It’s Monday afternoon and I pull out my cell phone to contact Ozzie to set up an interview.  Much to my surprise he answered the phone and told me he was on his way to pick up his daughter.  Ahhh isn’t that nice I thought to myself, I did not expect what was to utter out of Ozzie mouth next…he said he was riding his daughter’s PINK bicycle to meet her at the bus stop.  My immediate thought was… glad he’s not my dad.  I knew our interview would be filled with laughter and I was eager for it to take place.

Ozzie started playing the trombone when he was in the third grade.  He noticed a friend walking up and down the street with a Trombone and inquired as to what instrument it was that he was carrying.  “When time came for me to pick an instrument to play in school I chose the trombone,” he says.  It was basically out of curiosity and as Ozzie put it “I was a copycat.”  Ozzie joked as to whether or not he should thank this guy or punch him in the head.  If you have heard Ozzie jam, you will agree that this guy deserves a HUGE thank you and praise for inspiring him to pick up the trombone.  Seriously though, Ozzie says “I can’t complain” and most would agree.  Ozzie later went on to say, “I started when I was in the third grade and now I’m in the ninth grade.”  The truth is that at 41 years of age, Ozzie has been playing the trombone for about 33 years.

His first paying gig was at the ripe old age of 13 when he played with a friend and his friend’s father. They would play at old folks homes.  Later Ozzie join various bands and played pop music in bars before he was even of age to enter a bar.  Playing and getting exposure was foremost on his mind.  As Ozzie stated, “just getting work was what it was all about.”  Ozzie didn’t actually play Latin music until he played with Willie Colon. He says, “I didn’t have to work my way up the ladder to work with such a remarkable Latin musician like Willie, one of the Latin greats.”  Fortunately for him the need to work long late hours, with small bands, to get his foot in the door was something Ozzie managed to avoid.  Nevertheless, he still worked hard to prove that he was the right man for each and every job.
 
Ozzie played in many Christmas concerts and noted that “all through junior high school, my best years, I simply loved playing in the jazz band so much that I miss it on occasion.”  He absolutely loved the feeling he had back then when he played.  Ozzie says, “it kinda put water on the seed” back then.   It was that emotion and gusto for his craft that awarded him Louie Armstrong Jazz Award in high school.  He knew at a young age that being a musician is what he wanted to do.  Many of us are still trying to find that one thing that we would like to do career wise for the rest of our lives.  Ozzie makes it a point to mention to his kids all the time “you’re blessed if you know from the very beginning what you love to do and what you’re gonna strive to become and you can make good money at it.”  He has always been lucky that way.  He pointed out that many folks are stuck doing something that they hate and it can be a drag. 

The first time Ozzie ever sang live was in one of those bars that he played in before he was of age.  It was one of those circumstances that just happened because the lead singer was running late.  He was asked to sing and he jumped at the opportunity.  He recalled singing Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love by Bad Company.  It’s one of those rare occasions that he recalls every detail of that performance which brings back so many fond memories.

After learning that Ozzie has been in the music industry for about 33 years, I began to wonder whether or not he has yet to master the trombone or any instrument for that matter.  Ozzie humbly stated that “I haven’t master any instruments, I don’t think I will ever master the trombone…how do you master the trombone?”  Besides playing the heck out of the trombone, Ozzie plays the percussion, drums, fiddles with the piano and sings.  His music style ranges from jazz, pop, salsa, merengue and funk.  He even had the opportunity to make a record that features all those different sounds.  The only thing is that it has yet to be released.  He describes this production as “a Latin pop recording” which encompasses “Spanish (something I can relate too…lol), funk, salsa, merengue, and jazz beats with a Harry Connick, Jr. feel.”

The reason why Ozzie is so versatile is “cause as a trombone player I had to try and learn to play many different things style wise to keep on working.”  It is this type of dedication that has afforded Ozzie the opportunity as he put it “I never had any other kind of job other than music.”  All the different jobs he has had musically have helped him hone in on different styles of music that in turn has allowed him to shine in many areas.  One such opportunity was a coca-cola commercial with a funk music style mirroring Earth Wind and Fire. Of course that was no problem for Ozzie since playing with the Funk Filharmonik, a funk band he started with three other guys, is something he has done for 18 years.  He also learned early on that being able to play many different styles of music would keep him employed. 

