Friday, September 26, The Price of time. By David "Chet" Williamson Sneade. When I first began the writing of The Jazz Worcester Real Book, I wanted to include a collection of interviews with musicians talking about some of the places where they had performed. I still have all of my interviews on file and from time to time I post them. I called upon drummer Tom Price to fill us in.
Price: He was born on September 27, He is the son of the late trumpeter Barney Price and brother of bassist, Bunny Price. His uncle Billy Price, a drummer who had to stop because of ill health, first influenced him. During high school, he appeared regularly at the Elks Lodge β when it was on Summer Street in Worcester β with his brother Bunny and pianist Johnny Catalozzi.
He was recently reunited with the rediscovered bassist Henry Grimes for a series of concerts in New York. We begin with a general interview about his life in music. Did you come up playing drums inspired by your dad? Price: Yes, the fact that he was a musician naturally drew me into it. My uncle Billy Price was a drummer. I used to spend hours with him talking about the music. He was a real encouragement and inspiration to me.
Did you take lessons? Price: I started out playing bongo drums. I taught myself listening to Calypso music when it was the craze β listening to Harry Belafonte and of course a lot of the other Latin bands β Prez Prado and people like that were around.
I was playing bongos and congas. I played with Kingsley McNeal. He formed a Calypso group. He was originally from Kingston, Jamaica. I was in my early teens, like 14 or I played with him for two years. We used to play some of the country clubs around Worcester County. He was a singer. We had a little group with some of my sisters. I performed with him a great number of times with just him singing and myself playing the bongo drums.
