Dwayne and Dwight Bosman, who perform as The Bosman Twins, are synonymous with St. Louis jazz. Their career began at the astonishing age of 14, backing locals like Fontella Bass, as well as touring artists like Hugh Masekela. Over the years, they’ve played nationally and internationally, sharing the stage with Roy Ayers, Freddy Cole, Branford Marsalis, and Curtis Mayfield, to name just a few. And yes, they’re identical twins, though their personal styles of speaking, dressing, and playing are not exactly the same. That’s part of why their music is so dynamic: While their twin ESP makes improvising effortless, each Bosman has his own style. Those distinctive sounds come together to create a third thing, like two spices in a perfectly made dish or notes in a rare cologne. The Bosmans are also incredibly versatile—Dwayne plays flute and saxophone (sometimes playing two saxes at once), and Dwight plays saxophone, flute, and clarinet.
When they recently stopped by our offices for a chat, they riffed off of each other’s comments, just as they do onstage. The subjects were many, though the most exciting news is that they’ve been working on a new album. We talked to them about that, of course, though as with any project in process, some parts of it are still under wraps. You can hear the disc in its entirety when it’s released in the spring, along with a new website and a new music video. And mark your calendar now: They play the brand-new Ferring Jazz Bistro on April 10 and 11.
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Can you let the cat out of the bag about the new album? Dwayne: It’s called When Lions Roar.
That’s a pretty big cat! Why that title? Dwayne: Basically, we are lions, and now that we have vintaged in our age, it shows that we still have the energy and excitement.
How so? Dwight: Dwayne mentioned that energy’s very important. When we listen back on some early things that were kind of raw, one of the things that we had was enthusiasm, a lot of energy, a lot of expression. We want to finesse it with some maturity but still have a lot of energy as well.
What is your process when you arrange music together? Dwight: We collaborate all the time, and that collaboration changes as far as whose influence is more dominant. Dwayne: We’ve also been collaborating with a few other musicians recently, particularly in preparing for our new project. It’s better because we have more ideas—no one can think of everything. [He chuckles.] Dwight: We can’t name names yet, but when you talk about collaboration, we have one selection that we’ve made that may be on there that’s from a friend of ours, a bass player. We’ve made some selections from him, and of course, we have original selections that Dwayne and I have been doing. There’s another musician from Los Angeles that we’re collaborating with.
Your dad, Lloyd Smith, was a sideman for Count Basie and Duke Ellington. Your household must’ve always been filled with music. Dwight: Always. Our household was just practicing, going on all the time. We had musicians coming over for music lessons, and then at any given time, musicians passing through with major bands who knew my father, who would call in advance and say they were going be in town next week on Thursday or whatever. They would come by the house, and he would introduce us to them. However, it didn’t have an impact until years later, when you realize you were meeting somebody like Jonah Jones, Buddy Tate, Jay McShann…
Did they play music together, or was it more social? Dwight: It was social. They would come in and talk, and listen to music. My father was a hi-fi stereo buff, and he had recordings of everything. He knew a lot of guys, and they would talk about, you know, their old times, but they would also talk about what’s going on now. Then they would listen to music.
Did you two inherit your dad’s hi-fi–buff gene? Dwayne: No, we’re not really hi-fi buffs, but we listen to high-quality music, and we identify with it immediately.
Your classical-music training is unusual for jazz artists. Dwight: Our experiences in our formal training lend to our jazz experience. However, they’re two different animals, and the way that we approach classical music is totally different than the way we approach jazz, except in the preparation. The ideology, conceptually, is totally different. Dwayne: Basically, the classical gives you the foundation to do whatever you want to do in any genre. Dwight: So does jazz… Dwayne: Now, we still play classical. However, we still have more influences as far as sound and tone that jazz influenced more, as a result of playing jazz for years.
You’ve played all over the world—including in Stuttgart, Germany. How was that? Dwayne: We had a lot of fun. We did some teaching while we were there, workshops with the high school. There was another group from St. Louis there, too, but they were dance; we were the only musicians. Dwight: We coupled our music with the musicians there from Stuttgart. We sent some arrangements in advance, then rehearsed when we got to the theater, which was a fun thing. Then we did a thing with some more musicians that we hadn’t had a chance to rehearse with until right before the performance. All of the performances were received extremely well, with standing ovations.
