Photo courtesy David Hazeltine
David Hazeltine
By any measure, David Hazeltine is one of the most successful contemporary jazz musicians from Milwaukee. He has released 35 albums as leader or co-leader since moving to New York in 1992. Hazeltine returns to Milwaukee this weekend for a gig at Bar Centro, 808 E. Center St., performing with bassist Billy Peterson and drummer Devin Drobka.
Already rooted at a young age in bebop and post-bop pianists such as Bud Powell, Barry Harris, and Buddy Montgomery, Hazeltine was mentored by such esteemed local jazzmen as Will Green, Berkeley Fudge and Manty Ellis.
By the time he directed the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music’s jazz program in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, Hazeltine had amassed an impressive resume. He debuted at age 13 at Nicollo’s in Wauwatosa and worked steady as a teenager at many long-gone venues for live jazz, including Brothers Lounge (often with trumpeter Brian Lynch) and the Sheraton Mayfair (accompanying vocalist Penny Goodwin).
“While not exactly a jazz mecca, Milwaukee always had older experienced ‘real deal’ jazz musicians who hired many of us as younger musicians,” Hazeltine says. “Me, Brian Lynch, Gerald Cannon, Mark Johnson, Jeff Chambers and many others from my generation were able to work with and be mentored by the likes of Manty Ellis, Buddy Montgomery, Berkley Fudge, Melvin Rhyne, Hattush Alexander.”
By age 19 Hazeltine was already backing touring stars performing at the Jazz Gallery. “The first sideman gig I did there was with Sonny Stitt. He was so supportive and—again—mentoring as an older master of this art form,” he recalls. “He taught me tunes upstairs from the Gallery with just his alto in hand, trusting my ear to quickly learn and remember the tunes, and then we’d play them on the next set downstairs.
“Another great memory is playing with Chet Baker for several nights at the Jazz Gallery. We met on the afternoon of the first night where he and I rehearsed for a couple of hours. After playing the first tune with him, he turned to me and said, ‘You’ve got to get out of here and come to New York, this place will kill you.’ So I did move to NYC and have been grateful to Chet ever since.
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“I would describe my evolution as a musician like this,” he continues. “My early years were spent developing skills, learning from mentors, and working on finding a voice, and I did all of this in Milwaukee. But after relocating in New York City, I had to utilize those skills in a productive way, and in competition with some of the best pianists in the world. So, for example, in Milwaukee I learned skills for arranging and writing, but only in New York was I forced to implement those skills, working and recording my music with the greatest musicians in the world!”
Drobka also grew up in Milwaukee and began gigging as a teenager—but in a metal band, playing places like the Globe East. He began learning jazz while attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston, later living in New York for what he describes as “a lovely three years.”
Why did he return to Milwaukee in 2013?
“This question gets asked a lot and I am always happy to answer it,” Drobka says. “I was on tour a lot and started seeing how others had a better quality of life and it really struck something deep inside of me. I also had what I felt was a lot of growing up to do in terms of supporting myself and I wanted to hit a reset button and learn how to do that better. Another reason was while on the road I would pass through Milwaukee and people would complain how bad the music scene was and I felt a responsibility to help out and share my skills and experiences with the greater music community.”
Drobka teaches at the West End Conservatory and Lake Country Conservatory, gives private lessons and helps coach the jazz combos at UW-Whitewater.
“It’s been the greatest gift to teach,” he explains. “I never planned on teaching but it was something that naturally arose out of a deep desire to help others navigate their journey and to provide accessible information at all levels. It’s taught me great patience and care and it has taught me to listen deeper to others and find very clear ways and multiple ways to express and pass on ideas … it has really given me great motivation to keep going on my path. There is always something to learn.”
The third member of the Bar Centro trio is a go-to session bassist who has played with Carlos Santana, Bob Dylan, Prince and Les Paul. “Our upcoming performance at Centro will feature my wonderful bassist friend Billy Peterson, who I’ve had the pleasure of knowing for way too long (45 years plus), and we’ll be playing a combination of standards and original music of mine,” Hazeltine says.
Drobka adds that the audience will “have a chance to witness two masters of their craft, David Hazeltine on piano and Billy Peterson on bass, put into the world some incredible beauty. I am honored to be along for the ride and be in the presence of them and to bring beauty to the audiences for the time we are there.”
