ROY CAMPBELL JR. Born in L.A., raised in the Bronx. ...

JR.

Born in L.A., raised in the Bronx. Son of a trumpet player. Has worked with Jemeel Moondoc, William Parker, Cecil Taylor, Rashied Ali and Sun Ra. Ongoing projects with the legendary Other Dimensions of Music, Tazz and the Pyramid Trio. A powerful presence in the NYC improvisational scene since the late 70s. Advises: "You have to take a dare to go beyond what is already established." Master trumpeter.

What are your artistic tools? I believe in a concept called "compositional improvisation." When I do performances, I always tape them. Then when I play them back, I might hear a line or melody for a whole composition off something that was improvised. When I play something once, I've committed it to memory permanently, so if I stumble on an idea while I'm playing, I can repeat it whenever I want.

So when you have a seed for a composition, how do you decide what group of musicians can best express that sound and bring it to life? The nature of the music predetermines what band, or who the particular individuals are that will play that idea. Some of the compositions I'll use interchangeably with different groups. Even when I play as a sideman, I might bring something I've composed if it fits the spirit of the music and players.

How does the music develop from there? When musicians get to a certain level, they listen to each other, they're open and selfless. They can come together and develop the motif. The music has a way of assembling itself. But you need to have very sensitive individuals for it to happen like this. That's the thing about improvisation: It teaches you what freedom is really about. I've seen instances when someone had the chance to jump out of themselves and be free, but when a person doesn't know how to be free, right away they want to put a discipline or control on the situation?

What have you learned through your years of the struggle of being an artist in this materialistic world? Like Malcolm X said, you have to do what you do by any means necessary. A lot of people think this is a cold statement, but if you have a dream, if you don't take the necessary steps to make your dream a reality, then it's just in your head.

The Vision Festival? The Vision Festival came from us being boxed out of the mainstream. They'd say you're avant garde, you play free music. I always felt if you had a bookcase, would you want the knowledge of one shelf or all the shelves?

Campbell will be playing with the Khan Jamal Quintet at the Vision Festival, Tues., May 25 at 10 p.m. Visit visionfestival.org for complete schedule.