By Steve Simmons
Pioneering drummer Nesbert “Stix” Hooper, founding member of The Jazz Crusaders, later The Crusaders, whose nearly seven-decade career has seen him play with dozens of jazz luminaries and earn nine Grammy nominations, is not slowing down. At 83, he is readying a radio show to debut next month, planning a tribute to friend and beloved songstress Ernestine Anderson, and set to release new music.
Named one of Downbeat’s and Playboy’s top three drummers 10 times, as percussionist and leader, Hooper helped The Crusaders evolve into one of the most influential groups in what was eventually called “fusion,” a combination of improvised music (jazz) and some of the rhythms of rock and roll. But Hooper chafes at categorization. “It can be a kiss of death to any musician, although the industry loves it,” he says. “But most of the time, what does it mean? The musical umbrella is huge, and you don’t want to restrict yourself.”
Taking It To The Radio
With his opinions, contacts and expertise, it’s no wonder local jazz station KKJZ (88.1 FM) asked Hooper to host his own show. “Stix Hooper – Lay It On The Line” will debut at 9 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 17.
“I’m excited to present music of quality,” says Hooper. He plans to feature not only artists he’s worked with— the list is long and varied including Arthur Fiedler, B.B. King, Grant Green, Elton John, Grover Washington Jr., Nancy Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Hugh Masekela, George Shearing and Les McCann—but also introduce his latest discoveries.
“The show is an opportunity for me to share experiences and help people appreciate this broad base of music accepted around the world,” says Hooper. “The term ‘jazz’ is a misnomer. There are so many factions.” He prefers the term “improvised music;” music characterized by spontaneity, camaraderie “and the basic ideology of jazz.”
Each show will have its own theme and what Hooper hopes “will be a potpourri” of music, interviews and anecdotes.
And he has a plethora to draw from. He hung out in intimate clubs with Rolling Stones’ drummer Charlie Watts (who died in August) and saxophone great Stan Getz. “They liked to escape larger venues and rub shoulders with Black jazz musicians. Music has a way to reach out and be anti-racist.”
Locally, Hooper was the house drummer for the Ye Little Club in Beverly Hills, renowned for musical acts and comedians like Joan Rivers and Sandra Bernhard, which closed in 1978. “I played there seven days a week,” recalls Hooper.
Over the years Hooper earned the moniker “Mr. Metronome,” for his rhythmic and consistent playing, even from fellow iconic drummer Roy Haines. So, he’s eager to “introduce this new generation to the art” and share the history of jazz.
A Personal Connection
As a manager, Hooper worked with several artists, including noted jazz vocalist Anderson. “She had an incredible voice, expression and would articulate every word,” says Hooper. “She was in that rare genre of great jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae. She was a great interpreter of standards and could do it in one take.
“I was happy to be involved in the creative side of her life for about three years,” says Hooper. Both shared Texas roots having been born in Houston, she in 1928 and he in 1938. “We didn’t know each other there, but we became friends as our careers grew, and I would go to see her in clubs,” remembers Hooper. When she returned to Seattle later in her career, she suggested the city to Hooper. “That’s where I hang my hat now,” he says. And he’s a big fan of the local fishing.
Hooper produced two of her most successful and popular albums on Quincy Jones’ Qwest record label. “He gave me the green light to be sole producer,” recalls Hooper.
In 1993, Now And Then included A Night in Tunisia, and standards This Can’t Be Love, My Funny Valentine and I’ll be Seeing You. Hooper contributed horn and rhythm arrangements and the song Monte Carlo Nights, co-written with Todd Cochran.
For Blues, Dues & Love News in 1996, Hooper played percussion and wrote Show Me and How Can I Sing A Love Song.
Both albums earned Anderson Grammy nominations for Best Jazz Vocal Performance.
Hooper and Will Jennings also wrote Never Make Your Move Too Soon, which Anderson recorded for her 1980 album of the same name (another Grammy nomination) and proved an audience favorite in concerts.
Celebrating Ernestine Anderson And The Seattle Connection
So, Hooper is now a force behind “The Ernestine Anderson Celebration,” a series of citywide events next month to honor Seattle’s most iconic jazz and blues artist.
Hooper initiated the project and “put together an enthusiastic team” with the cooperation of Seattle-area radio station KNKX (88.5 FM).
“She’s very significant to Seattle,” says Hooper. “It’s great that the city is acknowledging Ernestine.”
