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Ozzie Melendez 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. 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. 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. 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.” Album Credits Include: |
