Am I lucky or what?
I'm just about the only bass trombone player around who actually
started on the bass trombone. There were four 5th graders who wanted
to play trombone, but only three trombones. Since I had the longest
arms, the teacher, Roger Craig gave me this trombone with a bunch
of "squiggles" in the back. He promised he'd have a "real"
trombone in just a few days.
When he got me a "real" trombone, I wouldn't give the first
one back. I loved the way it sounded. Unfortunately, "my"
trombone was on loan from the high school, and they needed it back.
But I was adamant.
Just a few days later I met Donald Mitchell Ph.D., the band director
from the high school. "Get your bass trombone" he directed,
"Play something for me." So I played the hot new tune I'd
been working on called Go Tell Aunt Rhodie. He taught me to
play it an octave lower. I thought that was just about the coolest
thing I'd ever heard. He told me that I could keep the bass trombone,
and handed me two record albums, "If you learn to play like this,
I think you'll have a lot of fun with music."
The first album was Road Show by the Stan Kenton Band. I knew
who he was because my Mother hated him. But when I listened to the
music ... Holy Cow! I could see that my Mother and I were going
to have many "discussions" in the next few years.
The second album was Meet Mr. Roberts by a guy named George
Roberts. To repeat myself: Holy Cow! And better yet, my
horn looked just like his.
Six years later, I briefly joined the Kenton band, but at eighteen,
I wasn't nearly ready. So I went home to attend Western Michigan University
where I studied under Russell Brown for five years.
After my time at WMU I moved to Detroit where I worked the various
studios, Motown among them; and recorded with groups such as Funkadelic/Parliament,
Marvin Gaye, The Supremes, The Temptations, and many others.
In clubs, I worked for Ella Fitzgerald, Vic Damone, Mel Torme, Tom
Jones, Englebert Humperdinck, Nancy Wilson, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin
and the previously mentioned Many Others (it seems like everyone's
worked for them at one time or another).
In the early '70s I got the call I'd been dreaming about since my
first stay with him; Stan Kenton asked me to join on bass trombone
and tuba. I stayed until 1976. After that I had short stints with
Buddy Rich, Woody Herman, even a week with Maynard Ferguson as a sub.
I also traveled with Beatlemania and Ballet West.
In 1994 I recorded Trombania with my group The National Slide
Quartet. We're currently planning our next album. In addition to The
NSQ, Slidewerke, and my clinic/concerts, I also perform and tour with
The Stan Kenton Alumni Band led by Mike Vax, and play bass trombone
and tuba with the Palisades Brass Quintet.
Am I lucky or what?
-Mike Suter