Sonny Caulfield


The best musician I have ever played with died this morning. Not just any musician that I've played with...but the one who has deeply seeded intertwined responsibility for creating the majority of my true practical and functioning musicianship.

If you've never heard of him...I encourage you to read his story http://www.sonnycaulfield.com/sonnybio.htm

If you know him, then you know what an immense loss this is.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

The only thing I can offer is an example of what he did for me.  I was 17 when I played my first gig with Sonny was at the Delta hotel in the restaurant - arguably Sonny's "home" since 1986.  Dave Shephard, percussion professor at UPEI, recommended me as a replacement bassist for one gig.  He said, wear a tux, bow-tie, bring your upright bass.  I showed up early, setup beside the piano and then Sonny walked up...I can't remember what he said to me but I knew this guy was the real deal.  My only question for him was..."so, do you have charts for the songs you play?"

Sonny laughed a loud laugh....sat down at the piano...and started playing....

No music...no charts....no rehearsal....just...play..now!! You either can play along or get the hell out.

and there started my visual relationship with Sonny's left hand...luckily I had been learning to play the piano in my first year at university...at first I clumsily tried to mimic every note he played...the laws of space and time made this almost impossible...once he played a note it already happened...my brain was too slow to keep up...in an almost echo-like fashion I stumbled upon the notes he played a few fractions of seconds AFTER he played them....in music...this means I sounded terrible. 

Now I'd love to tell you Sonny patted me on the back and said..."good job...."

he didn't....he turned around after the first song and said "you sound terrible..."  ...but....any other person would just get frustrated and bear then next several hours, say "thanks", or not, and never hire me again...but not Sonny...he said "you sound terrible...." and then went on to say something to the effect "use your ears....listen to me..listen to where the music is going and you'll get there..."   so I did....I worked hard....I tried....I responded....I got a bit better...and Sonny at the end of the night said to Dave with me standing there ..." This kid is good....he just needs time with me...."

and that's what he gave me....what was supposed to be a single gig turned into every saturday night at the Delta for the next few months...and Sonny worked me hard...he'd stop after songs and teach me...."don't always play the root....don't always play what my left hand is playing...use your ears...anticpate the chord structure..."

He never said "here's a song list..go learn these songs..." that was a useless teaching tool....he taught me about MUSIC...and how to live it....

I'll never forget one gig where I finally "got it"....I stopped looking at his left hand...I only listenened....and rather than Sonny carrying the weight of the bottom end of the song he was drifting more and more up the register so I could truly be the bassist...I was grooving...I was soaring...I got cocky, my finger slipped what ended up happening was that I "SPROINGED" my low E string in a low flautulating "FWLOP" while he was soloing and it just happened to be the right note at the right time and Sonny looked at me yelped an excited "YEAH!!!"  .....

it was magic.....a student getting the best kind of appreciation from his teacher...

it was also hilarious that it was an accident...and he never knew...but....to this day and forever when I'm playing jazz and walking a bassline under someone's solo once in a while I'll purposefully land a thunderous low E BOOWWWMMM...and I'll think of Sonny...and think of how thankful I am for knowing him...and how thankful I am for all the education he selflessly gave to me over the last 15 years...

My last gig with Sonny was in November 2010  when he delighted a room full of people at the Delta with Christmas carols Sonny style....he always played FOR people...considering what they would want "Well...it's almost December...I think they'd want some Christmas music, don't you?" ...and away we went on another music adventure with Sonny.

I will miss those adventures deeply. 

There is no other person/musician like Sonny.



Comments

  1. UnknownApril 23, 2011 at 8:33 PM

    thank you, Deryl. My father loved you,and loved your playing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Deryl GallantFebruary 22, 2012 at 11:42 AM

      this is a tad late in replying... but you are most welcome. I loved playing with your father and miss it very very much.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acadian Meat Pie (Pâté)

Image
While growing up, it seemed that at some point every December my house would be filled with the most amazing smell - my mom making her Acadian Meat Pie (Pâté). It was so good - heated up, cold, plain, with molasses, with ketchup, whatever... it was so so good.  She was so good at it that for a long time that's what she would give her sisters for Christmas each year - and it's all they wanted from her. I can remember many Christmases helping her with the preparation: cutting the meats, dicing the onions, etc, and then over the next few weeks sneaking into the fridge with a knife..sawing off another piece and drifting off to savory heaven.  Delicious. Fast forward to 2011 and my mom dies of cancer - the first Christmas afterwards was of course pretty difficult.  Seems selfish, seems petty but I sure did miss that meat pie...and um...yeah her too of course. :) Survived that first Christmas and then heading towards Christmas of 2012 I thought I would try to make her meat pie.  Went
Read more

One bass

Image
This time of year, a little over 20 Years ago, my life changed forever.    I'm not guaranteeing this will do the same for someone else but ...I have a perfectly good electric bass that I want to give away - for free. This is why... 20 years ago I was handed an upright bass in my grade 9 general music class in Birchwood.   I didn’t want it.  I hadn’t thought of it previously.  It just happened.  But then music entered my life. If someone told me that day that “you will become a professional musician and eventually teach upright bass at a university level”, I would have exploded with laughter in that persons face.  If someone on that same day told me “If you stick with music and study it at a university level this is where you will eventually meet your beautiful wife that you will have 3 beautiful children with”, I probably would have listened, but still not believed.  You see, I hated myself.  I had zero self esteem. Probably like a good portion of my classmates b
Read more

Liquid music... or how I made my fortune

Image
Well... I've just received the Music PEI award for Musician of the Year. What an honour!  Sincere thanks for Music PEI for including this award for all current, past, and future nominees and winners.  For many music awards organizations, most of the well deserved focus goes to mainline artists and groups for their creative contribution to the music scene. Totally legit, totally great.  Music PEI is one of the few that has the musician of the year category.  Grammys, Junos, ECMAs - none of these have this specific category.  So in these larger music award organizations, many musicians like Chris Gauthier , Nathan Condon , Dan Currie , and myself don't even get the honour just to be nominated.... and they should... because these musicians and countless other musicians across Canada and around the world are responsible for creatively and professionally and passionately supporting artists in rehearsals, on stage, in the studio, etc, etc.  They really do help to make things
Read more