Leading Questions: John Bishop
Photo and interview by Steve Korn
Someone once told me that it’d be good to get a day job sometime, so I worked a temp job once in 1981 where I made $36 for 10 hours of lifting slabs of bacon with a large hook. It ended up being a great motivator.
When I was 14 I was working through some very nice beats on my silver-sparkle Decca drums. The neighbors were not amused, but somehow I ignored the pain I was causing and persevered as I got to know my new friend.
My parents were always surrounding us with music, art, books, political talk and travel without making a big deal out of any of it. A nice result is that I’m afforded an ongoing wealth of inspiration from my sister and brothers, who each possess a bundle of imagination, curiosity, and follow-through. It’s what I aspire to.
The piece of music that I’ll always have somewhere in my brain is “So What.” My dad used to play Kind of Blue on many weekend mornings starting back when I was a toddler and that same record has been following me around ever since.
If I could do it all over again, I’d pay way more attention, practice more, brush more, act better, not waste as much time, learn a foreign language, be braver…or possibly not.
Discipline is a given to do anything competently, it’s a very unfriendly word though.
Some of my best ideas come to me at the last possible moment before I need them. And yes, I could venture that procrastination enters into it.
The holiday concert of “Sacred Music by Duke Ellington,” will be presented at 7:30pm on Saturday, December 28nd, 2013, at Town Hall Seattle (1119 Eighth Avenue, Seattle). This very special event, now celebrating its 25th anniversary, features the all-star Seattle Repertory Jazz Orchestra with guest vocalists Everett Greene and Nichol Venee Eskridge, the 30-voice Northwest Chamber Chorus, and tap-dancer Alex Dugdale.
Pianist Bill Anschell was born in Seattle and began his career here, but he’s ranged far and wide since then. He’s been a jazz coordinator for the Southern Arts Federation, produced radio programs, been musical director and pianist for Nnenna Freelon with whom he toured and recorded, and he’s toured widely in South America.
Vancouver saxophonist and jazz club owner Cory Weeds sent out an email Saturday night announcing the closing of 
Tula’s, 7:30pm
Town Hall Seattle, 8pm
Royal Room, Panel discussion at 6:30, music at 8pM