BRS: Mostly everybody starts out on the drum. The first instrument I played was the drum. That is the base of all instruments because everything is rhythm. I played the drum – I guess naturally -but there was a family friend Ezra Carrol who inspired me to play the organ. It happens to me all the time. Every time Ezra plays the organ, it was magic. He played Gospel music and both our parents had a band. They were having a kind of family parties at our house, like a nice gathering, telling stories, having a good time, nice food and so on.  My aunt Pearl, who had a Hammond organ and a piano, was always playing. At the end of the evening everybody just start playing the organ and the piano. My mom, played the piano, Ezra’s mother played piano but Ezra…..he was always the great one. He played the organ always magic. He inspired me to play the organ and Ezra thought me more chords at the church.’

 

Inspired by Ezra, who plays the organ with a ‘magic’ touch, music was always surrounding Bobby. Music is in that way a natural element in his live. But Bobby felt if you want to grow, you have to have great teachers or mentors besides you who teach you what music is.

 

BRS: From my mother Molly Sparks, I learned my first chords. My mom showed me how to play different songs and how to play chords with other songs.  At the age of six, I met Paul Lewis. He was a child prodigy and was 16 years old at that time. He would take me under his wings. So I sat with him at his church. He showed me different chords; styles of music and other stuff and that helped me to grow more. So I could learn more. At the same time, my dad Bobby Sparks sr. who was a vintage straight ahead jazz musician, was always listening Jazz. So I was known with Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Jimmy Smith, Jack mcDuff, Miles Davis and Dexter Gordon and more. While I had my dad showing me jazz, my mother showed me church music. She tought me all the church stuff.  So I had jazz on this side and church music on the other side. My dad, without him…My father felt my need and passion for the organ. He bought this Hammond organ for me on my sixth birthday, can you imagine? And that was and is still a lot of money.He bought me one because it wasn’t allowed for me to play the organ at the church. I was just to young.  Everybody was amazed and wondering why he should give such a present to me? But he was proud to do that for me. So he put the music in me for that matter… he felt the need in me to play and knew I would succeed. So my dad great believes and trust in me resulted in my love for music and Hammond organ. I am still thankful for his investment in believing me. I had my first gig in the church with my dad and friends at the age of 13.

 

'But music is all about creation it developed with you. It learns you to listening differently'.

 

BRS: When I was in the fifth grade, I discovered Prince and Rick James. For me it became about being funky time. Prince, Rick James and Free Funk Funkedeliqe and others, but that’s how I got into funky music.  My first record I bought was the Gapband 3 Humping. At that age 17/18 I am starting to listen differently to music.  Listening to Herbie Hancock, Bud Powell, Keith Jarret.

 

Music is about leadership

BRS: The people that inspires me are all musicians that are creative leaders. I listen to all innovators who keep pushing music forward, like Miles, Coltraine, Jimmy Hendrikx, Sly Stone, Bob Marley. They are not afraid of doing their own thing, and they don’t care what anybody else says. They force people to listen to it. I am going to write what I write, I am not doing something what already has been done. It is easy to copy. But it is hard to write or create a new sound where people are forced to listen too. It is easy to say I am going to write a song so I can get on the radio. Right. So writing commercial songs is easy to do. It is manufactured music, music on demand. There is nothing creative about it. They are using their mind instead of creativity. I going to do something what have never been done before. It takes a lot of balls to do it and being you. You have to be honest, I call it honest music.

 

What made a change in your life?

BRS: Besides my dad Sr, that was the moment when I heard Commisoned’s record  ’Go and tell somebody’, where Michael Brooks played the keyboard. For that time I wanted to be a Gospel musician. At that age 17/18 I start to listen differently to music.  Listening to Herbie Hancock, Bud Powell, Keith Jarret. When I saw Bernard Wright playing one note which tore the place down……This was in my Chick Corea-time. Curt Bradshaw who I met I think he made a musician out of me.

 

The world would be a better place…

BRS: Take away greed, and the world would be a different place to be. Greed gets people to having this and buying or spending more than they can afford. Take away greed and everybody is free. It would make the world better. Greed is just is the root of all evil. When people plays or make music for the money? It takes the art out of everything what it should have been.

 

Who would you like to have a talk with?

I really would like to speak with Sting, Cornell West and Barack Obama

 

What is your metaphor for music?

Music is Spiritual it comes from God. We are just a vessel to get the music out. We are the instruments of God in that way.

 

My home feeling ?

After music, besides music I like sports. I love American football, basketball. So most of the time I watch or listen to sport. I love to take care of my garden and everything that I have planted in the ground. I have my own greenery with tomatoes and carrots, and other plants.

 

 

Article: Monica Scheepers /Photo: Ruud Lips/Mo-Music