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The student files JD Erickson jazzed about the saxophone BY DANI CLIFTON First-year student JD Erickson is a talented and passionate musician; as an up and com ing artist in the world of jazz, he has a certain sax appeal. The Clackamas Print: Take us back to that moment much as I evolve, and when my ears develop as to what I’ m listening to^Jils playing ^eems to follow that. So I’ve always had a reasop to keep listening to him. He’s just followed alpng with 'me. It’ s really cool and I’d love to meet him &>meday. £ w hen you first realized that jazz w as your future. TCP: Knowing what you know thus far in life, what JD Erickson: It was my freshman year at band nugget o f w isd o m w ould you tell your fiv e -y e a r cam p, actually, as lame as that sounds. M y ✓ 'oTdself? director had hired a really funky sax player t6 come in and play and he brought a whole band, JE: Find what you love to do,varly, no matter what it and they just rocked the house for the first night is; that’s what I would recommend. I was there. I told my friends, ‘That’s what I want to do. That seems like so much fu n .’ And that TCP: Flash forw ard four or five decades. Y o u ’ re sitting across from an author who is penning your was the inspiration I needed to get myself going. TCP: Loo k in g fo rw a rd fro m there, w h o memoirs. W hat a r e s o m e o f the highlights o f your career that you w ant to be revisiting? were your musical inspirations, your jazz mentors? ’I m C i JE^PteVing at the Village Vanguard would be awesome, JE: W ell, I ’ve had a few m entors throughout the years. I’ve studied with multiple different jazzw asters if you will, and not all saxophone players ... Derek Sim s, he’ s a trumpet player... John Nasto, a sax player... Renato Caranto, a sax player... Clark Blondy, he’s a sax player. I’m currently studying with Gary Harris, w ho’ s another sax player. Charlie D oggett, I ’ m looking forward to starting up with him real soon; he’ s a drummer and then Clay Giberson, he’ s on piano. I’ve studied with all kinds of people. TCP: I f you could spend an afternoon w ith anyone, alive or deceased, w h o would it be? JE: W ell, he’ s still alive today and my number one idol — jazz — anything, he’ s just evolved as my listening has evolved; his name is Tucker A n tell, h e’ s from Boston, M ass, and h e ’ s a tenor saxophone player and he evolves just as GN TNf COVER: Design editor Brandon Chorum tributes David Bowie, who died Jan. 10. Itheclackamasprint.com w ith a jazz quartet featuring me. That would be something; something definitely on my bucket list. The Village Vanguard is the venue that everyone’s played at: Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane — it’ s just the jazz place everyone’s gone to; kind of like Birdland or Blue Note. The Village Vanguard is a very, very famous jazz club. TCP: As an up -an d-co m in g jazz artist, the world is quite literally your stage. W hat is it that you wish to convey to your global audience through your music? JE: I like to think of myself as a very happy person and I try to always be in a good mood. Normally I am, and I like to put that through my music. I like to have it go somewhere and I just want it to be inspirational for someone else, to have someone listen to me and have that same — what if 1 was that someone’ s ‘freshman year at band cam p.’ So when I play, I’m trying to think, what can I do to make a happy story out of how I’m playing? What ideas can I play that go off of the previous one? So I try to tell a story throughout most of it while also trying to play to the best of my ability because I feel everyone who comes out to hear you play deserves to hear the best you’ve got and that’s something I’ m really passionate about, that every moment is a chance to give it your all, no holding back. OOBI Edit o rs-in-Ch i ef Andrew Koczian & Megan McCoy. cWefed@dadamas.edu; News E tfitor Cassidy White, newsed@ciackamas.edu; Arts & Culture Matthew Rowring, aced@dadamas.edu; Associate Arts & Culture Saige Keikkala; Sports Editor Katie Archer, sportsed@cladamas.edu; Cow Editor Blake Swan, copy ed @dacka mas.edu; Design Editor Brandon Chorum: Photo Editor Austin Boltz, photoed@dadamas.edu; Associate Photo Eritor Victoria ra te; W et Eritor Chelsea Pagan, webeditor® dacka mas.edu; Associate Web Eritor Shaylyn Stnma; Ad Manager Robin Scott admgr@dadamas.edu; Associate Ad Manager Henri Calderon Ruiz; Staff Writers & Photographers Dart CMon. James Harley, Taras Kovch. Tom Boggess. Tony Peiiico; Production Cole Stawsoa Debbie Fox. Lexie Wagar. Trans Whittaker; JoumaBsm Adviser Mefissa Jones, mefissaj@dadamas.edu; Ike Oadamas flritaf aims to report the news in an honest unbiased and professional manner. Content published in The Print is not screened or subject to censorship. Email comments, concerns or tips to: chiefed@dadamas.edu or cal us at 503-594-5265; 19600 Molalla Are, Oregon City, OR 97045 2 Clackamas Print JANUARY 20,2016 theciackamasprint.com
