The Jazz Man
email this page to a friend You’ve seen Lester Holt as anchor of Weekend Nightly News, co-anchor of Weekend Today, fill-in anchor and correspondent of Nightly News and Today and MSNBC contributor, host and anchor. Obviously, he’s got a knack for news. But he also has a passion for music. An accomplished bass player, he’s “sat in” with Jefferson Starship and Captain & Tennille, recorded with the celebrity group Band From TV—which features actors Hugh Laurie of House and Greg Grunberg of Heroes—and sometimes “moonlights” in New York by hopping onstage at local jazz clubs.
Q: When did you start playing?
I was in ninth grade, and the high school jazz choir needed a band to accompany them.
Q: Why do you particularly like jazz?
I like the improvisation of jazz because I’m self-taught, and playing by ear comes easier to me. There’s so much joy to jazz. A lot of modern music is really negative, and jazz isn’t like that. It’s almost romantic.
Q: Ever considered lessons?
I flirted with the idea of taking lessons after all these years, but I’m almost afraid to now. I might have picked up some bad habits!
Q: Who were your big influences?
Carmen McRae, Ron Carter, Charlie Mingus… There are so many!
Q: Was there ever a fork in the road for you career-wise, where you had to choose music or broadcasting?
No, I’ve been in broadcasting since I was 16, and I think I knew that even though I loved music, it’s one thing to love it and another to make a living at it.
Q: When do you have time to practice?
I’m on standby a lot, and that’s a great time to shut the door and play for a while. Coworkers will say later, “I heard you practicing today.” I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not!
Q: When you play out in New York, do people recognize you?
I think they sort of do, but it just doesn’t compute. At the end of a set, the band will get introduced and I’ll hear an ‘Ahhh…that’s who that is.’
Q: What has kept you playing all these years?
I think it’s really important to have something else besides work. It’s easy to be consumed by that, but you have to make time. And with music, it’s like I have another life. It feels like a triumph to being doing it.
