b'on to divinity school. Lee lost his mother at age 15, and hisMfather died when he was onlyMAAKKIINNGGMMEEMMOORRIIEESS25. But during their lifetimes,T HIISSIISSHHOOMMEEhe adds, Both of [my parents]THwereverysupportiveofmy music interests.BeforejoiningGillespies band,Leewasalreadywell-versed in playing with some of the most iconic musicians in all of jazz history.Afterhebeganjazzstud-ies at the Philadelphia Musical Academy(nowcalledUniver-sity of the Arts), Lee hitched a ride up to New York City to au- Susan Blodgett, ABR dition for legendary drummer MaxRoach.IremembertheBroker / Sales Associate John Lee won a Grammy in 2019 for the Bestlook on the deans face when I973-214-4636 Latin Jazz/Jazz Album as the recording engi- Susan.Blodgett@cbmoves.com neer, producer, and mixer for Jazz Bat 2 byasked permission to go out on Cuban pianist Chucho Valds.the road with Roach, says Lee,Ginny Spiegel who got the coveted job. Sales Associate includingAfro-Cubanjazz.HeledLeesoonjoinedRoachinPitts- 973-219-8865 the United Nations Orchestra in theburgh for the first 10 days of the tour.Virginia.Spiegel@cbmoves.com 145 Maplewood AvenueMaplewood, NJ 1980s. And John Lee would later joinI learned more in those 10 days than973-378-8300 @WeKnowNJRealEstate that orchestra. I had learned in two years [in school] [Dizzy]hadaprofoundwisdomabout jazz because he was training me.SERVICE KNOWLEDGE EXPERTISE abouthimwhichis justincredible,recalls Lee,whoplayedbass foradecadeindiffer-entbandincarnationsDOES YOUR with Gillespie until the bandleadersdeathin 1993.HehadajoieBANK FEEL LIKE devivreandIalways tell people that it was aA FEE-FOR-ALL?party on stage. And he didnt just play his own compositions. He had a great variety in the se- Break away from lection of material. Wethe hassle with never did just a whole showofjustbebop.free checking and Thered be swing, bossa nova,somesamba,John Lee (first row, center) with the Dizzy Gillespie Afro- low rate loans.somefunkystuff,and hedsingafewsongs.Latin Experience. Thatwasalwaysthe great pull for mehe played so manyI was playing that bass back then, says different things. Lee, who gestures to his upright bass AlthoughLeewasntbornintoain the living room of his South Orange musical family, his parents often spunhome which has doubled as his record-jazz records at home. His father wasing studio for decades. [Roach] wouldGarden Savings is an Equal Opportunity aministerattheAfricanMethodistcome to my room every morning afterLender and an Equal Housing Lender.EpiscopalChurchinPhiladelphia.breakfast with The New York Times andGardenSavings.orgHe originally wanted to be a musi- a pair of [drum] brushes [] He had(973) 576-2000cian,saysLee.Thenhegotwhatthis way of doing something with the15 Scotland Road in South Orangethey refer to as the calling and wentpages and fluffing them up. He put it feature story /11'