You started your careers at such a young age. Dwayne: At that early age, when we were sitting in, there was a lot of talent, a lot of music going on in the clubs throughout St. Louis and East St. Louis. We also had Afro in the Park, which was African drummers and musicians, et cetera. That was a lot of fun and also educational for us. Dwight: When we were 14 or 15, we were also playing jazz festivals like the one on the riverfront, with the likes of Oliver Nelson, Hank Crawford, Stanley Turrentine—we’d be on the same bill with those guys. It was great to meet them and be inspired by them, but also to perform on the same stage…and not as a student act, but just as an act. We also did numerous talent shows; you’d win one in one area and go to the next area. We played concerts with Hugh Masekela at 14 or 15. Dwayne: We played with O.C. Smith, too, and both of those shows were at the Peabody, which back then was the Kiel Opera House. Dwight: There was just lots of music going on during that time. We were able to perform a lot; it was not uncommon for a local act to warm up for a major act back then. It seems almost impossible today.
How has the experience of being a working musician changed since those days? Dwayne: At that time, the older musicians worked really well with the younger musicians. There was camaraderie, and knowledge was passed down from generation to generation. Dwight and I were fortunate to have grown up with the musicians’ union. When we were young, at 14, there was a black musicians’ union, Local 197, and then the white one was Local 2. When they merged, it became Local 2-197. We’d come over on Sundays and play with Local 197, and they’d have concert bands. We played marching-band music and concert-band music, and then they’d have jam sessions. That’s when you’d listen to the older guys play. They’d let you play a little bit, then they’d be like ‘OK, you can sit down now.’ They’d also tell us wonderful stories. You could hear about all of their experiences. Dwight: Additionally, there were performances, musician trust funds… We played for those, at churches and a lot of different places—fashion shows, you name it, parks, things like that. There were lots of opportunities for performing, in addition to that wealth of musicians.
A lot of identical twins can practically read each other’s minds. How does your twindom affect your playing? Dwight: There are things we don’t have to say to each other—it just happens. And when you think about it, there should be nobody tighter than us, because we’re out of the same bag. But I think Dwayne and I play totally differently, even though we play well together. We were always taught individuality. We’re apples and oranges: They’re both fruit, but they’re different. Dwayne: [laughing] So am I the apple or the orange? [Both laugh.] Since we do play differently, we complement each other. And I think it would be boring if we played the same. Then, it’s too much of the same thing. It’s just like personalities—you’re playing a part of your personality. It is you, just like the way you walk, the way you talk. You have your own identity. Dwight: Music is a conversation. So we’re having a conversation. I say something; Dwayne says something. I laugh; Dwayne laughs. Then I get louder or more excited, and Dwayne gets excited, so it’s basically that kind of thing. I’m just giving an example of how that works musically. Even if we played the same instrument, it would still sound different.
What are your feelings about the experience of listening to recorded jazz, rather than live music? Dwight: I think all live music is important. You can listen to a CD and be totally inspired, but once you see the artist go to work and actually perform… I like to hear live performances in small of a setting as possible. And I know it’s not possible when it’s a very established musician, but I like to hear it the way it comes out naturally. The bass player will play and you can hear a string being struck. And the wind players—whether it’s a sax player or a trumpet player—you hear them take that breath. I want to hear those kinds of things. I think live is the way to hear that. Great recordings with great equipment afford the opportunity to be as close to natural as possible… But when you see the musicians go through the things that they’re doing, sometimes some of them are entertainers as well as performers. Just watching, there’s nothing like it. Dwayne: I like live music because it’s playing off the audience. And you’re never going to hear a song played exactly the same—it depends on the vibes that you get as an individual, the vibes of the musicians collectively, the language we all speak, how we’re feeling, the atmosphere of the room. And various rooms have various feelings. It depends on how you want to project or perceive it, with the artist as well as the audience, and the feel of the room, too. Playing at The Sheldon is the best room you could ever play in—the sound and the feel. And the room at [Jazz at the Bistro] has a certain natural, good feeling. Dwight: There was a piano player who used to play with us; he was a blind guy. He’d always say, ‘How’s it feel in here?’ I didn’t understand it at first, but later I knew exactly what he was saying. It’s a warm feeling, a cold feeling…
Are there shows that stand out as perfect, in terms of the vibe, the audience, the energy? Dwayne: London. That was really, really a good time. Also some of the shows we’ve done with Fontella Bass. The response from the audience was just phenomenal. I think every artist, every musician should be a follower as well as a leader. There’s a deep experience on both sides. Dwight: There are no greater fans—and we have been halfway across the world—than St. Louis fans. You should have seen me earlier today when I was out jogging… I had on a championship Cardinals cap. I had on a St. Louis Rams T-shirt. And I had something with Missouri Tigers on my thigh. [He laughs.] I mean, we’re pro-everything, sportswise, in St. Louis. And our fans, we have no greater fans than our St. Louis fans. St. Louis truly is in the Show-Me State. If you do what you’re supposed to do—you’ve given people what they want—then they’ll show you the love. The Bosman Twins’ sound is definitely a St. Louis sound.