Now curiosity had gotten the best of me and I wanted to know what it would take to master the infamous trombone and whether or not he knew of anyone whom had master it?  “Hmmm” he said, “Carl Fontana, a great trombone player is probably as close to mastering it as anyone Jazz wise anyway.”  Ozzie didn’t think that a person could actually master an instrument because “there’s always something more to learn…any musician will tell you that there are so many different styles and once you get a grip of a particular style and then you have to work on another one you might sound like a junior high schooler all over again.”

Have you ever left your trombone at home for an extended period of time?  Is so, when and where did you go?  He recalled going to Sweden with his wife, Lena, and discovered during the three weeks he was there that he was very irritable because he did not have his trombone.  Ozzie described that feeling “almost like a car without a gasoline that couldn’t move.”  So without music in his life he became irritable and unhappy.  I think it is safe to say that Ozzie learnt his lesson and never leaves home without his trombone…LOL!

When are you your happiest?   “I am ‘SUPER SUPER happy’ when I am performing in front of a live audience and my friends and family are there.” He closes his eyes and tries to do the best that he can.  It’s a feeling that is indescribable and he finds it hard to put into words.
 
If given the opportunity to visit a place that he has yet to travel, thus far, Ozzie would chose Australia and Africa.  Intrigued by Ozzie’s desire to site see Australia or Africa made me think of audiences outside of the United States.  I needed to know if they were just as supportive of the artist as those in the United States.  Now this is an area where Ozzie really didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.  However, the truth is as Ozzie put it,  “Europeans definitely appreciate all of the musicians a little bit more than in the states.” He recalled that there was a write-up on him on the front page of a Swedish newspaper before he even performed there.  It said,  “Super Trombonist from New York here.”  It was evident to Ozzie that they (audiences outside of the United States) research the entire artist and appreciate not only “the singer but they also know who the percussionist and guitar player are as well …it’s pretty cool.  They would run up to you and ask you to sign records, a video you might have played on, or whatever it is that you had done outside of working on stage with the current artist, stuff that you yourself may have forgotten about and would like to have a copy of.”  He also noted that “this type of accolade is what makes musicians go to European to play in the first place and it is that support that makes them stay.”  I must say Ozzie’s response did not step on any toes in my book.  I couldn’t help but emphasize to him that we the fans at Marc Anthony Fans.com are well aware that Marc and all his musicians are a unique fit and work very well together.  We appreciate them and their talents because we know that they assist in making Marc sound good and they all work as a unit. 

Besides Marc Anthony, Ozzie has played and toured with a number of great artists…just to name a few Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Ruben Blades, Willie Colon and Jennifer Lopez and he has been very grateful for the opportunity to play with each and everyone of them.  Ozzie says, “When I get called to play with great artist I am so honored that I would play for nothing…but then I remember that this is what I do for a living!!”  To him it is an honor to play with them, it is something that he has always dreamed about and welcomes the opportunity.   “It is a dream come true to play with whomever is famous at the time…it is totally outrageous,” he stated.  He feels really fortunate because as a trombone player, the horn section is sort of a dying thing unlike the drums and guitar.  “To still get calls to play is great and I am still really excited at every opportunity to play.”  Ozzie played the trombone on Marc Anthony’s Libre CD.  “It was definitely a highlight of my career.  For him (Marc) to think that much of me and say I want you to do all the trombones on my record was unbelievable,” he stated.  Ozzie is well aware that Marc could have chosen many other musicians to play on his CD and is very grateful for the opportunity bestowed upon him.
 
I wanted to know if Ozzie had an idea why a stage musician was not necessary chosen to play in the studio and Ozzie hesitate to answer that question.  After much contemplation, Ozzie said, “first let me say that every musician on Marc’s stage is more than capable of recording in a studio and all of us do record on many well known artist’s CD’s.” 

