good morning, welcome to mosaic. it's always a privilege to host mosaic on behalf of eve barrels our producer and co-host. we have a legend in music in the bay area. if you go to 9:00, 10:00 and 9:00 or 11:00 on sunday, if you go to scotts, at sunday and monday and tuesday at 6:00 to 9:00, if you don't go to any of those venues, you're missing a great legend in our midst. that's where you'll find him all time for almost 30 years. i say he's been in the bay area over 50 doing what he does. and we're blessed to have you john turk.

♪[ music ] >> what a blessing. great to have you, john. pleasure. >> great. great. >> i saw you probably 40 something years ago. i know you're a young man, but, john turk, and the sweet antics and you would play the clubs and then i saw you later in glide. tell us about your background. >> well, i actually started

playing in the oakland area around 1965, '66. >> yeah. >> with a guy named johnny heartsmith. he was a guitar player, organ player and flute player. and he was expanding, he only had a saxophone, drums and him playing organ. so he wanted to add instruments. and i guess he had heard about me and one night i came and sat in with his band and i guess i did okay. so he hired me and we were playing at a place called the showcase. this was many moons ago. and he decided he wanted a bandleader. so the three of us that were left we got together and formed an organ trio.

i went and bought an organ and we got bus zoo when does the trumpet come in? because you can do that, trumpet and piano at the same time. >> well, actually he, he saw me do it and he was known for being a little late. so he started being late at this particular gig. i think we were at the showcase. and so i was just set in, because he actually hired me as atrium a trumpet player. he didn't hire me to play the organ. he took advantage of the fact i played the organ. he came in late, we played the first ten or 15 minutes and i got pretty good at the organ. i kept listening to my jimmy smith records, you know. >> i think that's jimmy smith on the answering machine. >> that's me. that's me. >> okay. >> so, like i said, when he decided to go solo, that's when

the three of us that were left formed a band and that was the answer. >> i know you performed with a lot of great artists and we'll talk about that in the next segment, but we have just a minute left in this segment, so send us out with something. >> uh-huh. ♪[ music ]

i hope you've been with us, we've been listening to john turk. john turk as i said is a legend in the bay area. grew up in val lajo, played with bb king, lou rawls, you can see him on a regular basis at glide at 9:00 and 11:00. how did that begin? how did you connect the great music with the spirituality with glide? >> it was faith and a fluke. i was supposed to be just there for two weeks. 'cause the choir director was playing with an r&b group over in south africa for a couple of weeks and while he was gone, they needed somebody to, you know, play keyboard. and so a buddy of mine that played

drums at glide already called me up and asked me did i want to do the gig for a couple of weeks. i said, sure. so i played. and reverend william didn't know i played the trumpet, but i played and i played the trumpet. he liked that. i guess he liked it. >> he didn't say? >> so when the director dorsey was his name, when he came back, they didn't fire me. i just stayed. and i stayed and i stayed, yeah. >> it's been quite an experience. people come from all over the world to celebrate as well as the susan williams in the chorus and january miss, all the work they do. a lot of people come for that glide ensemble.

how does that manage to develop? >> they always had a choir, but as time went on, we expanded the band. we started out with the saxophone, one of the best saxophone players anywhere, charles mcneill. i had him to come in cause we were getting ready to make a record and they liked the saxophone and the trumpet was added on. and then we're getting ready to do another cd and i told why don't we add a trombone? that's when joe berman came in. so we ended up with three horns. and we've had them ever since. this has been 15, 20 years. >> when it comes to the choir.

>> right. >> and i had the privilege of being there and i come to the choir rehearsals, you rehearse throughout the night it seemed like, six to eight songs. how do you come on sunday, but you also like the songs. >> first i got to see what soloists are there. and i tried to set the mood for the preacher to preach. i think that's my primary job. and you know, first you want to wake the people up, so you don't want to start with nothing slow, slow, okay. and then the next song you can't keep hitting them like that, you know. you got to wake them up. >> wake them up. >> and them calm them down. and then fire them back up.

i mean, that's my -- my way of doing it. and so far it has worked. and that's something before the preacher preaches that really will touch you you know. >> so you always have to be in tune with that spirit as you go along, discern what song is going to be. >> yeah. >> 'cause you try to bring the people in, i mean, they are already in the building, but you want to bring them in to the spirit of what's going on at glide. and music,. >> 'cause of the solo, yeah. >> i've read a lot about you in the world, one of the they say the secular music and the spiritual music and some people like to keep that divorced.

