THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2019 // 7
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“the” guy in Portland for
jazz piano. I loved him.
He’d sit there and write out
a chart for you as fast as
you and I were writing a let-
ter — melody, chords, the
whole thing.
RM: Your dad, Al
Grant, owned Madro-
na’s, a very famous record
store in Portland.
TG: His record store
was heavily into R&B and
jazz. It was “the place.”
For the time it was in exis-
tence, from 1950 to 1964,
it was the main place to get
jazz and R&B in Oregon
and beyond. It was a scene.
People danced in the store.
When I was 12 years old,
I took the bus downtown
from northeast Portland. I’d
go to a sci-fi movie, always
knowing I’d go to my dad’s
store and get a ride home.
RM: When did you start
playing jazz?
TG: I went to Grant
High School in Portland.
No relation (laughs). As I
recall, we didn’t have a jazz
band, so everything I did
was outside the high school
thing.
My brother Michael
and (saxophonist) Jim Pep-
per were friends. That’s
how I got to know Pepper.
My first gig was at a place
called Cafe Espresso.
RM: Did your brother
pursue music?
TG: My brother was one
of the original Hare Krish-
nas. He wasn’t just a fol-
lower. In the summer of
love, 1967, he brought the
Hare Krishna movement
out to San Francisco, then
to L.A., and then to Lon-
don, where he befriended
the Beatles with this spiri-
tual message. George Har-
rison was the only one
that stayed with it. He was
always considered a Hare
Krishna devotee.
RM: Were you inter-
ested in the Hare Krishna
movement?
TG: I was ambivalent,
but I wasn’t really into it.
Addie Mannan
Jazz legend Tom Grant and singer Shelly Rudolph.
There were a lot of things
about it I didn’t like.
RM: Did you go to
college?
TG: I studied political
science at the University of
Oregon. I left Portland in
1969 for L.A. to be in a pop
band called “Mercy.” Then
there was another band
called Mercy that had a big
hit, so we had to forget that
name. Then I came back,
finished school, finished
college, got my degree, got
a masters. I taught political
science and social studies.
RM: You taught
school?
TG: I did a lot of teach-
ing in the ’70s. I had my
own classes in a small town
in Oregon, Mill City, then
I came up to Portland, and
substituted in the days, and
then at night I was playing
with Jim Pepper, and then
with my own band.
RM: You played with
the great jazz drummer
Tony Williams. How did
that experience influence
you?
TG: I was very much
influenced by the Tony Wil-
liams Experience. He could
rock with the best of them.
Everything was possible
and nothing was impossible.
He taught me you didn’t
need to be locked in a style.
“Don’t box yourself in.”
When I got the call to play
with him, I nearly died.
RM: What was your
first breakthrough as a
leader?
TG: In the ’70s, I estab-
lished my band in Port-
land, “Tom Grant and
Friends.” We played fusion
music. I had a record in
1983, “Tom Grant,” that
got a bunch of airplay. It
charted. I was playing elec-
tric (piano), then synthe-
sizer, but the acoustic piano
was my sound. Ironically,
when I toured with Tony, he
hated me playing acoustic
piano. His complaint was he
couldn’t hear it.
This was before there
was an expression “smooth
jazz.” My subsequent
records did pretty well.
RM: Did you continue
to teach social studies?
TG: (Portland drummer)
Ron Steen was a big influ-
ence on my whole career.
He talked me into leav-
ing teaching high school
and coming up to Portland
to play. He nurtures young
players like crazy. (Bass-
ist) Esperanza Spaulding —
I give him all the credit for
nurturing her career. (Trum-
peter) Chris Botti is another
Ron Steen protege. Chris is
originally from Corvallis,.
He did all his growing up
playing jam sessions under
the tutelage of Ron Steen.
RM: When did your
music begin to be asso-
ciated with the “smooth
jazz” genre?
TG: Toward the late
’80s, early ’90s, they
started using the expres-
sion smooth jazz. I was
“Mr. Smooth Jazz” for a
while. I hated that. I never
like to be boxed in. So I’ve
been fighting it — to my
detriment.
The 2000s were when
I was trying to regain my
status in the smooth jazz
world. I think I was regret-
ting the fact that I had
thumbed my nose at the
smooth jazz world.
RM: You won an
award in 2017 for your
album “Sipping Beauty.”
Zone Music Reporter, a
website tracking New Age,
world, and instrumental
music gave it best album
for the “chill-groove”
genre.
TG: My last two records
were New Age-y relaxation
records. They did pretty
well.
RM: Do you have a
family?
TG: I have one child, 49,
with two grandkids. We’re
close. I also have a step-
daughter from my second
marriage. I’m not married,
but I may as well be. Her
name is Mary.
RM: Do you continue
to tour?
TG: I was just in Indo-
nesia. One of my records,
a bootleg, was a big hit in
Indonesia.
RM: Have you played
locally?
TG: I’ve played at the
Coaster Theatre twice, with
Shelly Rudolph, We play
standards, some of my orig-
inal stuff. She’s cool and
great to look at. We’re play-
ing at the Astoria Country
Club on Feb. 2.
RM: What do you like
to do for fun?
TG: I do conditioning.
Hot yoga, bickram — I’ve
done that for 20 years.
RM: How do you see
Oregon as a place to nur-
ture jazz talent?
TG: For years we’ve
had some good big jazz fes-
tivals. There’s a good pro-
gram at Portland State
University. Several of the
community colleges have
good established jazz play-
ers. Jazz is very respectable
around here.
I do a gig every Sunday
night in Vancouver (Wash-
ington) at a little club there.
We’re celebrating our 10th
year. Tommy O’s, it’s kind
of a Hawaiian-themed
place, Tommy is a Hawai-
ian native. We do a con-
cert, then we do a jam ses-
sion. Jam sessions are big in
Portland.
RM: What’s coming up
for you?
TG: Dinner, pretty soon.
RM: What is your
advice to younger
musicians?
TG: Get a complete edu-
cation. Go into law or med-
icine (laughs). Follow your
heart, follow your dream. CW