Her family moved to the city in 1944, when she was 16. Anderson attended Garfield High School, graduating in 1946. While a teenager, she was discovered by bandleader “Bumps” Blackwell, who hired her as a singer for his Junior Band. Anderson’s first show was at the Washington Social Club on East Madison Street. The band (which later included Quincy Jones on trumpet, and a young Ray Charles on keyboard) performed regularly in jazz clubs on Seattle’s Jackson Street. Jones’ family settled in Seattle in 1947. He joined an after-school band at Garfield High School and was soon a veteran of the local club scene, occasionally performing with his friends: Anderson and Charles.
Throughout her six-decade career Anderson recorded more than 30 albums, received four Grammy nominations and performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall and the first Monterey Jazz Festival. Jones once described her voice as the “sound of honey at dusk.”
Her contributions to the city will be recognized next month when the city of Seattle issues an official proclamation recognizing Anderson’s contributions to the arts and her community. It reads in part, “whereas jazz is an African American creation, a gift to Seattle and the world alike, affirming our collective humanity and speaking eloquently about freedom, expression, creativity, struggle, perseverance, and triumph; and whereas, Seattle’s jazz treasure Ernestine Anderson exemplified all of these attributes throughout her six-decade career, we therefore proclaim November as a month to honor Ernestine Anderson for her dedication to music, community service, and her contributions to this city’s arts and cultural heritage.”
Joining To Celebrate
Hooper and his Stix Hooper Enterprises and Eugenie Jones, who made her professional debut as a singer/songwriter in Seattle, are co-executive producers of the commemoration.
Festivities will include a celebrity panelists discussion on “The Life & Legacy of Ernestine Anderson” from 6-7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 2. Moderated by Jones, the event will include video historian Kay D. Ray’s rarely shown historical video There Will Never Be Another You, featuring interviews with Anderson and her celebrity peers. Additional panelists include KNKX’s Jim Wilke. A fixture on Seattle radio since 1961, he has been producing Jazz Northwest for KNKX since 1988. Author Paul De Barros writes a weekly column for the Seattle Times and is a contributor to Downbeat magazine. Due to COVID, the event will be a Zoom webinar. There’s still time to register for free at https://celebratingernestineanderson.org/.
Hooper himself will take part in the “Ernestine Anderson Musical Tribute” at 7 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 13 at the Seattle’s Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. He will be joined by Gail Pettis, Darrius Willrich, Alex Dugdale, Paul Gabrielson, Jamael Nance, Wilke, John Gilbreath and more. Special guest Earshot Jazz executive John Gilbreath will interview Black Heritage Society of Washington State President, Stephanie Johnson Toliver.
Proceeds from the event will benefit Anderson’s favorite charity, The Rotary Boys & Girls Club of Central Seattle. Because of her belief in youth organizations there will also be an Ernestine Anderson Youth Vocal competition for 10-18-year-olds for Seattle-area youth and an assembly at Garfield High School for students and faculty.
Keeping Busy With New Music
Not content to rest on his laurels as they say, Hooper has new projects in the works on his own label.
His highly anticipated newest recording in five years is an orchestral project that reflects “how I feel about the universality and global influence of jazz,” says Hooper. Hooper as conductor/composer/drums/percussion is joined by Eugene Maslov, arranger/piano/keyboards from St. Petersburg; Andreas Oberg from Stockholm and Oscar Castro-Neves from Rio de Janeiro on guitar; Hubert Laws from Houston on flute; Jamelle Adisa of New Orleans on trumpet/coronet; Scott Mayo from New York City on reeds; Del Atkins of Los Angeles, playing acoustic and electric bass, and the USA Unified Strings Ensemble. Scheduled for release in February, the new recording “celebrates the artistic fellowship and integrity that results when kindred artistic spirits share a common bond of personal expression and unite to excel in magnificent musicianship and spontaneity beyond a melodic, rhythmic, harmonic baseline,” says Hooper. “I’m very excited about it.”
Hooper is credited with creating an original style of drumming that has been incorporated in jazz as well as other musical genres, called “Jazz Funk.” To explore it further, he’s planning to re-unite with Maslov– “He studied with the greatest teachers and he’s an incredible musician,” says Hooper–for a jazz trio recording showcasing what he believes are the quintessential elements of music he loves—”creativity, spontaneity, and friendship. Freedom of expression, that’s what it’s all about.”
Steve Simmons is an accomplished writer and editor who writes about a wide array of topics including entertainment. His successful experience at the Beverly Hills Courier and other publications set the stage for his blog. Contact Steve at steve.simmons0211@gmail.com or 626-788-6734.
