When Mel Nusbaum was a child, he knew that he wanted to do something special. Nusbaum wanted to play music, and he wanted to do it well. So although the computer I.T. specialist makes his living by day killing viruses, solving problems with e-mail, and providing other support services on computers in peoples offices, it doesn’t mean he’s given up on his dreams. It’s what he does when he’s not reformatting a hard drive that makes his story one of a dream fulfilled.
Nusbaum plays the piano in ZONE, a musical quartet, and will perform at The Hoboken Artists Studio Tour on Sunday at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. at 302 Monroe St.
Moving east
The year was 1969, and Nusbaum knew that he would have to immerse himself in the jazz scene if he wanted to follow his dream. So, he packed up his guitar in Chicago, and traded the windy city for the city that never sleeps.
“I found myself playing a lot of different types of music in New York,” Nusbaum said. “I played in the Latin scene in the South Bronx, the free jazz scene, the loft jazz scene downtown, bebop, some funk jazz, and organ trio type stuff.”
“There’s an innate thing when you’re a musician that it’s all you want to do.” – Mel Nusbaum
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“I went to a vocational counselor and I took these tests,” Nusbaum said. “She found hidden talents. I was just very lucky to find I was good at things other than music.”
Nusbaum may have considered himself a bit of a sellout at first, but eventually realized that to understand computers and their problems was not the worst talent to possess. In fact, it could even help pay the bills.
“There’s an innate thing when you’re a musician that it’s all you want to do,” Nusbaum said. “But, I found a place I could work that I really liked, and I understand their [computer] problems. It was fun to go to work.”
Long nights, early mornings
When Nusbaum would play the clubs, it may not have been easy to wake up the next day.
“I played a lot of afterhours clubs,” Nusbaum said. “It was kind of difficult coming home at 5 a.m. from the south Bronx and then getting up to go to work at 9 a.m.”
Through the 40 years that have passed between the bold move from Chicago to New York, Nusbaum has found a way to follow his dream.
“Jazz is like a freelance job unless you’re a star,” Nusbaum said. “Let’s say you’re Miles Davis. Then you can command high fees and go out to concerts.”
So, Nusbaum found a middle ground. He formed a wedding band in the 1980s. “Wedding crowds are a special kind of people,” Nusbaum said. “They still like the sound of jazz, especially in the cocktail hour of the wedding. But we also played rock, and funk.”
After playing music all throughout his career, he began to compose.
“I really got good feedback,” Nusbaum said. “People would say ‘wow that’s a nice tune,’ so I started to branch out.”
As composing became more desirable for Nusbaum, he began to realize it was also less profitable.
“But now I’ve got my computer business so I don’t need the music [financially],” Nusbaum said. “Now I use the music as a creative outlet and a hobby.”
A transition
In the past few years, Nusbaum has also begun to play the piano.
“I started studying harmony theory, and then I started to play it out and realized I loved it,” Nusbaum said.
After 40 years as a professional guitarist, the transition to piano has been rather smooth. He practiced every week for over a year, and started to feel comfortable at the piano.
ZONE includes multi-instrumentalist Michael Moss on tenor sax, flute, soprano sax, and bass clarinet. Nusbaum plays the keyboard, Lou Selmi is on the drums, and Robert Edwards is on bass. ZONE plays creative original material and standards, and features intense improvisations, hypnotic rhythms, free jazz, blues, and imaginative sound vibrations.
ZONE will play on Sunday at 302 Monroe St. The band will entertain for two sets: one at 4 p.m. and one at 7 p.m. There won’t be a shortage of music on Saturday either, when tango lessons and jazz class will be held.
Ray Smith may be reached at RSmith@hudsonreporter.com