Mike Wofford on having an original sound

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Mike Wofford talks about hearing Bix Beiderbecke at an early age

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Mike Wofford discusses his family's reaction to his decision to become a musician

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Q: “You really have your own sound. I couldn’t say ‘oh my goodness, he’s just copying Teddy Wilson’

A: Mike Wofford: “A great compliment, thank you. But, of course, Art Tatum, I think, subliminally I was first impressed by Art Tatum.”

Interviewer: “When was it then?”

Mike Wofford: “I'm old enough to have heard Art on the radio as a kid and it was at an age where I have just a recollection of the music and the name. You know, I was too young to really understand what I was hearing, but that … especially later in life as I've gone back to Tatum more and more, I realized that that really was the sound of surprise, as someone once described jazz, that first caught me, Art Tatum and Bix Beiderbecke.”

Interviewer: “Really, Bix Beiderbecke?”

Mike Wofford: “Yeah, we had Bix Beiderbecke records in the house, the old 78s when I was a kid and that was really my introduction to jazz.”