The Toledo Jazz Orchestra will bring on the drummers to pay tribute to one of their own.
The big band will present Drums and Drummers, a concert dedicated to Roger Schupp, the long-time TJO drummer who died in December, 2015, Saturday, March 11, at 8 p.m. at the Valentine Theatre in Toledo. Tickets are $25 and $35 from the Valentine box office at 419-242-2787 or order online at valentinetheatre.com.
Ron Kischuk said that the TJO wanted to wait to plan its tribute to Schupp until after Bowling Green State University, where Schupp was a percussion professor, did their tribute concert.
Kischuk said he’d encountered Schupp over the years, but the two first worked regularly when Kischuk became leader of the jazz orchestra after it re-formed seven years ago. He liked working with Schupp so much, he brought him to Detroit to record with his own groups.
“What made Roger such a special player was his never ending appetite for becoming better at what he did,” Kischuk said. “He had such a joy to learn about all types of music and to excel at all types of music.”
Schupp performed at such “a high level all the time it almost became something sadly that’s taken for granted.”
Given that Schupp so enjoyed the camaraderie of other drummers the theme seemed appropriate. The concert will feature three drummers during the concert.
Tommy Igoe leads large ensembles on two coasts, the Birdland Big Band in New York City and the Tommy Igoe Groove Conspiracy in San Francisco.
He’s also author of top drum instructional books.
That dedication to both teaching and performance is fitting for someone paying tribute to Schupp, Kischuk said.
Jerry McKenzie, who did two stints as the drummer with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, will also perform on three Kenton-related numbers.
McKenzie knew Schupp from a previous performance at a Kenton-themed TJO concert. McKenzie said the two bonded musically when he played drum set and Schupp played utility percussion – timpani, congas and more.
McKenzie admired Schupp’s ability to be an all-around percussionist. “And his big band prowess was excellent.”
He recalled how on one number on which he soloed. “Roger would keep the time, and I could play around that. It just gave me more freedom to expand my solo.”
Then, he told Schupp, “to beat those timpani to death because I was on a search and destroy mission to kill my drum set.”
McKenzie said “the Kenton stuff was very bombastic and brassy. You just lay into it.”
They stayed in touch throughout Schupp’s battle with cancer.
McKenzie, who survived his own battle with the disease, would encourage and commiserate with his fellow drummer.
Kischuk said that when McKenzie heard about the TJO tribute, he insisted on taking part.
The concert will open with “Love for Sale” in an arrangement written for drumming great Buddy Rich’s band and featuring the TJO’s regular drummer Dan Maslanka. The program will also include music associated with other great jazz drummers including Chick Webb and Gene Krupa.
Bassist Ralphe Armstrong, who has performed with John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Santana, Frank Zappa and others, will also join the band’s rhythm section for the show.
