What’s the last thing somebody tried to
turn you on to that you couldn’t relate
with?
Everything. [laughs]
Just all of it?
Yep! It would have to be before 1980.
What was the last great recording, in your
mind, then?
Thelonius Monk, 1970s. I like 50s country, 60s
country, the real stuff, jazz before 70, before
80.
So you like music from when it was at its
roots?
It was beautiful music. To me all the great
albums were made in the 50s and 60s:
Coltrane, Love Supreme, Miles Davis, Kind of
Blue, Ray Charles, Country and Western, those
great records all made in that time.
16
What do you consider to be your great
record?
Not sure I’ve done it, I hope. I feel I’m
just starting now, scratching the surface.
Hopefully I can make the best one.
That’s a pretty optimistic way of looking at
it. Do you tend to keep things open ended
like that, you don’t want to lock yourself in
and say, “This is who Col. Bruce Hampton
is”?
Well, no one reaches a plateau. There’s no
plateau reached. Grows all the time, changes
all the time.
You can catch Col. Bruce Hampton performing
at the Smoking Moose Dec. 11. For more info,
visit his website at www.colbruce.com or call
the Smoking Moose at (256) 741-9300. ✻
December 2015
INSIGHT