On Broadway: This musician is in the pits, but far from blue
| New York
On one of his daily walks across Manhattan, Jeffrey Lee Campbell pauses in front of the Gershwin Theatre on West 51st Street. Standing beneath the theater鈥檚 signs for the musical 鈥淲icked,鈥� he peers into the lobby. Decades ago, he worked the concession stand here alongside a young Aaron Sorkin, the now-famous writer and director.聽
鈥淪ee that black door there, the checkroom? I was standing in that room in 1987 when Prince walked through here,鈥� marvels Mr. Campbell. 鈥淲hen I walk to these places that are still standing, I try to look for 鈥�1987 Jeff鈥� standing in that door to remind me to stay humble.鈥�
Over the past 25 years, Mr. Campbell has been an in-demand guitarist for Broadway musicals. But when the pandemic shut down the Great White Way, he had the humbling experience of being unemployed for a year and a half. Many people in his industry abandoned the city. To lift his spirits, Mr. Campbell adopted the routine of a daily walk.聽
Why We Wrote This
The music industry can be fickle: One day you鈥檙e touring with Sting, the next you鈥檙e playing weddings. The key to perseverance, says veteran Jeffrey Lee Campbell, is humility and finding satisfaction outside of ego.
The guitar player recently invited the Monitor to join him for a trek of New York鈥檚 musical landmarks, including those in his own storied career. In a four-hour conversation spanning more than 45 blocks, the guitarist offered insights into the lives of musicians who toil in 鈥渢he pit鈥� beneath the stage. Longevity in the competitive profession requires qualities that helped him weather the pandemic: periodic reinvention, flexibility, and a willingness to check one鈥檚 ego at the stage door. They鈥檙e innate to Mr. Campbell, says saxophonist Branford Marsalis, who has known Mr. Campbell for three decades.
鈥淭he Broadway of now is not the Broadway of my childhood,鈥� says Mr. Marsalis. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a lot of pop music and folk music. ... You have to be able to play a lot of different styles. And you have to play in a way that you understand that there are singers and talkers and dancers onstage. It鈥檚 such a perfect thing for Jeffrey.鈥�
Mr. Campbell begins his walking journey near Times Square and heads uptown. His pace, a lingering vestige of his North Carolina upbringing, is as leisurely as the ascent of the December sun overhead. As the guitarist passes billboards for 鈥淭he Music Man鈥� and 鈥淐aroline, or Change,鈥� he admits he had zero interest in musical theater when he moved to New York.聽
When he arrives at 1776 Broadway, he proclaims, 鈥淭his is the building that changed my life.鈥� It was here that he first met the manager for Sting. Mr. Campbell successfully auditioned to become the guitar player for the rock star鈥檚 1987-88 tour 鈥� a feat for a newcomer. Sting told him, 鈥淚鈥檓 going to make you famous.鈥�
Mr. Campbell toured the world in private jets, played a spotlight solo on 鈥淪aturday Night Live,鈥� and hung out with the likes of Eric Clapton and Bruce Springsteen. But afterward, Sting hired an entirely new band for the next album and tour. Mr. Campbell went from playing Madison Square Garden to performing in a wedding band on weekends.聽
鈥淚 thought I had cracked the code of showbiz,鈥� says the musician. 鈥淎s I joke to people, 鈥業 spent the next 35 years working my way down the ladder of success.鈥欌�澛�
Resuming his walk, the musician tells the story about his next big break. A decade later, on the recommendation of a friend, he got added to a list of substitute musicians for Broadway shows.聽
鈥淚鈥檝e had guys call me at quarter to 8 and say, 鈥楥an you play the show tonight?鈥欌�� he recalls. 鈥淚鈥檇 take my food out of the oven and put on my clothes, and I鈥檓 there 10 minutes later, ready to play.鈥澛�
