WALLACE RONEY

jazz trumpeter

“My father had a great record collection, but then he and my mother broke up. I was living with my grandmother, and so I had to start re-collecting records because she didn’t have any of them. First, I sent away to a record club for Miles’ ‘Greatest Hits’ and ‘Bitches Brew.’ Those were the first ones that I got and called my own, but I didn’t really pay for them.

“The first record where I ever went down to the record store and the money came out of my own pocket was a 45 of Miles’ ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro.’ They had it on 45 -- Columbia Records. The first part was on Side A, and Miles’ solo was on Side B. I also bought a Cannonball Adderley 45 at the same time, where they play ‘Sweet Emma’ and ‘Fun.’ I didn’t dig that one as much, but I wore ‘Filles de Kilimanjaro’ right out.

“The first LP I bought out of my own pocket was ‘Miles in the Sky,’ and from that point on, I just started collecting all of these records.”