Robert C. Aragon

I probably love jazz because was I was first exposed to jazz as a young child. My father loved it. Dad had some old records by Diz & Bird that he let us kids play. My dad was introduced to jazz by his bunk mate while they served in the US Army during the period of the Korean war. My next big push toward the jazz world was after high school when I later met "King Trotter." I was almost twenty about that time. By that time I had been playing music for wages. I got a call to rehearse a top 40 band with his son, William. William introduced me to his parents. His father, the late Gene Morris shared his music and old performance photos with me. Gene casually mentioned that he had played and recorded with jazz great, Lionel Hampton as well as his own group, Gene Morris and the King Trotters. I was hooked. The first jazz record I bought was an early fusion recording by John McLaughlin called, Extrapolation. I had only been playing guitar for about eight years and hearing the sounds of that music was like watching a ethereal magic show -- it was sonically amazing! I had to know how it was done so I studied, transcribed, and practiced music theory while making a living of sorts playing gigs in bars. I learned standards by listening to records, transcribing and/or reading charts. In about 1982 I met Richard Parker, a jazz guitarist from Oakland, California and my guitar playing guru of sorts that studied with the late great jazz guitarist and educator, Warren Nunes. Richard was teaching the late Jazz fusion guitarist, Andre Bush at the time. We would discuss harmonic concepts and guitar player stuff (fingerboard mechanics) that we were all working on or had learned. Richard and I played lots of duo gigs together and became good friends. For me, playing straight ahead was both musically and spiritually enlightening. In 1990, after playing club gigs for almost thirteen years I started performing Contemporary Jazz with Mad Dog/Voyager. During that time I auditioned for Larry Gittens. Larry had worked with Stevie Wonder and Kool and the Gang, Grover Washington Jr. and Sonny Stitt to mention a few. I got the gig with Larry Gittens and Media.I had heard it said so many times,"You can't play what you can't hear." So armed with a tremendous ear, Larry was now my musical mentor!I performed with both groups opening for some of the greats at concert venues in the Central Valley region and beyond before moving to Northern California. Jazz is like zen to me. It's about being in the present moment. My advice to new listeners of jazz music is listen to Miles Davis or whatever else you have in mind. Most importantly, if you're just hearing it, be present while you listen to it!