Asked for a basic biography of his time on the music circuit, the bass trombone player casually mentions names like Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Lionel Hampton, The Temptations and The Four Tops. He also played in the Broadway orchestra was even the assistant conductor and toured nationally with "Les Miserables."

Since a stroke in 1993, Hedges has spent much of his time attempting to inspire others as he was inspired by so many during his early years when he paid his "musical dues." Now, describing his health as "tenuous," he wants to give back.

Hedges has planned a series of music seminars starting this Sunday at the Homer Council on the Arts that will use videos as a jumping off point to talk about all sorts of music as well as the music business with a few of Hedges' own "war stories" thrown in. The seminars are free but donations will be accepted and will go to help the council pay for an expensive diesel-spill clean up earlier this year.

Hedges said in his early years as a musician in the mid-70s, he was helped by some of the leading bass trombonists in the business. Often, he said, he didn't have enough money to pay for the lessons he received.

"They said, 'It's not about the money. What I want you to do is that if anybody ever comes up to you and asks you a question, don't blow it off, and don't b.s. Find the answer and call them back, even if it's a long distance call,'" Hedges said. "That was a big thing for me, so I want to do this to get some of that off my chest. This is kind of a forum for me to say some things."

Janet Bowen, director of the arts council, said the seminars are a golden opportunity for aspiring musicians as well as those who appreciate the art from a distance.

"I think there is a lot of the community interested in learning more from Howard because he has lived on the road, he has really lived it, so he has this personal context," she said. "We're thrilled to have him."

Though folks of all ages and musical interests are invited to the seminars, Hedges said he especially hopes to inspire some of the town's younger musicians, and pass on some earned wisdom that might help.

"I really want to try and let the young people know that there is life after high school if they wanted to play," he said. "I don't think too many of them think they can go much further with it."

Hedges said he built up a library of music videos over the years to help his students connect with some of the techniques used one of those "a picture's worth a thousand words" things.

He plans to use the videos of Three Mo' Tenors, Earth, Wind and Fire, Chicago and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones a different video each week to talk not only about different musical styles, but about the international language of hand signals used by the music world.

"There's that exposure to the inside of what goes on," he said, noting that he can see when a band pulls itself out of the fire when to others it sounds like they are just playing along.

Much of what Hedges said he will talk about derives from the many questions people have asked him over the years, either through his roles with the Kenai Peninsula Orchestra, as a teacher, or during his Monday night radio show "Jazz to Nowhere."

Hedges said the Homer community constantly amazes him, both in general as well as musically. A conversation with Brother Isaiah Bates summarized it for him, he said.

"He said, 'There's a cosmic convergence here,'" Hedges said. "The people who need to be here are here."

Hedges said the upcoming seminars, which will culminate in a Sunday jam with Too Fat to Fly sometime in March, are his chance to answer all those questions and give back to a community he said has given him a chance to continue playing music by eagerly accommodating his limitations.

"For me, every day I wake up is a good day," Hedges said. "That's the bottom line. Hopefully some of the stuff I've learned over the years will be transferred into something other folks will enjoy."

The Sunday seminars will be held from 2-4 p.m. each week. The first seminar will feature a look at Three Mo' Tenors.

On Feb. 15, Chicago will be featured followed by Earth, Wind and Fire on Feb. 22. Bela Fleck and Flecktones will be the fourth video subject on Feb. 29, with the Too Fat to Fly concert tentatively set for March 14.

For more information on Hedges' seminars, call the council at 235-4288.