Don Lanphere, white, was born and raised in Wenatchee, Washington, came to Chicago about age 18 to attend college at Northwestern University. He started playing tenor early and was influenced by Coleman Hawkins. Later he was influenced by Bird and Dexter Gordon. He copied their solos from records. He attended Northwestern for 2.5 years, but at the invitation of a musician friend, Johnny Bothwell, he came to NYC to check out the New York jazz scene. They opened at the "Baby Grand" on 125th Street in Harlem. He was into drugs. This was 1948 and he was just 20 years old.

He met Chan Richardson soon after arriving in New York. She was dating Johnny, but one night after a gig Chan went home with Don, infuriating Johnny, who fired him. Chan's place was at 7 West 52nd Street, across from the 3 Deuces where he and others would go to take drugs during intermissions. When Chan left Don and returned to Bird who she had been with previously, Don rented a room in the same apartment building where Chan, her mother and daughter lived. Chan was on the first floor and Don on the 3rd floor. Don's room had black and red walls.

The first recording session with singer Earl Coleman and Fats Navarro was in the fall of 1948. Max Roach and others were skeptical of the "new guy" and so the high tempoed "Move" was a test of his musicianship. He passed.

A year later, Bob Weinstock wanted Don to record and asked who he would like to have on the date. He jokingly said "Fats Navarro and Bird's rhythm section" and that's what he got. His would turn out to be Navarro's last studio recording session. He says that he wrote the lines to "Wailing Wall" and "Stop", not Fats. Fats did not know any of the material prior to the day of the session. Fats was already visibly ill. "Infatuation" is based on "Gone With The Wind", not "Everything Happens to Me" as is often stated. He has substantially written and recorded a melody line to "Go".

He characterizes Navarro as "very gentle", but was a great player. He suggests that while Dizzy had more influence on jazz as a whole, Fats probably had more influence on the development of jazz trumpet style.

In the early 1950s he went on the road with Woody's Band, but was busted at various times and eventually gave up fulltime playing in favor of running a record store in Seattle with his wife. They have been married now for 45 years. He just turned 70 and is now a practicing Christian.

He records and teaches jazz improvisation regardless of the instrument. He quotes Bird as saying "Learn the changes, then forget them -- just play music."

Linda Navarro, Fats' daughter, was an attorney in Seattle. She now works as a clerk to a judge in Seattle. She has a son, Amilcar, who plays guitar. Thus, Fats has a grandson.

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Don Lanphere died on October 9, 2003, about five years following my conversation with him.