who appreciated us like Nat Turner, who is a great blues singer, Mary Jefferson, and Geri Allen. We were springing off of the Harper Brothers thing too, because they were out of DC and had some success. I learned a lot of my foundation there, with this band. I was able to stretch out and take long solos and learn how to play. They were really the proving ground, so that when I moved to New York, I was ready. I knew all the standards, the popular standards and the cats' standards too, and I fit right in. Cats noticed, like, "Yo, this kid is sharp." I had some different shit, too you know.

My biggest growth period as a musician was from age 16 to 21. If I didn't do that then I wouldn't be where I am now. I couldn't have achieved that growth. I was putting in twelve hours a day. Yarbrough Charles Laws, who plays flute and percussion in my band- we grew up together. We played in rival bands. He's from Northwest and I'm from Northeast. He drove a half-hour out of his way each day to make sure I got to school after being up in the studio all night. He was that kind of a friend.

AAJ: When did you go to New York?

MC: On my 21st birthday, which was '88. In '89 I hooked up with Betty Carter.

AAJ: One year.

MC: Eight months. Meanwhile I'd hooked up with Wallace Roney and Cindy Blackman. They gave me the incentive. Wallace's brother Antoine was telling me, "You gotta come to New York!" He gave me every reason to come that I had not to come. Part of my reason to come to New York was to reunite with my father, because we had lost contact from the time I was one. Antoine gave me a place to stay and a job. I wound up taking Ron Sutton's job, who still plays saxophone in my band. He was leaving New York and he worked at Columbia Hospital. So I took his job, doing the mail there, got my bank account and an apartment in two weeks and bam. I played with Beaver Harris' band with Vincent Herring, when Vincent first got on the scene. I played with Willie Williams, then I met Arthur Taylor. He was the drummer on Giant Steps , with Coltrane, and all of Donald Byrd's records. He played with Charlie Parker, Coleman Hawkins, just everybody.

Betty Carter gave me my first shot at touring. The day I did the audition she asked if I had my passport and the cats in the band were looking at me like, "You got it." She said we were going on tour for six weeks. I had never been on tour and we're on tour for six weeks of one-niters. We're going from Norway to Germany over to Amsterdam to Greece and Spain. This is serious! We were on trains in Yugoslavia during the train strike, just before the war in '89. Coming from Yugoslavia into Italy we were stuck in a shutdown-a strike. We got into the train car and held a box. Over the course of ten hours there must have been thousands of people coming into that station . People were looking into our box like, "We want them seats!" Me and Tarus Mateen and Greg Hutchinson went and got a hotel for the band. There was only one room left and we were going sleep on the floor and let Betty have the bed. When we got back Betty said, "I am not going to a hotel. We are staying on this train. If you want to get off the train..well, you got your damn money." So we went back to the hotel, got our deposit and sure enough, the strike was over! We got to the gig just in time to perform. Betty was a soldier. She would ride with us in coach and carry her bags. She would sit up all the way through. She was incredible man.

So I went from Betty to Roy Hargrove. That was a bunch of touring. That band was one of the most working bands in our generation and still is. I did The Vibe , Of Kindred Souls , the Family Record and Rh Factor. Roy and I have been buildin' music for a long time. Most of the stuff on Rh Factor was basically a product of us getting together. I gave Roy his studio, basically. He still has the first computer I gave him which was one of those 6100s. I gave him Studiovision and he had an M1. We used to write and we still do. We're still close to this day, so...

AAJ: How much of Rh Factor are you on?

MC: About eight cuts, although you'd never know by looking at the credits. Clavinet on three, Rhodes on three, Wurlitzer on two, Piano on one, and moog as well. There's two keyboard players on most of the tracks I did.

AAJ: When did you do your own thing?

MC: Right after I left Roy. I left his band in '94. '95 was Cary On .

AAJ: Why did you have to leave?

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