Long Road Back for Jazz Drummer Tommy Campbell

World-renowned jazz drummer Tommy Campbell will play his first Delaware Valley concert in more than 30

years. The Tommy Campbell Trio—which includes Noah Jarrett (bass) and Bill Gottshall (piano)—

will perform four shows over two nights at The Underground, 408 W. Main Street, Lansdale, PA

19446, on February 2nd & 3rd. The Underground is owned and operated by micro-brewery Round Guys

Brewery Company. Campbell's trio will be joined on stage by guest stars Ed Etkins (sax), Lloyd Debonis

and Peter Neu (trumpet). Campbell has traveled a long, circuitous route back to

performing near his hometown, but not nearly as difficult a journey as his road to recovery, after suffering a

brutal beating during a mugging, on May 4, 2017. "The attack happened at 12:30 AM, during a routine trip to

the 7-11 store, near my apartment, in Lower Manhattan," says Campbell. "I'm not able to say much more

about the attack, as the investigation is still on-going. In fact, I visited New York's Fifth Precinct Police

Headquarters a few weeks ago, to pick suspects out of a line-up. After all these months, it looks as if

something might be happening, to bring these guys to justice."

The two attackers did a tremendous amount of damage. Both of Campbell's kneecaps were pushed up into his

thigh bones, severing tendons. In addition, he suffered a broken

foot and damage to one of his wrists, all serious, career threatening injuries for a drummer. Campbell says, "I

never gave up hope that I'd make it back to playing drums again, but I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have

my doubts, at times." Campbell was hospitalized for eight days. Because he had no medical insurance at the

time, he faced not only a long road to recovery, but a massive

amount of debt. Friends, fellow jazz musicians, and fans rose to help Campbell meet the challenge. Legendary

jazz keyboardist Chick Corea got things started with a large donation. A GoFundMe page was created, which

has brought in donations totaling $55,000, to date. "So many friends have given support," says

Campbell, "People have given money, food, advice; you name it, they've given it." The list of contributors

reads like a Who's Who of American Jazz: Ron Carter, Billy Cobham, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker, Charles

Mingus, III, and Sue Graham Mingus. Campbell's longtime bandmates and former roommates at Berklee

College of Music, Kevin Eubanks and Jerry Moore, provided much support. "A lot of great people associated

with my days playing for Dizzy Gillespie helped me out: John Lee, Frank Moten—who was once Dizzy

Gillespie's next door neighbor—they all did so much." A former drum student of Campbell's, Roger

Brown, who currently serves as Berklee's president, stepped up to assist his former mentor. Campbell

adds, "So many musicians and friends from abroad made generous contributions, too, especially musicians

and fans from Japan and France."While Campbell has returned to performing and teaching

full-time, his physical rehabilitation is nowhere close to being done. "I do physical therapy three times a week.

It's only been a month or two that I can jump up in the air.

Not too high, of course, but it feels good to do that again." According to his fans and to music critics,

Campbell's playing is as good as it ever was, perhaps even better. Pianist Bill Gottshall, who will be

performing alongside Campbell for the first time in 40 years,

says, "When Tommy and I were freshman in college, he was already the most gifted, physically-active

drummer I'd ever heard or seen. Watching him play now, it's hard

to believe that he's suffered those catastrophic injuries. He's incredibly active while he performs. But seeing

him ice his knees between sets makes me believe he's paying a heavy price for all that activity."

Born in Norristown and raised in Willow Grove, Campbell is the nephew of Hammond B-3 organ jazz pioneer,

Jimmy Smith, who bought Campbell his first set of drums. Campbell's father was an organist as well. "I was

surrounded by music, from the time I was two years old," says Campbell. "My father and drummer Mickey

Roker would often rehearse at our house. And whenever Uncle Jimmy had a new record, he'd come over with

a pre-release copy. We'd listen to it together as a family. I used to play along with those records for hours."

