When you walk into Tracey D. Hooker’s west-side Olympia home, the décor tells you this is a man who loves boats. The nautical theme complete with signal flags and sea shells is prevalent. Hooker, who spent 22 years in the Navy, admits he loves spending time on the water. While boating may be a fun hobby, if you dig a little deeper, you’ll discover that his real passion is music.
Look more closely at a framed print hanging on the wall and you’ll notice it has nothing to do with the sea. It’s a Spellemannsprisen – the Norwegian equivalent of a Grammy Award. Hooker won the prize when he helped create the brass charts for “High Roller,” a 2009 blues album by the Norwegian Band Orbo & The Longshots.
Music has been an integral part of Hooker’s life since he was a young child in Vermont. His father, an uncle and two older brothers played gigs at the local American Legion, so jazz, swing, and the big band sound were staples during his formative years. “The first live concert I attended was Maynard Ferguson,” he recalls, referring to the legendary jazz trumpeter, “… and that was it.” Hooker started playing the trumpet in 7th grade and hasn’t looked back since.
Even his Navy career revolved around music. “I told the recruiter, ‘If you’ll put me in the band, I’ll join,’” he laughs. In 1982, Hooker auditioned and was accepted into the prestigious Navy Band program. After completing boot camp he was sent to the U.S. Armed Forces School of Music in Norfolk, Virginia. There, he and other new band members spent an additional six months of “music basic” honing their craft before being assigned to a specific ensemble. By the time he retired in 2005, Hooker had played the trumpet and flugelhorn all over the country and overseas with various Navy Band groups.
Retiring didn’t stop him from playing. These days he juggles multiple musical pursuits. In addition to teaching private students in his home studio, he is a brass instructor at Olympic Community College, and he has his own group, Tracey D. Hooker and The Hook Me Up Quartet. He also serves as first trumpet with the Olympia Jazz Senators, a local big band.
“The Jazz Senators have a mission to help younger musicians,” says Hooker. Most members of the band are current or former music educators, so working with youth, helping develop musical talent and creating performing opportunities is integral to what they do. They make it a point to invite local middle and high school groups to play at their concerts, including their twice-a-month gig at the Urban Onion in downtown Olympia.
If this weren’t enough, Hooker is also the jazz band instructor at NOVA school, a private middle school in Olympia.
“I feel blessed to be able to do both – to play and to teach,” says Hooker, who happened onto his teaching position when the former band director at NOVA recommended him for the job. He says of performing, “I can just enjoy it now.” Teaching, however, fills a bigger purpose.
He believes musical education is critical for today’s youth. As with sports, Hooker believes music “fosters a collective.” The kids have to work together to achieve something worth listening to, “They know when their product is good, and they take pride in it.” And unlike sports, where so many young athletes are pushed beyond their limits and often get injured, “Nobody gets hurt in music,” he says.
Hooker says he’s had playing opportunities that have taken him away from his teaching duties, and that often he wishes he had forgone the gig in favor of his students. “I find myself thinking of them while I’m performing,” he admits. He believes he is a better musician because of the teaching and refers to the old adage that you can never truly master something until you are able to impart your knowledge to others. That’s what he’s busy honing these days. Teaching is the new passion.
Oh, and that Spellemannsprisen award? It was a fluke. “I was called to play at a studio session up in Seattle,” he explains with a grin. He didn’t know the band, and they didn’t know him. Orbo & The Longshots had their tracks laid down, but they didn’t know what they wanted the horns to do, so Hooker stepped up and created charts on the spot. The award was just a bonus for doing what he loves.
You can hear Hooker playing with The Olympia Jazz Senators at The Urban Onion restaurant in down town Olympia every other Monday night starting on May 9th.
Links of interest:
http://hookmeup.bandvista.com/
