Being a musician’s musician, with a holistic perspective and a deep understanding of how to bring music to life from within, may not be the flashiest role onstage. Like a great character actor in a movie, trombonist Toby Whitaker knows not only how to make the most of his solo moments, but how to help others shine too.
His self-effacing competence may be too easy to overlook. For the past decade, he has been a key contributor to Bio Ritmo, Afro-Zen Allstars, and, with players Bob Miller and JC Kuhl, the go-to horn section for the Mekong Xpress, Three Sheets to the Wind, the Big Payback, and countless other Richmond gigs and recordings. His most recent accomplishment was retooling Virginia Commonwealth University’s Jazz Orchestra II, the often-shaky VCU second string performing ensemble, into a sleek Afro-Cuban big band.
“He wasn’t just buying charts from internet or going to the library,” says friend and Bio Ritmo leader Marlysse Simmons. “He basically arranged more than half of the music specifically for that band, knowing who the kids were and, you know, what the band needed.” Additional music came from classic charts from the great salsa bandleader Chico O’Farrill, whose son studied with Simmons in New York. “They were excited to hear that there was a student Afro Latin band following in their footsteps. All the stuff that Toby was doing at VCU was great.”
For Whitaker, it was a labor of love. University compensation is based on credit hours. The massive amount of effort required to get the band off the ground was excessive for the course’s single credit curriculum value. And, however successful the result, it was not enough to prevent him from losing his provisional full-time position at the university to a new hire with higher level academic credentials, a PhD to Whitaker’s master’s degree.
Whitaker’s termination, for at least the 2023-24 school year due to state law, caused a stir among his musical friends and colleagues. But typically, Whitaker was philosophical. “I understand how universities work,” he says. “Especially not having a doctorate. I was not surprised at the outcome, but after working here for five years without a student complaint, I did have a little bit of hope.” The biggest financial impact was the loss of family healthcare coverage – he has a young daughter – and the need to rebuild the private teaching practice he had given up for the full-time job.
It is unusual for an artist to be as open as Whitaker about the importance of focused effort rather than natural brilliance.
“I probably had no business going to music school,” he recalls. “I went to high school in Hanover and wanted to stay in-state. I think they could see I was a serious student – that ‘okay, we’ll give this kid a chance, but he is probably not going to make it.” He remembers he was so inexperienced, that he just let them tell him what to do. “‘Practice this for three hours a day. Listen to this music.’”
However, the biggest impact was Doug Richards’ jazz arranging class. “That probably amounts to 90% of my musical education. There were other good courses and teachers, but that was the coolest. Doug was very true to the art form, and how you play this music. He probably takes it more seriously than anyone I have ever met.”
Graduate school at Rutgers added an additional layer of practical knowledge for Whitaker, and a stint with the Tommy Dorsey ghost band (playing the hits of a long-vanished leader) gave him a taste of real-world commercial logistics, all while honing the skills required of a freelance music career.
“Toby is one of the most reliable musicians, or just people, that I know,” Simmons says. “We joined Bio Ritmo within a few months of each other. It took a minute to get to know him. He is a reserved guy, and we were both figuring out our roles. In the end, he became the main arranger for our horn parts, He is a super integral part of many bands, doing horn arrangements for just about everyone around. He has a really cool style of writing because he listens to so many types of music. His stronghold, after studying with Doug Richards, is arranging, and composing big band stuff. And he has written the music for many of our most popular songs.”
Whitaker’s capabilities, like all real assets, are portable. The at least yearlong loss of VCU income is a speedbump, not an obstacle. There still is a lot of work in clubs, in studios, and in a swarm of well-compensated wedding bands, to make up the shortfall. There is even the potential for stepping out front as a leader, though even-tempered competence seems more in the trombonist’s comfort zone than self-promotion.
“I didn’t go into trombone playing for fame, fortune, and job security,” Whitaker says. “But overall, it is a happy life. It’s not without its struggles, but at this point I really wouldn’t go back and do anything differently … other than maybe getting a doctorate.”
Sometimes the most important artistic contributions are hidden in plain sight.
