About the Book
The Vagabonds: A Musician's Odyssey
By Thomas Gambino
Just Below the Radar on the Outskirts of History
New York City jazz saxophonist and author Thomas Gambino was a member of The Vegetables, the rock band that accompanied the Joffrey Ballet during its 1974 tour of the then-Soviet Union. The band was the first American rock group to visit that country.
Gambino's startling account of that trip, "Nyet: An American Rock Musician Encounters the Soviet Union," was published by Prentice-Hall in 1976. That book created a First Amendment stir when the Kissinger State Department attempted to censor the manuscript. But Gambino's tale prior to that trip is interesting, too, as are the subsequent events that shaped his life.
In "The Vagabonds: A Musician's Odyssey," you'll meet the famous, the near famous and the should-be-famous. As Thom states, "I've had a career just below the radar on the outskirts of history."
Some people mean it when they say they've done it all. Thom Gambino has been a child television performer, clerk, mechanic, cook, petroleum tank cleaner, sketch artist and painter, high school and college teacher, touring jazz and rock musician, radio and television guest, publisher, author, poet, magazine writer and interviewer, editor, husband, father, grandfather, orchestra leader, arranger, copyist, composer, orchestrator, conductor, foundation leader, advertising director, recording and video producer and performer, and an advocate for a limited world government.
Thom Gambino became a semi-professional at 15, performing on "The Horn and Hardart Children's Hour" on WCAU-TV in Philadelphia, "Tony Grant's Stars of Tomorrow" show on the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, and on "Ted Mack and the Original Amateur Hour" on CBS. He studied with the legendary saxophonist Phil Woods.
Thom has performed with Lionel Hampton, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Illinois Jacquet, Milt Buckner, Bob Crosby, Ray McKinley, Warren Covington, Tex Beneke, Buddy Morrow and Machito. In his role as performer and arranger on Hamp's TV special "One Night Stand," Thom worked with Johnny Mercer, Jon Faddis, Moe Koffman, Woody Herman, Buddy Rich, Gerry Mulligan, Zoot Sims, B.B. King, Teddy Wilson, Gene Krupa, Mel Lewis, Cat Anderson, Tyree Glenn, Joe Bushkin, Milt Hinton and Dusty Springfield.
Thom Gambino is the author of "Jazz Patterns for the Instrumentalist," "My Gentle Pearl" (poetry), "The Wooden Flower" (a novel) and "Sunrise" (a poetry and music album). His articles and record reviews have appeared in Model's Circle Magazine and Allegro. He serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of World Peace News.
In 1978 Thom and Lorry Gambino founded The UMANO Orchestra, a 26-piece jazz-rock ensemble, and The UMANO Foundation, which fosters the establishment of real, enforced international law under the framework of a World Federation.
In "The Vagabonds: A Musician's Odyssey," Thom also pays homage to those family members who came before him and he offers an insightful history refresher course to assist the reader in understanding his trek fully.
Gambino's memoir doesn't stop there. He describes his wife Lorry's rise to a position at The New York Times. Thom chronicles the lives of their children and grandchildren as they pursue careers in music, acting, art, advertising, education, law enforcement, business and fashion design.
"The Vagabonds: A Musician's Odyssey" is a powerful story, both serious and funny, and filled with love and hope.
