Chico Hamilton is 87, and has no plans of slowing down. As a drummer and bandleader, he's made over fifty records under his own name, and over time has introduced titans such as Eric Dolphy and Jim Hall to the world. His newest record, "Twelve Tones of Love", is a powerful, engaging large ensemble album, out now on Joyous Shout! records. Hamilton currently teaches at the New School in New York City, makes his own drums, and is writing a book, which is currently under revisions to remove some of the foul language. Hamilton took the time to sit down with Adam Schatz and answer a few questions. Enjoy!
Search & Restore: Well, I checked out the new record, and I like it a lot.
Chico: How come?
S & R: Well, it has a drive to it. In the way it's played, but also in the quality of the recording. A lot of the time, modern records, I think they sound too shiny. And maybe it's because you're a drummer and know what you want, but I listen to it on speakers, I listen to it on headphones and there's a serious push to it, the drums are really there, and that carries over to the overall push of the songs.
Chico: Well I do my own mixing.
S & R: How long have you been doing that?
Chico:(long pause) How old are you?
S & R: I'm twenty one years of age.
Chico:(laughs) I've been doing it over twenty one years...I've got an exceptionally good engineer; he listens to me, he knows my sound. Unfortunately most engineers don't know anything about drums, or drum sounds. Everybody wants everything muffled. It can't be muffled, you know. I think my instrument's a very melodic instrument. That's the way I've always played. So, I try to get sounds out of the instrument. The way you can do that is by acquiring a touch, and once you acquire a touch, it becomes yours, nobody else's. Physically, it's impossible for two drummers to play alike because, you got long arms, I got short arms, you got short legs...
S & R: Have you always been behind the board as well as behind the drums? Was it out of necessity that you started producing your own records? What prompted you to make the move?
Chico: When my manager Jeffrey Caddick and I formed our label Joyous Shout! over 20 years ago, that's when I really started. But before then, when I started recording under my own name, I didn't record for anyone else. I wasn't interested in recording with anyone else.
S & R: Interesting...
Chico: Well, you know...why help them! (laughs) Man, I really consider myself as being blessed. Because, I think music is one of God's wills. God's will will be done. I don't make music for people, I make music for the music's sake. I believe that all music should be played and made exceptionally well. And every time I make music, I'm doing the best I can, whether I sound good or bad or any different. Plus it doesn't matter where I play - the men's room, I don't give a shit.
S & R: On the new record, another thing that stands out is the rest of the band.
Chico: I don't have a band, I have an orchestra. Bands, like cigar band, rubber band (laughs). I like to refer to us as an orchestra because I think we do a lot of melodic ensemble playing.
S & R: There's definitely that dynamic vibe on the record, the first track alone won't give it to you right away. It takes it's time, and there's that feeling throughout the whole album, where there's always something there, but there's a wide variety of arrangement and contour to what's there and how you put it together. And the majority of the orchestra is significantly younger than you.
Chico: Everybody's younger than me, the whole world's younger than me, man (laughs).
S & R: Even so, in the jazz recording environment, people tend to have their people. It seems like you often bring new people into the situation.
Chico: That I've done. I've been fortunate along those lines. It works both ways, they seek me out, I seek them out. When I have need for another player, I reach out, and other players that wanna get on my gig and my sound, they reach out to me. What's dynamite - I don't go out and jam anymore - is the fact that I'm down at the school, I have the opportunity to hear a lot of new talent.
S & R: Let's talk numbers, how many records does this make for you?
Chico: I don't know, maybe fifty or sixty?
S & R: Exactly. So how do you keep it fresh? What was your approach to writing this new album, was there anything significant that you put in the forefront, in terms of compositing it, arranging it, and producing it?
Chico: Once I've played something, I've had it. Then I gotta try something else. I just consider myself as being blessed, I'm able to come up with ideas. I spent at least ten years doing nothing but commercials.
S & R: Recently?
Chico: I came here in 1966, from London, to do a commercial. I was in London with Lena Horne, and we were working at Talk of the Town at night, and in the daytime, I was on set with Roman Polanski, doing the film Repulsion. He's the best director I've ever worked with, because he never forgot why he hired me. The hippest thing about writing for films is [deciding] when not to have music, and he let me control those music cues.
S & R: You've really seen more decades of the music go by than most people, and have a pretty unique perspective as a composer now who has seen so much, and are still creating in this new technological age.
Chico: You know, in a sense, my music hasn't changed. It's still melodic. And the bottom line is, it swings.
S & R: What do you like to listen to?
Chico: I listen to all of it, man. It takes all types of music to make music. I listen to all of it, but I don't dig all of it. I dig good, honest music. Regardless of what form it's in. I like country and western, rock, pop...if it's happenin' it's happenin'. If it ain't happenin', it ain't happenin'. (Points to a line drawn on a newspaper) See that line? That's the difference. That's how thin it is, between noise and music. What's music to me, might be noise to you.
S & R: I suppose that's why you haven't conceded anything, and why the music hasn't changed.
Chico: Exactly. That's why I stopped playing for people. You can't please 'em, man. So rather than get my feelings hurt...
S & R: Having introduced such innovative players as Jim Hall and Eric Dolphy into the world. What was it like seeing them come and go, and see the reactions in the music after they've gone?
Chico: When they left, they left for a reason. They left because it was time for them to go. I've never fired anyone in my whole career. When its time to move out on your own, I encourage you to.
S & R: Musically, who raised you? Who put the music in your head?
Chico: I was very influenced by two players, and they were both with Count Basie's Orchestra. One was Prez [Lester Young], and one was the drummer Jo Jones. I met Prez in California. At the time, I was taking some drum lessons from his brother, Lee Young. When Prez left Basie and came to California, that's when I met him, and through Prez I met Jo Jones...which was dynamite. When I was around 8 years old, my mother took me to the Paramount Theatre in Los Angeles to see the Duke Ellington Orchestra. And that's when the band would set up as a pyramid, and Sonny Greer, the drummer, was on the top. And he had more drums than a drum store, man, but everything he touched made music. I was impressed. Eight years later, I was in that same seat. I played with Duke when I was sixteen years old. Sonny hurt himself, and at that time I was a hot-shot drummer out in LA, and they sent for me to play. I played about a month with 'em.
S & R: How'd it go?
Chico: Shit, it went! I didn't get fired.
S & R: At this point in your life how to do see things going, looking back and forward?
Chico: I'm just trying to get my health together, man. I've spent a hell of a lot of time in the hospital. I'm tired of being laid up. It's a drag to have to depend upon other people to do things for me. It's not me, you know? I was out all morning on my walk, and all I did was walk around the corner and back (laughs). But that's good, man. God is good, he's letting me walk. Laying in that bed, that bed will kill you.
So I gotta stay in shape, those drums will kick the shit outta you. They make you stay in shape.
