Feb. 28, 2010 

Wayman Tisdale -- The Golden Style & Smile That Wooed Smooth Jazz

Undoubtedly one of the most beloved performers in the world of smooth jazz, bass player Wayman Tisdale first dazzled the world with his basketball skills, playing twelve years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a power forward before turning his undivided attention to his first love: music.  Let’s take a ride along the Wayman Tisdale route to stardom.

Releasing his first solo album in 1995 while still playing in the NBA, the smiling six-foot, nine-inch tall, 240-pound giant had released his sixth album by 2004. His first four albums reached Billboard's top ten chart and included the number-one hit "Can't Hide Love." He also contributed to other recordings as a writer and a producer.

The youngest of six children, Wayman was born on June 8, 1964, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where his father, the late Rev. Louis Tisdale served as the pastor of Tulsa's Friendship Baptist Church for over 20 years. When Wayman was young, his father bought each of his three sons a Mickey Mouse guitar, hoping at least one of them would take an interest in music. Wayman, who loved to watch the bass players at his father's church, was instantly enthralled and began to teach himself to play guitar and bass.

Although music was Wayman's first love, a rapid growth spurt during his junior high school years--he grew 24 inches and began to tower over his older siblings--drew him onto the basketball court. Though he did not completely set aside his music, basketball became his first priority. Growing to his full height of 6’9” and displaying tremendous athletic ability, Wayman became a star player at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa. By the time he graduated in the spring of 1982, he had his pick from literally hundreds of college scholarship offers.

Choosing to remain close to home, the towering ball player attended Oklahoma University. Playing for the Sooners, he quickly earned recognition as one of the country's best power forwards. Having watched Wayman during his high school days, J. V. Haney of the Tulsa World recalled his reaction to Wayman's transition into college basketball: "At 6' 9", he was too much for most high school players to defend against, but I never thought that he displayed the toughness to be a great player. Boy was I wrong. Once he arrived at the University of Oklahoma, the man-child became an honest-to-goodness man."

In 1985, Wayman decided to forego his final year of college to enter the NBA draft. He was selected as the second overall pick, after Patrick Ewing, by the Indiana Pacers. During his rookie year, he averaged 14.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. By his fourth and final season with the Pacers, Wayman's numbers had improved to 17.5 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.
In 1989, Wayman joined the Sacramento Kings, where he had his best season on the floor, scoring a career-high average of 22.3 points per game.

Wayman signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Suns in 1994, and the team earned first place in the 1995 Pacific Division with a record of 59-23, losing in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Over his twelve-year career, Wayman scored more than 12,000 points and pulled down over 5,000 rebounds, prompting Sports Illustrated Web site writer John Hollinger to add him to the short list of the NBA's best players who were never invited to play in an All-Star game.

As Wayman's basketball career was winding down, his music career was just getting started. "The guys, especially Charles Barkley, used to tease me on the bus when they'd see me with my bass," he told Billboard. However, before he ever released a solo album, Wayman was busy writing and producing. He wrote the song "Payday" for The Winans, a cut that featured R. Kelly. He also wrote several songs for SWV's first album, which sold around 3 million copies.

In 1995, after putting together a demo of seven songs, he proved that his interest in music was not just a passing fancy when he scored a recording contract with Motown's MoJazz label. His debut album, aptly titled Power Forward, made it to number four on Billboard's contemporary jazz charts. In 1996, Wayman released his second album, once again taking on a basketball theme with the title In the Zone. The unexpected death of his 74-year-old father on March 28, 1997, helped finalize his decision to retire from the NBA following the 1996-97 season to focus solely on his music. It also became the impetus for his third album, Decisions, released in 1998, which marked a pivotal moment in his professional and personal life. Although the move to full-time musician may have surprised those who had followed his NBA career, for Wayman the transition was natural and smooth. "Music was what I thought I was going to do," he told Jet magazine. "I wanted to be an artist even before I started thinking about basketball."

Face to Face, released by Warner Brothers in 2001, hit #1 on Billboard's contemporary jazz charts, confirming that Wayman's abilities as a bass player rivaled his abilities as a power forward and earning him honors as the Bassist of the Year during the 2002 National Smooth Jazz Awards. The track "Can't Hide Love" was a number one hit. For his fifth album, Wayman followed an industry trend by forming his own production company, Tisway Records, to produce 21 Days, which includes contributions from Wayman's daughter Danielle and his brother Weldon, who followed their father as pastor of Friendship Baptist Church.  Wayman wrote or co-wrote the eleven tracks for this gospel-influenced album, which includes songs such as "We Worship" and "Jesus Is the Answer."

In 2004, Wayman worked with Rendezvous Entertainment co-founder and sax great Dave Koz to produce his sixth album, Hang Time, featuring Koz's saxophone. The album also includes the re-release of "Glory Glory," which first appeared on 21 Days and showcases Wayman's daughter Danielle on vocals. Wayman spent much of 2004 on the road touring with Koz.