Houston has a long and storied history of jazz influence. In fact, according to Tierney Malone, host of KPFT’s “Houston Jazz Spotlight,” “There’s no way to tell the story of American jazz without telling the story of Houston, Texas and the artists who have been front and center at every stage of jazz’s development.”
Some of those names are more well-known than others, but you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who has had a wider and deeper impact on the global jazz universe from his Houston headquarters than Leonard “Al” Campbell Jr.
The Memphis-born, Houston-loving Campbell has influenced and/or gigged with some of jazz’s greats, training up generations of future Grammy winners, playing bass with some of the greatest jazz icons ever and directing annual workshops and music festivals to expand his already phenomenal influence upon the world of jazz.
Campbell, a professional bassist, is also an HISD lecturer at Westbury High School, co-founder and entertainment director for the Willow Waterhole Music Festival, entertainment consultant for the Red Cat Jazz Festival, and co-founding member of the Houston-based jazz group Sea Breeze.
He has performed and recorded with various musicians and vocalists throughout the U.S. and abroad, including Frank Lacy, Conrad Johnson, BB King Blues Band, Robert Glasper, Joe Carmouche and the Jazz Crusaders.
Campbell has received numerous awards, including a 2017 honor from the Houston Mayor and City Council proclaiming Oct. 17 as “Al Campbell Day.” And there’s far less than “Six Degrees of Separation” between Campbell and countless musical icons of all genres, including Isaac Hayes, Al Jarreau, George Benson, the Bar-Kays, Booker T and the MGs, David Sandborn and others.
Campbell came to Houston with childhood friend Kirk Whalum to attend Texas Southern University (TSU) on full-ride music scholarships and played in the world-famous Ocean of Soul marching band. He has since made Houston home and continues to build upon his impressive jazz legacy.
Early Influences
“I’m like 6’7″ and a half, so played basketball and I was going to the NBA, like everybody was,” laughed Campbell. “Then I picked up the bass junior high school.”
And the rest is a history that’s still being written.
Even with Campbell’s early basketball prowess, life seemed to conspire to set him on the musician’s path.
“My father worked for the post office. My mother was a principal and a teacher. And I have musicians in my family on both sides: on my mother’s side, vocal, and instrumental on my dad’s side,” recalled Campbell, known by many as “Big Al.” “Growing up in Memphis, I stayed down the street from two incredible musicians. One’s name is James Alexander, the bass player for the Bar-Kays. And the other one was Al Jackson, the drummer for Booker T and the MGs . I had to pass his house every day, and could hear him playing.”
Summer Jazz Workshop
For over 40 years Campbell has worked with the Summer Jazz Workshop founded by Houston icons Conrad Johnson and George Bubbha Thomas. Working with Craig Green, Campbell currently serves as director of SJW, an entity known for producing jazz greats like Brandon Lee, Robert Glasper, Andre Hayward and more.
“I started working with Brandon Lee at Parker Elementary… he was the person I started the Parker Elementary Jazz Band with. He went on to Johnson Middle School, HSPVA, and got a full-ride undergraduate that extended into the graduate program at Juilliard, where Wynton Marsalis was his instructor. So, man, we, you know, we are so proud of Brandon.
“Robert Glasper, he was so good, by the time he came to the workshop, he was in middle school and could already play anything in church and knew how to play the blues. We just had to kind of like, tell him how to use his superpowers ,” said Campbell. “I’m gonna tell you somebody else like that: Andre Hayward, one of the top trombone players on this planet. So proud of him.
“Somebody else I used to instruct, Mark Simmons, former drummer with Al Jarreau, currently playing with George Benson. Look here, I could fill up about three jet airplanes full of students that have been in the workshop, including flute and vocalist Alexandria Al who just finished her master’s and is now playing up in New York at Berkeley. Brett Cole just finished his masters and is going back to study for a doctorate. There’s trumpet player Lawrence Turner, Kyle Turner’s son, who just finished his junior recital, getting ready to graduate down at Florida State University.”
Part of K-12 Teaching Legacy
As if that weren’t enough, Campbell has been a stalwart at HISD’s Westbury High School teaching music for decades. To many, it may seem out of place for an accomplished jazz musician to spend time in K-12 classrooms teaching jazz to kids. But Campbell points out that such work has been a long tradition in jazz circles, and includes Herman Rankins, Lester Snell (music director for Isaac Hayes), Emerson Able (lead alto for Isaac Hayes), Houston’s Joe Carmouche and the late-great Conrad Johnson.
“We called Conrad ‘Houston’s Charlie Parker.’ He could have left Houston, went to New York and had one of the most lucrative careers, but he chose to stay and pass this down to others,” Said Campbell.
Enduring Impact
Not all of Campbell’s former students have Grammys (yet), but all consider themselves winners for being trained by him, as the parents of one, Kambui Jackson, attest.
“Mr. Campbell is a true music educator,” said Kambui’s mother Nedra. “He is not the brutal taskmaster type of band leader like in the movie ‘Whiplash,’ he is a fun-loving motivating teacher. He is what sports people would call a ‘players coach.’”
“Always giving encouragement, Mr. Campbell helped facilitate Kambui’s first paid gig,” recalled father, Kamau Jackson, a Westbury HS alum. “Several members of his SJW formed a group and played gigs around Houston for groups and organizations. Kambui was 11 years old when he got his first professional gig. Mind you they split $400 by nine players, but to see his smile and excitement of getting $40-ish was priceless. I remember one gig where they got paid $400 for the event but got over $600 in tips because they played so well.”
Advice for Up-and-Coming Musicians
Campbell isn’t just about music education, but training up young people for success in life.
“I tell my kids, understand the business. It’s great being on stage, but when you come off the stage, you have to deal with the business. Stay humble. And the best thing you could do is everything our grandparents told us – treat others the same way you want to be treated, and you won’t have a problem with nothing on this planet.”
For more information on this year’s Summer Jazz Workshop call 713-839-7000 or visit jazzeducation.org.
