• Common Ground •

Among those things that make life worth living for me is music. I should say among the most important; Actually right up there with farming. The two things that I have done consciously for the longest are farm and make music. I have had the great good fortune to have musically inclined parents and many memories of long car rides with all of us singing to pass the time and enjoy ourselves. Later at night very often, after we children had faded out, my parents would sing duets in harmony and in a half drowsy state the trip would become a comfortable secure background for time passing. My first acquaintance with a trombone was in Oklahoma, where my mother bought a trombone, clarinet, tambourine, and drum sticks, if memory serves me correctly, for $8 dollars. I was six. I was able to get the horn to sound and so began my long relationship with playing trombone. Throughout my school education there have been a few teachers who seemed to recognize a certain something in my playing and they helped me advance my skills: Alfred Spurr, in elementary school, Dellwood Kneering in summer school, Bill Woodworth in college. I mention these folks because they also showed great patience. My own journey to play better brought me to study with Reynaldo Jorge, Larry Farrel, Steve Turre, and Carmine Caruso. Now, I know that these are only names to most if not all of you but they bear mention because each of them helped me get to the skill level where I was able to get a gig playing with [at that time] Conjunto Libre and for the succeeding 23 years to date [now] Manny Oquendo Y Libre. Manny has been called by many, the Art Blakey of Latin music. Co-founded in 1974 by Manny Oquendo [timbales, bongo,& bell] and Andy Gonzalez[bass] Libre has been a significant force in the evolution of Latin music. Manny, throughout the course of his career, has played with all of the top musicians and really is a musicians musician. Never compromising the music for business or device Manny plays it as pure as it gets. I have been fortunate to be a part of Libre and indeed this has shaped my playing. In a 1997 Downbeat magazine article Libre was noted as having "possibly the tightest horn section in the country"; quite an accolade. Libre has played in Africa, Europe, South America, North America and the Caribbean and I have been a part of most of that music. In my 23 years of playing with Libre I have missed 5 gigs. Just like any family we have had our ups and downs and so for me, Manny has been my musical father. This past year has seen his health decline to the point where he, at age 78, has finally retired from the band. While holding open the door for occasional events, Manny has very firmly turned the corner on his 59 year career as one of Latin music's seminal performers. When you hear a modern latin beat, chances are that Manny was one of the original musicians who popularized that rhythm. Why is this in Common Ground? My observation is that whether it is music or farming, food for the soul or food for the body, it is critical for our survival and quality of life, that we support and learn from those who do not compromise their actions merely for the sake of gain; those who remain focused, committed, and determined to live life for the sake of the art.

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