The opportunity afforded to Ozzie to play on Marc’s Libre CD took place as Ozzie put it “when Marc called me at 11:45pm on the night of the worst snow storm of that year and told me to please come over and record on one song that later turned out to be ‘CELOS’…there was definitely magic that night in that everything we recorded sounded and felt great, so I think he wanted to recapture that vibe musically and spiritually on the rest of the CD.  In months that followed, when it was time to record the trombone parts (3 on each song) for the rest of the CD, he called me.  That’s what I’d like to believe or maybe he just felt that since I had to get out of bed and shovel snow for a half hour and drive on the L.I.E. (Long Island Expressway) 10 miles per hour to get to his home studio that he owed me.  Either way, I’m happy with the outcome!”

With all the different styles of music that Ozzie is quite capable of playing he wanted to express that if he had to pick one over the other salsa would win hands down.  He admits “it is not one that I play the best but one that really lights a fire under me when I am playing with Willie, Marc and any of the Salsa guys.”  The bottom line is “when it gets to that point in a song that everyone is rocking and everyone is throwing down as hard as they can you can just feel everybody’s heart on to the floor… it is outrageous.”

Ozzie never thought in a million years that things would have been this good musically.  His dream was to play with whoever were the biggest people out there but he never thought it would happen.  He even had the opportunity to play on television on the Cosby Show with Willie Colon.  On this particular project Ozzie played the trombone and had a few speaking lines which were later cut. Currently, Ozzie is on Broadway a place he never thought he would be.  He substitutes in the Tony Award winning Movin’ Out which features Billy Joel’s songs choreographed by Twyla Tharp.  He also, has been subbing on the Saturday Night Live Band (SNL) and working with Lenny Picket, musical director of SNL and saxophone player for Tower of Power.  Having the opportunity to play with SNL goes back to Ozzie’s love for playing Tower of Powers music, which was a major influence in the creation of his funk band. 

With all of these bands and projects going on with Ozzie, I wondered how he managed to juggle his time?  He attributes managing these bands and projects “like a 9-5 job and as such you go overtime if you have to,” he says.  Ozzie has a calendar and is actually ‘happiest’ when his calendar is full.  He feels, “if I am not working three days in a row, not doing a live gig, or a jingle or something in the back of my mind I am wondering if they have found me out…nobody is calling…they have found me out cause I’m not as good as they thought I was.”   As much as Ozzie loves being in Marc’s band he loves being a freelance musician as well because it keeps him creative.

Ozzie officially joined Marc Anthony’s band just before the last tour in 2001, however he had played with Marc 10 or 15 years prior.  The opportunity to join the band this time around came when he covered for Jimmy Bosch during a rehearsal.

As a musician Ozzie loves playing in a horn section most of all.  He described it by saying, “Playing the trombone is not always about soloing to me.  I don’t care if I solo.  In fact, I don’t care if I solo another note as long as I live it doesn’t bother me.”  Ozzie likes playing alongside of horn players that know how to listen to each other and ‘phrase’ as if they are one instrument.  Ozzie said, “It’s extremely fulfilling when I am playing with Marc and Cookie (Angel Fernandez), Dan Reagan and I are phrasing.”  It is a feeling that is recognized immediately by all and is usually acknowledged with a huge smile.  Ozzie noted, “Phrasing is kind of a lost art form.  A lot of instrumentalists will play for themselves and forget to listen to the other guys around them when they are playing in a horn section.”

If there were one thing Ozzie would say to an inspiring trombonist or someone that wanted to make it in the industry, he would tell them to definitely practice everyday.  As Ozzie put it, “You can never relax on knowing that you are good.  You just have to keep practicing to keep getting better especially living in New York because that old saying if you can make it here you can make it anyway definitely holds true.  Any instrumentalist whether it be a trombonist etc. must keep practicing, keep studying and stay on top of current music as well as know your history and have a great foundation musically.”

If anything comes out of this interview it is evident that Ozzie LOVES to play all different styles of music. He strives to be the best at what he does and when he plays funk he wants it to come across that he played the heck out of funk and likewise with salsa, pop or whatever genre of music he is playing at the time.  Ozzie considers himself blessed to be playing with Marc and his band.  He did not hesitate to say, “I love Marc and think he is a great person, down to earth and just a great guy who’s totally cool.”

Ozzie has worked on the following: