Trumpeter and jazz legend Sonny Bradshaw's name may ring a faint bell with those still wiping breast milk from their cheeks, but to the restless legs of the '50s his band's music was what they danced and romanced to. According to Bradshaw, his band, The Sonny Bradshaw Seven, got the name because 'seven' is his lucky number and, of course, there were seven musicians. However, before this 'lucky number seven? came into play, he always wanted to become a sanitary inspector.

"I just thought it was a very respectable job. I just thought it would be nice to walk around and inspect places, but the music took over. Then in my early teenage years I started listening to music," he told The Sunday Gleaner.

Sunday Gleaner: What did your family think of that decision

Sonny Bradshaw: My father wasn?t very pleased about it, but my mother was supportive; she didn?t lock me out of the house. You know how fathers are, they want you to become lawyers or doctors or Indian chief.

The Sonny Bradshaw Seven celebrated their 50th anniversary a few years ago. How did that make you feel?

The band was formed in 1950 and we used to play at dances, then we disbanded in 2002 ... I locked off the Sonny Bradshaw Seven ? I was too old to go on the road (he laughs). That time I was a member of the Jamaica Big Band and when it was about to disband I took it over ...Before it was known as the Jamaica Big Band it was known as the All Stars Band. It?s a really big band of about 16 or 20 people. Those musicians come from other bands and we play at monthly concerts.

Which clubs did you play?

We?ve played at every club and every hotel except the new one they just built on the north coast ? I can?t remember its name.

During the band?s busy period were you ever the resident band anywhere?

We were never resident anywhere. Once we go and play somewhere, I want to come straight back to town to my home. We might play somewhere for two or so nights, but after that it?s straight back to town. You can ask anybody about that VW bus that we would all pack into and drive back to town.

What format did you guys play in? Did you play then pause for intermission?

When I first got into music I had to play for eight hours a night and then, as president of the Jamaica Federation of Musicians, I decided that four hours would be much better. It made life a lot easier for not only me but on the music industry, on a whole, and it was good for
musicians. Trumpet players used to complain that their lips would start to swell up and that sort of thing. The new conditions that we decided to implement, we copied it from the North American union ? wherever you are you play for four hours and if you want to do an extra half an hour or something like that to wrap up the party, that would be OK.

What happened during the intermission, though?

If they wanted to, another band could work, but it was mostly the sound system that played during the break. It was working out at the time, but now it is working badly, but I?m hoping one day it will get better.

What is the importance of live music?

When music is live you feel it so much more. You even get the opportunity to walk up to the person and shake his hand or clap him ... There are so many advantages. The musicians don?t play the same thing all the time and you get the opportunity to experiment and that sort of thing.

Where do you find young
musicians to keep the band going? From where do you recruit them?

I used to get them from the Alpha Academy, then School of Music as well. But there are people like Ernie Ranglin, Frazier and myself who taught ourselves to play, but the turnout still isn?t what it used to be.

Do you think it?s because people are not interested in playing instruments anymore?

They are not encouraged to play. It takes a long time to play the trombone or trumpet. It?s not only about playing the keyboard, and that?s one of the reasons why we started the school band competition where people who play instruments from trumpets, saxophones, flute, mouth organ, whatever, are encouraged to enter.

What is the demand like for band services outside of jazz events?

You only have about four live bands operating right now ? Lloyd Parkes and We the People, Jamaica Big Band, Fab 5, and Bare Essentials. I?m not talking about what I would call ?guitar bands?, but those with trumpets, saxophones and that sort of thing, not just a keyboard and a guitar.

Have any of your bands recorded with any
well-known artistes?

The Sonny Bradshaw Seven didn?t record with anybody, but we played with people like Sam Cooke, Lou Rawls and many of them. We were the first Jamaican band to be asked and accepted to play with foreign acts. The Jamaica Big Band also accompanied a number of artistes. I can?t even remember all of them.

Why do you keep going?

It?s because of the music itself. I don?t know ? if I didn?t do music I don?t know what I would be doing ... And don?t care how music changes, there is good and bad music. Even dancehall has a good and bad side. When you?re a youth you take on your kind of music and don?t care about any other and that?s not good.

What are your future plans?

Just to keep music alive, whether it?s through playing, writing it or talking about it.