Talking with Philip Jones, Trombonist and Producer of the Somers Dream Orchestra
by Francesca Nemko
"We like to entertain people - for them to have a good time and enjoy themselves." This was the sentiment elicited from Philip Jones, trombonist and producer for the Somers Dream Orchestra's new CD, A Mid-Somers Night Dream. From the opening "Minnie the Moocher," you know you're in for a swinging time, and that's exactly what John Somers, founder and leader of the ensemble, had in mind when he created it.
Somers had a dream in which he saw a group of handpicked musicians coming together, true to the style of the big bands but always remembering to entertain the listeners. Next day he set out to make the dream come true. Each member was chosen not only for performing skills but also for the desire to spread the joy of the music to the audiences.
Jones, who is also vice president of this cooperative band, said, "There are folks who would like to hear more straight-ahead material, but there are a whole lot of people who could be attracted to the Jazz market by things that are a little bit commercial."
Now that swing is king once again, we're seeing a return to the entertainment values that Jones and many members of the Dream Orchestra (pictured) grew up with. For instance, Jones remembers seeing variety shows on television with his parents (both of whom were musicians), featuring such people as Bobby Hackett and Louis Armstrong. "One time," Jones related, "we were watching the Dorsey brothers. My father pointed at Tommy Dorsey and turned around to me and said, 'You're going to play trombone.'"
But by the seventh grade, Jones recalled, "the Beatles took all that out, and things began changing." However, a gift of a recording by Count Basie really excited Jones, and he began to take Jazz seriously. Born and raised in southern Illinois, he soon began going on gigs with his parents. "My mother, who is a fine pianist, taught me to read music before I could even read words."
He worked with different groups all through high school and college, earning his degree in music from Illinois Wesleyan University. While still in graduate school at the University of Northern Colorado, where he not only played Jazz but also was included in an orchestral setting, he was chosen to replace a bass trombonist in the then popular Nashville Brass, with which he toured and recorded for the next seventeen years.
"That was one heck of a band," Jones said. "The bass player had been with Maynard Ferguson all during the Birdland years; and one of the other trombonists, Rex Teer, was from Benny Goodman' s band."
Also, during that period, Jones served as staff trombonist for RCA Nashville, Opryland Productions, and TNN, and performed with such diverse talents as Elvis Presley, Bing Crosby, Olivia Newton-John, Isaac Hayes, and Frank Sinatra, as well as sitting in the trombone sections of the Alabama and Nashville Symphonies.
When asked whether he devoted his full time to music now, he replied, "Not anymore; I'm one of those computer geeks [of which there are several in the Dream Orchestra], although I probably play eighteen to twenty jobs a month. I do sub work on Broadway (in such shows as Dream Girls and Cats), Radio City Music Hall, recording sessions, and jingles. I get calls to play lead for Ray Charles and Linda Ronstadt. But being in the computer business is very lucrative and it allows me to do those other things without any pressure to make a lot of money or worrying about if I don't play well the contractor won't hire me again."
According to Jones, the band stays pretty busy, most notably with a monthly gig at Tierney's Tavern in Montclair, New Jersey, where they've appeared for the past four and a half years. "It started out like a rehearsal in front of people," Jones explained. "The owner, Vickie Tierney, who's probably our number-one fan, let us do that, and it grew into an attraction, with about 250 people each time."
I wondered if anyone in the band contributed original material. "Mostly what we concentrate on are things people recognize. There are a lot of great Jazz players who've made innovations, and we really appreciate that. But the kind of people we're playing for, and the reason they keep coming back, is because we're doing it for them."
Nevertheless, there are some superior arrangements on the CD, for example, the seldom heard but lovely ballad "Beautiful Maria of my Soul" by Larry Puentes, which features the composer on tenor sax. Jones said that they will be including a couple of brand-new tunes written especially for them, which they'll introduce at their Tierney's date, "and we'll see how people accept them."
Now that the recording is available, is it likely that the orchestra will be heard live in states other than New Jersey and New York? "It would depend on circumstances," Jones told me. "I'm sure the band would be more than pleased to do some traveling, but not in a situation where they're going to be gone forever and ever. The guys that have day gigs don't want to give them up, although we'd love to go to Europe for a couple of weeks."
The eighteen-piece group, which includes vocalist Keaton Douglas (two others, saxophonists Nick McCoy and Scott Korcherr, are also featured singers), has a broad age range, with the youngest at twenty-four and the senior citizen in his seventies. To everyone's credit, the personnel has remained mostly unchanged for several years. "This band is very unique," Jones pointed out. "Everyone in it has a really good attitude and really likes being there, so a lot of times they'll bend their schedules around."
Since Jones has done such a great job producing A Mid-Somers Night Dream, was he planning any more such endeavors? "I have some friends who are in a very good Jazz quartet, and they've asked me to produce their product. Also, Keaton, our singer, wants me to do that for her as well as playing on the recording. I feel really good about what I did on the band's CD. Bear in mind we're not going for the really hard-core Jazz audience; but the excitement level is going on, and the groovin' is just right. I've done way too many studio recordings where it's been sanitized down to the point where everything is so perfect that somewhere we threw out the music with the bathwater."
Two forthcoming prospects for the Dream Orchestra are the possible acquisition of the CD by a major label and corporate sponsorship for the band. But, of course, until deals are finalized, Jones cautioned, he's not able to divulge specifics. Based on the level of musicianship I heard on its debut recording, anticipate hearing much more from John Somers and his gang.
by Francesca Nemko
