History and all that jazz

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It is currently the lounge and kitchen for a manufacturer of audio system circuitry called THAT Corp. The walls are cleanly painted, and the floor is new. To one side, wood kitchen cabinets hang in a row. Near another, ping-pong and pool tables go unused.

But up against a third wall, where a stage once sat, large black-and-white photos hint at this room's incredible history. There's Dizzy Gillespie, puffed cheeks the size of tennis balls. There's Count Basie, ready to get the place dancing.

And of course, there's Henry "Boots" Mussulli, Milford's jazz pioneer, the man whose influence on this town is still as vibrant as the music he loved. When he ran this place half a century ago, it was called the Crystal Room and it sparkled.

Today, Milford is a town of quiet distinction. It has no more flashy nightclubs, no must-see hot spots. But music is still very much alive here. Mixed in among its roughly 27,000 residents are an unusually large number of jazz players, from accomplished Berklee College of Music professors to young upstarts, and they're spreading their talent across the state.

"There's definitely something in the Milford water supply," wrote Chet Williamson, Arts & Entertainment editor at Worcester Magazine, in his book, "The Jazz Worcester Real Book."

In the book, which came out late last year and is available at Worcester bookstores, Williamson profiles 100 players in Worcester County. A dozen were from Milford, and many more, he said, have ties to the town.

"There are so many people that have such high regard for the small community of play ers" in town, he said in an interview.

Milford's jazz roots can be traced back to at least 1920, when a music teacher named Julio Zorzi introduced students to what was then a young and blossoming art. And with the music still thriving among residents, there are many theories on just what has attracted so many musicians to Milford.

Michael Crowley, an instrumental music teacher in Milford public schools, said it may be because of the town's location. It's within easy driving distance of Providence, Worcester, and Boston all cities with healthy jazz scenes and may function as a convenient bedroom community for active musicians.

Jerry Cecco, a multi-instrumentalist and ensemble professor at Berklee who performs under the name Jerry Seeco, said it may be for the same reason he moved to Milford total coincidence.

But most musicians agree on one thing: Whatever the reasons, Boots Mussulli had a lot to do with it.

According to Williamson and other local musicians, Mussulli was a child prodigy who played the alto saxophone and was performing in bands by age 17. By 1942, he was touring nationally, including a lengthy stint with the renowned Stan Kenton Orchestra. When a band he was in needed new members, Mussulli often recruited his friends from Milford.

But while many jazz musicians at the time settled in major metropolises, where they hoped to make a living off the music, Mussulli had a wife and children in his hometown, so he returned here.

In 1949, Mussulli established a jazz hall called the Crystal Room, which at that time was the basement of the local Sons of Italy hall. Thanks to his connections, he managed to fill the stage with the most prestigious jazz players of all time. For music fans, it put Milford on the map.

He began teaching jazz locally around the same time and set up bands for his players to perform in. Many of those students are now scattered throughout the region, carrying on his tradition.

"He was a jazz artist of national reputation who decided to come home and teach to bring the music to small-town America and educate them," Williamson said of Mussulli. "Not just from theory, but experience, he showed it is possible to learn your craft and take it out on the road without necessarily moving to New York City."

One of his former students, Lee Beaudoin of Worcester, recently opened an upscale restaurant and music showroom called Union Blues. It's housed in Worcester's Union Station, and features both local and national jazz and blues acts.

Beaudoin said the jazz scene in Massachusetts isn't as strong as it used to be, because there has been a drought of new players in the past decade. But that's starting to change, he said, thanks to a flock of skilled teenagers who have embraced the music.

"They're players," he said of the teenagers, some of whom have played at his restaurant. "These kids know it, they love it, and that didn't exist 10 years ago. I don't know what happened in the last 10 years."

Of course, Milford plays a role in this new breed as well. Two siblings from neighboring Hopedale Stephen Chaplin, 16, and his brother Gregory, 13, who both attend Milford public schools have garnered much attention in the jazz scene lately.

Stephen's entrance into jazz came by accident, he said, since he was originally learning classical piano. His teacher suggested he try jazz instead and connected him with some local players. That was four years ago.

These days, with his brother on bass, he fronts the Stephen Chaplin Quartet and plays weekly at Caffe Sorrento, an Italian restaurant in downtown Milford.

He said that when he first began playing jazz, he was unaware of Milford's long jazz legacy. In fact, he only really learned about it when he started played gigs, and fans would reminisce about the old days of the Crystal Room.

"I think it brings a lot of people back to the way jazz was at one point," he said of his shows. "I know it does, because they make it a point to tell me."

But Stephen said it's no surprise to him that a player can excel in jazz without really knowing its roots. Many of today's most talented players are coming out of Europe, he said, and may not know the history of this uniquely American music.

Nor do they need to, he said. Jazz may have a lush history, but it's by no means a thing of the past.

It grabbed Stephen Chaplin just like it grabbed Boots Mussulli, and on and on it goes.

"Jazz is like a drug," Stephen said. "Once you start liking it, not only are you totally hooked on it for life, but you don't want anything else."

© Copyright 2003 Globe Newspaper Company.