Bay High School hosts two jazz virtuosos for band clinic

Tom “Bones” Malone has appeared in the house bands for Saturday Night Live and David Letterman, and worked on the film score for “Blues Brothers 2000.”

Thanks to the Bay Music Boosters, Malone’s decades-long resume now includes a jazz clinic at Bay High School, 29230 Wolf Road in Bay Village.

Malone and fellow accomplished jazz musician Jeff Antoniuk imparted their advice to the school’s jazz ensemble Dec. 4.

Antoniuk hosts Digging Deeper Jazz, a weekly podcast covering a variety of jazz topics, and is the founder of JazzWire, a lesson program.

He said he has students in more than 20 countries, but working with students in person is exceptionally valuable.

“Making a living as a musician is an interesting and tricky thing,” Antoniuk said. “One of the things I do, is go around to universities and colleges, and high schools like this, and talk about entrepreneurship.

“It’s certainly something I never thought I’d do. I’ve never taken a business class in my life, although I sure wish I had.”

Despite the trickiness of making it as a musician, Antoniuk encouraged the students to follow the opportunities that come to them.

Coming from an analytical background, he originally planned to study psychology in Canada before turning to the life of a performer.

“When I graduated high school, I was going to be a physicist; I loved science,” Antoniuk said. “I had no thoughts that I could do this for a living, or that I could be good enough or whatever.

“(But), I just kind of followed my nose to something that I loved, and opportunities kept opening up.”

Malone and Antoniuk both attended the University of North Texas for their musical education, though the two never met.

Malone said he has played over 4,400 live shows, and expressed to the students that playing live is perhaps the most valuable thing a musician can do outside of practicing.

“I just love to play music,” he said. “I can listen to music and just write it down, now.

“I don’t have to have a piano around. I started arranging when I was 13. I heard a record on the radio and I wanted to know what notes went together to make the record sound the way that it did.”

Darren Allen, Bay High School director of bands, spoke on Malone’s expertise, and the quality of advice he could offer students.

Malone, who plays 16 instruments at the professional level, can speak the language of nearly every one of the jazz band’s students.

“He likes to play everything,” Allen said of Malone. “He’s going to take a solo on many instruments up here.”

Malone’s segment of the clinic included jazz solos on saxophone, trombone, tuba and piccolo.

He said playing music comes easy to him, but teaching the next generation of performers is one of the joys of his career as well.

“I love working with kids,” Malone said. “I love that sparkle in a kid’s eyes when they understand a new concept.

“I thought (the jazz band) were very nice kids, and I thought they sounded great.”

The Bay High School jazz ensemble will play as part of the school’s annual Holiday Band Concert from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Dec. 14.