Ask a New Yorker: You’re looking good!
Jerry: I feel good. You’re looking good too. (laughter)
Ask a New Yorker: I’m here with Jerry Weldon, who I met months ago.
Jerry: I remember stopping into a bar. I had a couple of drinks trying to kill
some time. Then you and your buddy came in. Within a drink or two all of the
sudden we were talking about Tom Chapin, right?
Ask a New Yorker: Well, really what went down is that you and my buddy were
talking about sports. You were having this deep discussion about baseball and
boxing…neither sport I’m well versed in. Needless to say, I said
very little. You mentioned briefly that you played the sax . I knew only one
other jazz musician. So out of the blue I asked you if you knew Thomas
Chapin. Your jaw almost hit the floor. The conversation changed quickly
and I was no longer the mute.
Thomas: That’s right, we were watching the end of the Mets game. They
were playing the Giants.
Ask a New Yorker: O.K enough of the sports… So when I said out loud, “Thomas
Chapin” you said….
Jerry: I must of said a lot because that’s, you know, a brother. We we’re
Tom and Jerry for many, many years. We were Tom and Jerry in the Rutgers jazz
band in 1978. After that band we were the Tom and Jerry with Lionel
Hampton’s band. We saw the world together; went through thick &
thin together for many years. That was just the beginning of a most prolific
career for Thomas…he really was a master musician. Music just jumped out of
him. The spirit, intense beauty & originality! And the laughs! Anyone who
ever knew Thomas will never forget that laugh of his. I still hear it.
Ask a New Yorker: Who Is Jerry
Weldon?
Jerry: I’m a musician, saxophonist and a New Yorker. Ask a New Yorker,
right? I’m half Irish, half Italian. It doesn’t get more New York
than that.
Ask a New Yorker: Lionel Hampton, that’s serious legendary stuff.
Jerry: Absolutely, and Thomas got me into the Lionel Hampton’s band. Ask
any New York musician who worked with Lionel Hampton, they’ll all have
a story. They called him Gates. That was his nickname. That’s what he
called everybody. He never called you by you first name. I was very fortunate
to have that be my way in. That was my first gig of any significance. Thomas
left a year in school before I did to Hamps Band and toured all around the world.
Ask a New Yorker: Who else have you played with?
Jerry: Well, Harry Connick Jr., who I’ve toured with many times and will
be recording with soon again in L.A. I’ve worked with Al Grey for many
years, Brother Jack McDuff,
Jimmy McGriff, Mel
Torme, Freddy Cole, Joey DeFrancesco, George Gables, Roy Haynes.
Ask a New Yorker: Where’s your gig tonight?
Jerry: We’re at
Showman’s right there on 125th st. Between Saint Nichs and Morningside
no cover, two drink minimum, every Wed, don’t be a stranger. Jerry Weldon
Trio. I can plug it right? 8:30-12:30. This has been a steady gig of mine for
many, many years. Showman’s bar another Harlem landmark.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you have a name for your horn?
Jerry: No, you mean like BB kings guitar, Lucille, no. It’s the same horn
since I’ve had since high school. It’s been with me through thick
and thin.
Ask a New Yorker: Before the show Jerry and I met at….
Jerry: Patsy’s on 117th street, not the midtown patsy’s. This is
the original Patsy’s. You see this was the old neighborhood. This is where
my mother’s family comes from right down the street. This was all Italian.
This was a very, very Italian part of New York. This is where my grandfather
came when he came off the boat from Italy. You know, you landed, and you went
were your people were. The lower east side was very Jewish. You know back in
the old, old New York. Then you had Harlem, west Harlem. Patsy’s and Rao’s,
which is on Pleasant Ave and 114th street. The famous Rao’s where all
the heavy weights go. It’s a tiny little joint with like ten tables. Joe
Rao was notorious. Let’s just put it this way, Joe Rao was Gotti’s
idol. As a kid, Gotti wanted to be Joe Rao. Joe Rao was a heavy cat and this
was his turf right here.
Ask a New Yorker: This is excellent pizza.
Jerry: If this isn’t the best pizza you ever had in your life! This is
off-the-path stuff. You don’t get this down in the village.
Ask a New Yorker: Besides Showman’s, what jazz clubs would you recommend?
Jerry: Smalls of course, then there’s Fat Cat on Christopher Street, Smoke
which is on 106th and Broadway, great spot. Of course my place Showman’s
is hot and The Lenox Lounge up here in Harlem is great too.
Ask a New Yorker: Where do you live?
Jerry: I live in Elmont. I’m on long Island.
Ask a New Yorker: Do you have a lawn that you cut?
Jerry: I do. I have a lawn, a back yard, and I have a dog and I have grand kids
and a beautiful wife. Dog’s name is Toby. I love that little guy. He’s
a little fluffy Bichon Frise.
