World-Class Saxophonist, Long-time Colleague and Friend of Thomas Chapin on Hamp's bandstand and other stages
We met at school first, at Rutgers. He left in '80, I left in '81. We both were studying with Paul Jeffrey. Tom was at Hartford, I had been to Indiana briefly. Paul recruited us, separately, when he got the gig at Rutgers. We were Tom and Jerry; it was like a joke at the school. We were the only ones who could play, and Thomas was so advanced. Then a few other guys came in, and the band got a whole lot better fast. There was a guy named Adam Brenner, he joined Hamp's band later on, he got real good real fast in the Rutgers band. Dave Schumacher goes back that far, and was in Hamp's band, too. Paul eventually got Terence Blanchard, Ralph Peterson and Harry Pickens. But Thomas and I were the first two guys there.
When he left school, he went right into Hamp's band. Paul was doing some gigs with Hamp, when his teaching gig allowed, and he also sent him his students. Hamp loved Thomas, and Thomas eventually became the straw boss. When Ricky Ford's tenor chair came open, Thomas got me in the band, and we roomed together. Ultimately there was Adam and Dave, too.
He was such a unique guy, and equally great on both instruments. Most saxophone players who double are doublers; they play pretty good. But Thomas was a virtuoso on both alto sax and flute. He had the inside/outside thing too. He was as heavy on the Knitting Factory scene as the mainstream scene. He listened to everything. He loved Rahsaan, of course; and Yusef Lateef, especially his tenor playing. He loved r&b, Eddie Harris. But we listened to Trane, Dexter, Wayne Shorter. And he also had these Earl Bostic sides. He played good piano, and that wild thing, too. Just a real well-rounded musician. A lot of technically great players sounded stiff, but he was warm, he communicated to the audience.
We had some great times together. Especially with Hamp, whose thing is so out. We'd do all of George Wein's festivals in Europe each summer, and George Wein would have people travel with us. Young people, who had been on rock tours; and Hamp's shit was the most out shit [they had encountered].