but you've learned to combine the two. anyway you've done that, any, you know, clues as to how you do that? because people have such a difficult time sometimes seeing the two together. >> i've never -- i never think about it because to me i'm doing what i'm supposed to do, which is play music. and i feel just like a plumber would if he was going to fix your plumbing. you got to do what you're called to do. >> you're called to fix somebody's plumbing, you aren't going to ask them what religion they are, you know. so that's how i feel about what i do. you know, i'm a musician. i'm doing what i'm supposed to do, okay. >> we are blessed because of carla put this up for what you brought, we wouldn't be able to

hear these great sounds. this is my first time in 13 years of doing mosaic i have had a musician to do this. let's close out the segment with another number. ♪[ music ]

welcome back to mosaic. you probably heard some great sounds if you've been with us. john turk and his mom and dad were

great in music and introduced him at age five. he has been playing since five, and is mastering instruments and has his young son playing the drums who is quite good. and he named miles after someone we know too. tell us about your family's influence. >> well, i actually first started my mom, she played at a church. >> okay. >> and she didn't -- she didn't play by ear, she played by, you know, reading music. and she showed me a few things, the scales and stuff and how to read music. and then i had a crazy cousin, cousin leroy. leroy played the piano, but he played boogie woogie and he showed me how to -- ♪[ music ]

>> well, anyway, i got into it, you know, once i heard that boogie, woogie, this was it, it was all over for me. >> what was your dad's influence? >> my dad, he's the one that loved the music so much he would go buy the records. my momma didn't buy any records. he would get them records and buy them, nat king cole, arthur price, and i would just sit there and listen to them for hours. it was great. >> how did you manage to get with people like lou rawlses and bb king and go around the world with these people? >> well, at the time there was a club owned by don barksdale, and he had the showcase and the

sportsman, and he would have like bobby's club and lou rawlses at the other. and playing at the showcase at that time, i got to play with everybody that was big, you know. and they called it the circuit, but coming from vallajo, i thought i was in band heaven. i mean i got to play with and talk with the greatest r&b entertainers in the world. i mean, it doesn't get much better than that etta james and lou rawls, arthur price, bernie andrews, charles musselwhite, he played on a record with him. so it was great for me. >> the travels, i've heard you say that one of the most difficult things about being a

musician is the travels. >> yeah. i like to go to bed in my own bed, you know. and i had at the time i had two kids and i'll never forget i played a theater in chicago, and i got to meet some of the members of the band with lloyd price and. >> another legend. >> so some of those musicians had been on the road when lloyd price for years. >> he is still living, isn't snow. >> i'm not sure. and they only see their kids like once a year, twice a year or they would come and do things. that's difficult. you don't want to do

that. and riding on a bus. >> you mentioned earlier that you first had to check out the soloists before you selected the songs. one of the solos is your wife. >> yes. >> cheryl, right? >> right. right. >> you've been married for 20 years? >> should have been, but yeah. i'm not saying because she's my wife, but she can really sing. >> yeah. >> she's great. we heard you at the annual conference of the united methodist church last month. >> right. >> so we heard her as well as the choir and of course your band and all that you bring. it was quite a pleasure. >> yeah. >> when i go see you at scotts, which i did not long ago, i always ask for certain songs. and my funny valentine, you

still have that on repertoire? >> yeah. i'll play a little bit. ♪[ music ]

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you might be wondering who the young man in the center here, this is miles, the son of

john and cheryl. he plays the drums and he's played at glide. so i want him to come up right here and join us in this last segment. john, play span. that's one of the standards there at glide. ♪[ music ]

♪[ ♪[ music ]

you go to glide, on sundays, you will hear this kind of great music and great soloists and great ministry there. >> next time you're in town, we are going to have young miles bring his drums and we'll somehow get him up here. >> but i want you to close out with one of my favorites a song for you. donny hathaway and leon russell wrote it. but donny hathaway is the one who kind of owns that song. so i want to thank john for being here, bringing your gears. there you go. ♪[ music ]

good morning, everybody, welcome to bay sunday. i am your host roberta gonzalez, i'm filling in for frank, who is probably golfing at some pristine golf course around the bay yeah on this beautiful sunday. we begin this morning, if you have a show idea, we would love to hear from you. go to facebook.com/bay sunday, and comment on our page. we'll kick start our program, stage right, stage right is an arts and education organization that uses theater to build literacy, skills, community and self-esteem with elementary school children. and through this wonderful experience children engage and and inspire us to learn. >> and av