Local jazz legend contemplates his career

For Pittsburgh jazz legend Roger Humphries, music is more than a hobby or even a career. ‘It’s… For Pittsburgh jazz legend Roger Humphries, music is more than a hobby or even a career. ‘It’s been a way of life for me,’ said Humphries. That’s not an exaggeration. The Pittsburgh native found his passion in life a tad bit earlier than most ‘mdash; he began beating on things before he’d been alive a half decade, and he’s been doing it ever since. Rendering an even more adorable and incredible image is a 4-year-old Humphries sitting in with the Tab Smith Big Band, a popular ensemble in the late 1940s. When the band came to Pittsburgh, Humphries’ uncle mentioned his little nephew’s talent on the drums, and the band insisted he come and play with them. ‘It was amazing for people ‘mdash; at the age of 4 and a half this kid standing there playing drums almost as big as he is,’ said Humphries. Humphries started playing professionally at 14 years old and led his first ensemble at Carnegie Music Hall when most people learn to drive, at 16. Always being surrounded by older musicians, Humphries was able to pick up on some things from those who had been playing longer. ‘If you’re cool enough and you’re respectful enough, you can learn a lot from older musicians,’ said Humphries. As soon as he graduated high school, Humphries began playing with Stanley Turrentine. He then went on to play with the Horace Silver Quintet, with whom he had the pleasure of touring through Europe twice. ‘It was amazing then to think of where you grew up at, and you’re going all over the world with your talent,’ said Humphries. With that talent he landed himself a job in the mid-1960s with Ray Charles ‘mdash; a position that took Humphries all over the United States and Europe, performing at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles and the Newport Jazz Festival. Eventually, he made an important decision that, today, he views as one of his best. ‘One of the great decisions that I made was coming off the road and being with my wife and family, my kids. That’s one of the best decisions I ever made because you can’t go back and relive it. So if I didn’t do what I did by coming home, I couldn’t have had the opportunity of sharing my life with my children,’ said Humphries. In 1972, Humphries decided to start his own band, RH Factor. ‘I worked for everybody else, worked for a lot of people. There comes a time where you want to play tunes that you want to play, so when you’re the leader you can pick those songs,’ said Humphries. The players have changed over the years, but the current members are Lou Stellute on tenor saxophone, Dwayne Dolphin on bass, Max Leake on keyboards and Jamie Moore on trumpet. The RH Factor plays every Thursday night at CJ’s Lounge. A wide array of legendary Pittsburgh jazz players and jazz artists from all over the country come for the jam session. ‘Pittsburgh is one of my favorites. The audience is a great audience,’ said Humphries. The drummer eventually got into teaching through his friend Dr. Harry Clark. Though he never went to college and doesn’t hold a degree, he uses his experience as a way to teach students. ‘Teaching is sharing your life with someone. But I didn’t know that at first. I was petrified and I was like ‘What am I going to teach the kids?’ and [Clark] politely came and said, ‘Teach them what you know, they don’t know what you know,” said Humphries. Humphries has done a lot in his career, from playing professionally to touring to starting his own group to teaching. ‘To tell you the truth, surprisingly, at my age now I’m very happy with the decisions that I made. Fortunately, I have no regrets,’ said Humphries. He plans to continue his musical journey. ‘To me, it’s something until the day you die, you’re always striving to get better with what you do. There are still things I’m reaching for musically,’ said Humphries. ‘I’m blessed to have my cake and eat it, too.’