"Uncle Jimmy and my mother were very close. He would come and visit often, in between gigs and tours. In

the early to mid 1960's, he'd drop by in either a Jag or a Mercedes-Benz, always with a TV in the back of the

car," says Campbell, with a laugh. Later, in his teen years, Campbell met Philadelphia native Kevin Eubanks,

and his brother, Robin. "We started a band, inspired by groups like Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears, The

Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, and funk bands, of course." Just a few years later, Campbell and

two other members of that band, Kevin Eubanks and fellow guitarist Jerry Moore, enrolled at Berklee, where

they immediately formed a new band. "We got a booking at a jazz club, called Pooh's Pub, in Boston's

Kenmore Square. The club owner named the band 'T.C.B.,' the Tommy Campbell

Band, even though Kevin wrote 90% of the music. I'dwritten one song at the time!" He adds, "Much later, that

same band recorded a Kevin Eubanks CD, called "Sundance." I also played on Kevin's very first CD,

entitled, 'Guitarist.' What an experience! Three drummers on that one: Roy Haynes, Ronnie Burrage, and I.

Kevin allowed me to finish a 42-date tour, with guitarist John McLaughlin. The tour ended in California. I

took the redeye flight from LAX to JFK and went straight into recording, the next morning." Eubanks would

eventually go on to become the bandleader on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Campbell has circled the globe, touring not only with McLaughlin, but with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and

saxophonist Sonny Rollins. Campbell also toured extensively with vibraphonist Gary Burton and the vocal

group Manhattan Transfer. "One of the last gigs I played in Philly was back in the early '80s. After completing

a tour with Sonny Rollins, I came back home, to Willow Grove. A few days after I arrived, a friend called, to

ask if I'd be interested in playing a gig, fronted by Bootsie Barnes, one of Philly's great sax players. My friend

was asking if I was up for the challenge. I remember thinking, 'I just toured Europe with Sonny Rollins. I

think I can handle this with no trouble!' I was just a young guy, all full of myself. Well, let me tell you: Bootsie

gave me a real education! He rode me all night long, not letting me get

away with anything! I really learned a lot about music on that gig. It's helped keep me open-minded and

humble, ever since."

After more national and world tours and many recording sessions throughout the 1980s and '90s, playing as a

sideman for big-name jazz performers that included Stanley Jordan, David Murray, Ray Anderson, The

Mingus Big Band, and The Great Saxophone Quartet, Campbelldecided to make a change, a big change. "For

years, friends I'd made while touring in Japan, people like Sadao Watanabe, Terumasa Hino, Makoto Ozone,

and Mama San, had been asking me to come back and to stay, to be part of the great jazz scene there. I'd been

playing in New York with the same people for a very long time, playing a lot of the same songs, so in 1998, I

decided to move to Tokyo. Body & Soul, the famed night club there, became my jazz home, in Japan. I'd only

planned to live there three or four years, but then '9-11' happened, in

New York. It was a no-brainer, at that time, to continue living in Japan. I ended up staying there for 13 years.

I had a great time, with no regrets. But then '3-11,' the tsunami, struck. The Japanese economy suffered, just

like New York's had, after '9-11.' So, I figured, after a divorce, it was time to go back to New York City. And it's

been great… except for the mugging."

Campbell is excited about his upcoming, two-night stay at The Underground, in Lansdale. "It's been half a

lifetime since I last performed in this area," says the 60-year old drummer. "Last summer, a fundraiser was

held, in Willow Grove, to help me with my medical expenses. At the time, I was unable to travel back home

and thank all those people in person. Now, I'll get to perform for them, right in our old backyard! It's going to

be just a small token of appreciation for all the support folks in and around Philly have given me, not just

recently, but my whole life long. I can't possibly hope to re-pay all those people for their love and support."

Local jazz fans disagree with Campbell on that point. When he takes the stage, on February 2nd & 3rd, they

feel the pleasure will be all theirs.

Show times for The Tommy Campbell Trio will be:

Friday, February 2nd, 8:00 and 10:00 pm;

Saturday, February 3rd, 8:00 and 10:00 pm.

Tickets are $12, available through TicketLeap. A

link to the event can be found athttp:// underground.roundguysbrewery.com/