After growing up in the Boston area and attending the Berklee College of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music, Josh Roseman moved to New York City in 1990, where he quickly became a catalyst in the improv scene, co-founding the Groove Collective and Giant Step. In addition to collaborating with countless cutting-edge musicians and groups, and is an original member of the SFJAZZ Collective, he performs and has recorded two CDs with his own group, the Josh Roseman Unit. Mary Destri of Music in Schools Today conducted the following e-interview with Josh.

Music in Schools Today (MuST):
How old were you when you started playing music, and was the trombone your first instrument?

Josh Roseman:
I was eight or nine years old. My father, uncle and cousins all played music and there were a lot of interesting sounds around our house. And trombones lying around all over the place.

Boston can be a good place for young players to grow up -- I participated in a lot of classical and jazz programs and went out to jazz concerts regularly with my parents.

I've always liked to experiment in music -- In addition to trombone, I've studied and performed on tuba, euphonium, bass, drums and I have composerly chops on piano. I do a lot of production work; my Mac is almost like a second instrument at this point.

MuST:
What do you like most about the trombone, compared to other instruments?

Josh:
Trombone: it keeps you honest
It's a real life pursuit, you learn a lot working on this instrument
it moves a lot of air and interesting things happen to you when you do that. people appreciate it very much when you don't hurt them with a trombone
when it works well, it's a full body experience
you can have a voice with the trombone
you can do things that otherwise wouldn't exist with a trombone.

MuST:
Were you able to study music in your schools when you were growing up, or did you take lessons elsewhere?

Josh:
Oh, yeah -- I went to Berklee in high school, attended a few other summer programs, attended extension division classes at New England, where I later went for undergrad studies. All those resources are valuable, as is the sense of community, where people come from all over the world to study, participate, hook up and try to develop in the music. Also -- there are things you discover that you don't want to emulate when you're surrounded by that kind of concentration; aspects surrounding the business, history, general philosophy and politics. But it can be just as helpful when you realize things you want to avoid, it gives you leverage.

MuST:
Who were some of your earliest musical influences?

Josh:
Normal enough influences early on:
Very bad pop AM radio
music we played in school -- classical stuff.

Potent influences:
Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Sly -- all '70's era funk and R&B
Jimi Hendrix
Bob Marley, early Ska music -- my mom's Jamaican and it was profound having his music blasting throughout the house. We bought his LP's as they came out. Beatles

I kind of found myself while listening to:
Ornette Coleman
Coltrane
Charlie Parker
Henry Threadgill, James Blood Ulmer, participants of the '80's free-funk scene.

MuST:
What were some of the most important bits of advice you received from your mentor Lester Bowie?

Josh:
I tried smoking cigars and I learned that it didn't work for me; I can not recommend it.

Ambition in the pursuit of working community: Lester was an visionary projects-maker, the former president of the AACM and had a brilliant, adventurous career. He was laid back, but he had a million stories and had accomplished amazing things all over the globe. Looking at his body of work, you got a sense of the power and true potential of the music as a mind -- and community expanding social force.

His sound taught us the value of pursuing your own identity in a direct, honest and fearless way.

Lester really had the best trumpet sound imaginable. And there were kids and friends all around his house, 24 hours a day.

MuST:
What were your experiences like at Berklee and the New England Conservatory of Music?

Josh:
The best thing was watching people catch fire and develop very quickly, like fireflies, very very beautiful. Classical musicans, improvisors like John Medeski, Chris Speed, David Fiuczynski. And other amazing musicians who people might not be aware of at this time.

It is also great to enter into a learning relationship with older, accomplished figures who have contributed to the history of the music -- in my case, this included Joe Maneri, Dave Holland, Muhal Richard Abrams, George Russell and Bob Moses while at school, and it's never really slowed down since I've been in NY.

This kind of exchange is one of the most profound things about life in music, and the academic environment kind of set that dynamic rolling.

But being out of school is also very very heavy, because you then realize that you and your associates have real responsibility in working to continue the dialoge, the progress in music. You start to think more about trying to have a positive impact on the scene as a whole, you learn how to take initiative and how to interact with listeners in the long term. Hard to do in an academic environment.

MuST:
You have collaborated with such a diverse group of musicians ~ which experiences stand out in your mind as particularly interesting or unique?

Josh:
Waay tooo many! if I start to think about people I've learned from since I started working, I get vertigo.

We kind of absorb energy & lessons from people we work with.

As a trombonist, I assimilated a lot working with Frank Lacy in various situations, in an almost physical way.

I am very indebted to him. Working alongside Graham Haynes, he's very open, a great, pure improvisor.

I got a lot from Zorn. Art is a ritual and doesn't resemble waking life. Which is good.

Roswell Rudd is kind of a trombone guru for me. He's electric and so much fun. Amazing to play with him, to speak with him & etc.

It's been valuable working in the DHBB -- one of the best rhythm sections on this planet or any other. I have the best seat in the house, next to Robin Eubanks (and right in front of Alex Sipiagin.) A great challenge on a nightly basis.

Working with Joey Baron's trio with Ellery Eskelin for several years was an amazing situation. drums, saxophone and trombone - totally stripped down, but conceptually well-put-together. Joey is absolutely brilliant, I learned a lot from him.

I worked extensively with Don Byron and Dave Douglas when I first got to NYC, and they both taught me a lot.

Seems like I better try to do something!

MuST:
As one of the founders of the Groove Collective and Giant Step, how did that scene get started?

Josh:
The Groovies were in the right place at the right time, trying to do something authentic, working without a net, improvising, studying DJ and producer culture and trying to reach a cool crowd that wasn't interested in live bands per se. And we weren't pursuing the normal channels that bands usually develop -- we played dance clubs, just had a totally different model. It takes some doing and you have to be willing to try different things. But the audience was very open at the time, we had some very good players and we had good people working to help us, so it kind of grew from there.

Every few years in NY, you can feel things opening up, you watch real musicans starting to have more of an impact. It's like springtime for musicians.

MuST:
What is your philosophy on the music of your group, the eclectic Josh Roseman Unit?

Josh:
JRU is a love letter. I can not describe it effectively any more than I could speak of cake by showing you the eggs. it's hopefully an integral project, its core is unclassifiable though. It changes, rapidly. There are elements of the Avant-Garde, M-base, African folk musics and DJ culture. It's meant to stimulate your mind and sound good without revealing why. I strive not to know what's going to occur much of the time. I also write rigorous arrangements that can be very challenging, so there is a real sense of torque there, musicians work to apply their truest sensibilities to the format and they also work to be able to intuit the material well. and then we also get gloriously, self indulgently silly at times. We're celebrating the moment to the best of our ability, it is an affirmative experience

MuST:
Any final words of wisdom for aspiring young musicians out there?

Josh:
Be relentless, ambitious, demanding, listen and take very good care of each other. When you find something that sustains you, drink deeply, make it a part of yourself and prepare your response. Be ready, and believe in it; the future will depend upon you very soon.