Ernie Tack
(Bass Trombone)
(When he flunked Latin and geometry in high school, and they didn't have any place else to put him, Ernie Tack ended up in music class, where he first picked up a trombone, and with the exception of the Navy School of Music, never had any other formal training. After two years with the Harry James Band in Las Vegas, Ernie got his "biggest break" when he hit a slot machine jackpot. He used his winnings to purchase a bass trombone [the instrument on which he would make his name] and moved to LA. where, with a young wife, two kids and no steady gigs, his early days were tough. He often worked as a chimney sweep between session dates. But, as he recalls "when they were starting to use some horns on the rock dates, I got busy." And it never got quiet. From the big bands of Charlie Barnett, Stan Kenton, Les Brown and Louie Bellson, to recording dates with arrangers like Nelson Riddle and Don Costa and dozens of movie soundtracks...with artists ranging from Frank Sinatra to Frank Zappa, to twenty years with Doc Severinsen and "The Tonight Show" band, he's had a fascinating career. One of his proudest moments was being on the ten-piece trombone record Tutti's Trombones, a date he made when having hocked his horn to pay the rent, he borrowed it back to play the session and earned enough money on that date to keep it forever.)
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ERNIE:
"With Brian, on some of the dates, we had the stuff written down. Later, he would encourage us to make up lines. Gave us an awful lot of freedom. We could make up lines of our own.
"Usually, I did overdub sessions. He would have a rhythm track, and he was very open to all kinds of suggestions. Letting us in on the creative process which was very unusual. I thought it was much hipper than the average pop and rock stuff that was going on. Because he was letting the musicians help to create.
"I remember doing a date where he said, 'If you've got any weird horns, bring 'em all in.' I brought in my contrabass trombone. It was a three-hour record date, and we barely finished one tune. But I really dug it because Brian was very interested in different sounds."