It鈥檚 a difficult circuit to break into. Staying on the list of approved subs means you have to impress conductors in the orchestra pits. Mr. Campbell prepared with the same fastidious attention to detail that he鈥檇 applied to the Sting audition.聽
鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 a flashy instrumentalist, but he was a musician,鈥� recalls Mr. Marsalis, who was on the same tour with Sting. 鈥淗e knew how to play guitar to accompany the band and to support Sting鈥檚 music, which means that you鈥檙e essentially invisible. If you鈥檙e doing your job well, no one notices you.鈥澛�
Being comfortable with anonymity is requisite for Broadway musicians. They play unseen in an orchestra pit. After several years of subbing, Mr. Campbell landed his first full-time gig on 鈥淪aturday Night Fever.鈥� His subsequent credits include聽鈥淪eussical鈥� and 鈥淪chool of Rock.鈥� He played on 鈥淢amma Mia!鈥� for 14 years. Mr. Campbell鈥檚 philosophy, as noted in one of his books, is 鈥淪tay positive. You鈥檙e always exactly where you鈥檙e supposed to be.鈥�
Strolling through Central Park, where our noses perk up at the aroma of a street vendor鈥檚 roasted peanuts, Mr. Campbell says that playing shows 鈥� eight per week across six days 鈥� is a meditative experience. He鈥檚 so attuned to his musical cues that he can read a book between songs. But he challenges himself to play better each performance.
鈥淚 have friends who would not want to play the same music night after night, but as my fellow guitarist in 鈥楳amma Mia!鈥� said, 鈥楪o on the road with Lady Gaga and let me know how much the music changes every night,鈥欌�� he says.
In March 2020, after just his third performance in 鈥淢rs. Doubtfire,鈥� Broadway shuttered. During the seemingly endless hiatus, he revisited an avenue of creativity that he鈥檚 found invigorating and rewarding: writing. He鈥檚 almost finished a memoir titled 鈥淭he Fuzz Box Diaries.鈥� It鈥檚 a follow-up to his 2018 book, 鈥淒o Stand So Close: My Improbable Adventure as Sting鈥檚 Guitarist.鈥� The books are a result of him contemplating his legacy. 鈥淚 would trade every note I鈥檝e ever played to say I wrote 鈥楥razy鈥� by Willie Nelson or 鈥楨very Breath You Take鈥� by Sting,鈥� says Mr. Campbell. 鈥淢y fantasy was always to hear a car going on the street blasting a song I鈥檇 written.鈥�
But he鈥檚 arrived at a feeling of gratitude for achieving a career in music.
鈥淵ou can be on the New York Yankees and still not be Mickey Mantle,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he hardest threshold to cross is being a full-time musician, to not have a day job. Most people end up still having to work somewhere else and they play music for fun.鈥澛�
The guitarist鈥檚 circuitous walk ends outside the Neil Simon Theatre on 52nd Street. The marquee features a silhouette image of Michael Jackson for the musical 鈥淢J.鈥� It鈥檚 a brand-new show, slated to officially open Feb. 1. Mr. Campbell is its rhythm guitarist.聽
Two days earlier, on his way to the musical鈥檚 first preview performance, Mr. Campbell wondered why there was a line of people around the block. It dawned on him that they鈥檇 come to see 鈥淢J.鈥� During the standing ovations, the catharsis was similar to when 鈥淢amma Mia!鈥� resumed days after the attacks of Sept. 11. Maybe more so, he says.聽
His emotions have also been heightened by this show鈥檚 material. Once music became a vocation, he鈥檇 lost some of the innocent joy he first felt as a budding guitarist. Michael Jackson鈥檚 catalog has revived it.聽
鈥淲hen I start playing that opening guitar lick on 鈥業 Want You Back,鈥� I鈥檓 10 years old again,鈥� says Mr. Campbell. 鈥淎nd the intention and the passion that I play it [with], and the memories that come flooding back to me from playing those songs, it鈥檚 just overwhelming.鈥�
