In The Beginning
It occurred on Sunday, January 10, 1965; the first jazz concert performance under my own name. The Doug Wicken Quintet appeared on the stage of the University of Waterloo’s Theatre of the Arts. I was 22 years old, a mere child, and had been playing the double bass for 18 months. Appearing with me were Paul Cross (alto sax); Clarence Brodhagen (trumpet); Joe Lucchetta (guitar); and Jack Kaplun (drums). Pianist Bill Metcalf also joined Jack and I for several tunes as a trio. We played Berklee College charts, which I had scored for our instrumentation; I was enrolled in a Berklee correspondence course for arranging and orchestration at the time.
The Bernie Carroll Trio, with Barry Wills (piano), Art Lang (bass), and Bernie on drums, preceded our performance. It was also Bernie’s first jazz concert under his name. Ironically, a year later, The Barry Wills Trio was formed that ultimately brought Barry, Bernie and I together for what became a long-lasting musical association and friendship.
The rest, they say, is history.