Fred Randolph

"I am a curious type of person," observes Fred Randolph modestly as he switches from bass to trumpet, to piano, to drums, making subtle refinements to his young students’ playing. It’s Wednesday morning–late day--and while the rest of Stanley students are still slumbering, or hungrily making their way to Noah’s and Jamba Juice for a protein pick-me-up, this group of eager young musicians is learning about mixolydian scales and tri-tone substitutions. Thanks to the vision and support of LASF, Fred is the weekly Wednesday music master, bringing his technical expertise and performance experience on 8 different instruments to the Stanley band room.

Born in Honolulu, not far from saxophonist and fellow LASF instructor, Alex Murzyn, Fred spent much of his childhood enjoying a passion for surfing. Initially exposed to Hawaiian music through his ukelele lessons, Fred recounts an incident that sparked an interest in jazz music which would eventually resurface. Watching Louis Armstrong play trumpet in a movie, Fred recalls thinking, "‘This guy is really happy.’ Something went off in my head." Later, during his teen years, he took up the guitar and formed a rock band, peppering the high school lunch hour and occasional school dances with the sounds of Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, and Johnny Winter. Seeing some of the "really cool and more complicated stuff" the older and more experienced guitar players were experimenting with, he sought out their teacher, jazz guitarist Bill Valdez, and began taking lessons. To this day, Fred credits Valdez with first expanding his musical tastes and then guiding his playing toward jazz. Since he was playing totally by ear at this point ("reading confused me," comments Fred), he was reluctant to audition for music ensembles but finally got into stage band. "I still couldn’t read but got by with my ears…I memorized the parts so that I wouldn’t have to read."

From Beach to Berkeley

As a student at UC San Diego, urged by the example of his roommate, Fred’s interest and exploration of music grew. He studied jazz guitar with Steve O’Connor, who told him to "stop listening to jazz guitar and start listening to horn players, especially John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins", and composition with Bernard Rands. Thirsting for broader horizons, he found himself drawn to Berkeley for both musical as well as political reasons. He enrolled at Cal and began to study the saxophone, which prompted him to learn to read music. "The parts that are written for sax tend to be difficult, so if you can read sax parts, you can read," says Fred. He also at this time took courses in conducting with Michael Senturia. Fred received his B.A. in music in 1982 after earlier earning a degree in political science in..1980…."I had already taken a number of music theory courses and found out that I could get a music degree in 2 years so after playing saxophone on the street for change for awhile I went back to school."

Identity Crisis

As a graduate student at Cal State Hayward he also picked up the trumpet "to try brass". He studied trumpet under Jay Rizetto and pursued composition studies under the tutelage of Frank Larocca. Intrigued by the concept of expanding standard quartet instrumentation, he added bass while composing his master’s thesis, "Resurrection," featuring a quintet of 2 violas, 1 violin, 1 cello, and bass.

"I was mesmerized by bass," exclaims Fred. "I didn’t realize it then, but actually, I had been learning music from the bass line up without knowing that it was my natural inclination."

That was nine years ago, at a time when Fred began to question his identity as a musician. Although he possessed a cornucopia of musical abilities, he decided that he needed to focus to get really good and gain acceptance as a bass player, rather than as a jack-of-all-instruments. "Musicians, like actors, get type-cast very early on," remarks Fred, "and to have control over the direction of my career I figured I might as well be type cast as a bass player."

Freelance Jazzman

Receiving his Master’s degree in composition from Cal State Hayward in 1995, Fred now freelances around the Bay area as a bassist, arranger, composer, recording artist, and educator. "I play an eclectic mix of genres, and I like it that way," says Fred. "Again I decided that if typecasting was inevitable, then I’d rather be typecast as versatile." He performs as the leader of the Fred Randolph Trio, Duo and Quintet, and as a sideman for many of the Bay Area’s finest, including Jim and Morning Nichols, Mike Zilber, Akira Tana, Collective Amnesia, Jeff Massanari, Larry Dunlap, EW Wainright, and many others. In addition, he has been busy on the latin circuit, performing with Sandy Cressman’s Homenagem Brasileira, Marcos Silva’s "Intersection," Phil Hawkn’s Carribean Jazz Ensemble, Julio Bravo’s "Orchestra Salsabor," Orchestra Soroa, Soul Sauce, Tito Garcia’s Oquestral la Internacional, Danilo Paiz and "Orquestra Universal," and Rolando Morales, to name a few. He co-led the jazz quintet "The Zone" for several years, composing most of the music for that group’s first cd, "Grand Canyon Blue." As one of the most sought-after sidemen in the Bay Area, he has also performed and recorded with the acclaimed Full Spectrum Jazz Orchestra, the Collective West Jazz Orchestra, the Al Molina Quintet, and Tony Corman’s 3 Tenors. Fred’s first solo cd entitled "Learning Curve," has just been released as of November 2003. "It’s a musical snapshot in time," explains Fred. "I had a pile of compositions, hired some of my best musical friends, went into the studio, and learned a whole lot fast!" The cd Learning Curve is available by contacting Fred at his website: www.fredrandolph.com or by phone at (510)-843 -4053.

A Flair for Teaching

Before bringing his multitude of talents to Stanley, Fred taught flute and special ed at Piedmont Unified, taught bass for 2 summers at the Hayward-La Honda Music Camp, and spent 2 years as an instructor with U.C. Berkeley Jazz Ensembles, performing in clinics with guitarist John Scofield and saxophonist Bob Shepard. After meeting and playing with Bob Athayde at a gig last year, he was invited to come teach bass to Stanley Middle School band students. Beginning with the early morning jazz combo class, and continuing throughout the day with sectional tutorials on acoustic bass, Fred emphasizes technique, tone and style, as well as the comprehensive understanding of a tune or score and its place in music history. His advice to aspiring musicians includes three basic principles: 1) develop strong rhythm; 2) develop strong ears; and 3) develop a positive attitude!

Fred is delighted by the high standards of excellence and the level of community involvement found in the Stanley band room. . "Bob is the best," exudes Fred. "He has inspired me to want to teach and the kids have made me want to learn." True to his word, Fred is now studying drums and piano, in order to better demonstrate scale patterns and improvisation ideas to his young jazz students with facility on any instrument. "The kids were the motivating spark," admits Fred.

Kids… and curiosity.

For more on Fred, check out his website, www.fredrandolph.com.