Trivia

Clark Terry was a huge influence on Miles Davis.

Quincy Jones was Clark Terry's first Student.

In a 2014 interview with FourThree Film, Alan Hicks spoke about how his relationship with Clark Terry came to be, and subsequently the film: "I tried out for the (Wollongong Conservatorium) in Sydney, and missed out by one spot, and all my mates got in to the con. I was devastated. So I decided, bugger it, I'll go to New York and try to get immersed in it there. I went there when I was 18, and started trying out for different colleges, and studying with guys around town. I got into a college called William Paterson University, in New Jersey. I studied there for a year, but I hadn't planned any of it well, and I was dead broke, I thought I've got to go back home to Australia and regroup. A teacher from that school, the late James Williams, told me before you fly home I want you to come to the Blue Note Jazz Club with me. So I went to the Blue Note with him, and he sat me right in between Clark Terry and his wife Gwen Terry. The concert was The Oscar Peterson Trio. I sat right next to Clark, and I couldn't believe it, I idolized him. He then said to me - 'You must be Al...James has told us about you, and he said you're planning on moving back to Australia, and I think it's a bad idea. You can play, and I think you should keep your shoe in in Jazz, and stay here'. So I cancelled my flight and he started inviting me to his place and we'd hang out. Eventually he asked me to bring my drum sticks. This went on for a long time, and then I ended up joining his band! That's how I met Clark, through this crazy turn of events. It wasn't until years after that, when I moved back to Australia, that Australian Story (1996) cottoned on to mine and Clark's relationship, and they wanted to do a little piece on it. It was all going ahead, but as seems to be a frequent thing, the Aus govt funding got pulled. I told my mate, Adam Hart, the cinematographer of the film, about this. And he told me, we'll do it ourselves, so we started. And that was 5 years ago."