Frisco Cricket. Published by the San Francsico Traditional Jazz Foundation Spring HI, MR. BAKER! by William Carter. Contents

Transcription

1 Frisco Cricket Published by the San Francsico Traditional Jazz Foundation Spring 2007 HI, MR. BAKER! by William Carter In the hubbub of getting settled, first one face lights up. Then another. Then another. The kids recognize him: Hi, Mr. Baker! To me that greeting, alone, is worth coming for. The teachers lead the children in, class by class, and seat them in tightly packed, orderly rows on the auditorium floor, squirming and chattering. Some immediately raise their hands not because they want to ask anything, just to feel involved. Sitting at our feet, the little faces gaze up in wonderment at our faces, at the trombone mutes, at the big drum set, at Katie s string bass. I m glad we have at least one female in our six piece band. Nikki, the school principal, comes to the front and says a few introductory words. Clint Baker begins his talk about New Orleans jazz. Does anyone know what state New Orleans is in? A flurry of hands. The first few Mr. Baker calls on either go mute or get it wrong. Then, confidently: Louisiana! Mr. Baker grabs a string of Mardi Gras beads from a big plastic bag and tosses it to the girl who gave the right answer. Everyone cheers and wants beads. I already know Clint s lecture style: whether he s talking to adults or children, he will have a theme in mind, but no lesson plan just following the flow of inspiration reacting to feedback it s a jazz conversation warm and emphatic a oneness of teacher, listeners, music. Wide-eyed amazement blooms in the faces when we play the first number. I hear myself playing more simply and clearly, to help the children hear the interplay of melody and accompaniment. Simpler is better: the essence of classic jazz. In other words, the students are teaching us. Although I ve played this simple music for half a century, I still need such reminders to keep it simple. More questions. More answers. More tossed beads. More excited giggles and squirming. Mr. Baker draws music staves on a big white chalkboard. He writes drum notes and rests what his students have been learning, these past two months. Mr. Baker gets the kids going by stamping his foot and clapping his hands. The first to respond are the oldest ones, the sixth graders standing in back. They stamp on the downbeat, then Contents Hi, Mr. Baker! by William Carter 1 From the Editor by Scott Anthony 4 May y 10 0 Concert t Reminder 4 Grazie & Mea Culpa by John F. Matthews II 5 My Love Affair Wit ith Bob Helm s 1948 TCMG by Randy Wilkinson 7 The Unheard Bob Scobey Goes Into Production! by Hal Smith 8 Membership Application and Product List 11 1

2 clap on the after-beat. The younger ones pick it up enthusiastically. Mr. Baker stops it. He draws a more complicated beat on the board, and starts them on that. They pick it up quickly. So on to yet another Clint Baker and student. Photo: John Matthews The Frisco Cricket Issue No. 35 Published by the SAN FRANCISCO TRADITIONAL JAZZ FOUNDATION 41 Sutter Street, PMB 1870 San Francisco, California Phone: (415) , FAX: (415) Website: info@sftradjazz.org Publisher: William Carter Editor and Layout: Scott Anthony Curator of the Archive : Clint Baker Special Projects Consultant: Hal Smith Office Manager: Lindy Rowe Public Relations Consultant: Laura Browne Directors William Alhouse Charles Huggins John R. Browne III John Matthews Charles Campbell William Tooley William Carter Leon Oakley Jim Cullum Terry O Reilly Bud Spangler Unless otherwise noted, all contents copyright 2006 San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation 2 beat. They re really in the swing of it. They love this. They love Mr. Baker. The teachers have joined in. So have a couple of well-dressed parents for whom special chairs were brought in. The adults, by their expressions, appreciate what we re doing. We play more tunes, helping everyone clap on the after-beats. Amid all the noise and gaiety, one little boy, right at my feet, has fallen fast asleep. A couple rows back, a young teacher sits on the floor, cradling two half-sleeping children between her knees. A long line stands in the back of the hall, waiting for the restrooms. Most of the children show a kind of fidgety tension; I wonder if this comes from the uncertainties of life in their transitional community. The concert concludes with each musician saying something about their instrument. I stand up and demonstrate the clarintet s Advertise in the Cricket! In an effort to help defray the costs of maintaining all the varied programs that SFTJF supports, including The Frisco Cricket itself, we re going to begin providing limited advertising space here. We want to be fair to everyone, so there are a few rules we d like to follow: The advertiser should be in a music related (preferably Traditional Jazz related) business (band, club, cruise, radio station, etc.). No more than a total of 2 full pages will be used in any single issue of the Cricket, so ads will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. We need to be able to maintain the right to accept or reject advertisements at our discretion. Please send your ad to: Cricket Editor San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation 41 Sutter Street, PMB 1870 San Francisco, CA Or (preferably) by to: cricketeditor@sftradjazz.org or santh@pacbell.net Advertising Rates per issue 1/8 Page $35, 1/4 Page $50, 1/2 Page $75

3 wide range of notes from lowest to highest. I offer to let him touch it. The trombone and trumpet draw laughter He won t he s afraid to come any closer. by playing wa-wa mute sounds. Have you ever seen a clarinet before? The children s eyes get big when Kate Yeah. But I thought they were only on T.V. e demonstrates her huge bass. But their biggest response comes when Jay Jim Klippert explaining trombone to a kindergartener. Photo: John Matthews demonstrates his loud, sprawling set of drums. When he pounds out a Latin beat, everyone nods their head or shakes their body. Jay has just come off the road, crisscrossing the U.S. with a blues/rock band. He spends many months a year doing this. Katie, our bassist, has just returned from Paris, where she was playing guitar in a stage show. Clint Baker is a fulltime musician and bandleader and an overtime father of twins attending another elementary school nearby. We all lead busy lives. But this gig is a special treat for us. After the concert, a few of the students come forward shy but curious. They want a closer look at us and at the instruments to interact with us. A first grader keeps his distance but stares at my clarinet. Clint Baker, Bill Carter, and Jay Hansen with a couple of the little kids. Photo: John Matthews 3 Editor s Note: This semester, Clint Baker has been teaching music one day a week at this new elementary school in East Palo Alto. Like other schools in California, it receives no other funding for the arts. Clint s first six months, including the concert, were made possible by a targeted $5,000 grant from an anonymous member of the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation. Recently, a second $5,000 was received from another generous member, Lue Cramblit, making it possible for the program to continue through the fall term. Will one of you please consider a similar donation, in full or in part, to assure the program can continue for the full school year ?

4 FROM THE EDITOR Traditional Jazz musicians are an odd bunch in many ways. It may be imagination, but there seems to be an extraordinary number who are interested in vintage cars and/or trains, both real and model. Next issue we will focus on the train nuts, er, I mean buffs. This issue has an article about a particular vintage car. There have been stories floating around about trombonist Turk Murphy s old Jaguar that got taken apart in the 60s and was still in pieces when he died in I remember hearing that clarinetist Bob Helm had a number of vintage cars, one of which is detailed here by banjoist Randy Wilkinson. Tur urk k s Wonder onderful Krink inkelat elator When I was over at Bill Reinhart s (Port City Jazz Band Leader/Tuba/Bass) house the other day (either delivering a guitar I built for him to finish or picking one up after he performed wonders on it), he brought out the device pictured below. It is extremely heavy for its size, and very well engineered and fabricated. I looked at it for quite awhile and asked him what the heck it was. It turns out that Turk Murphy, who occasionally played washboard in his band on certain selections (the one I remember most was Fats Waller s I m Goin Huntin ), was given this item by a friend who was an engineer or machinist at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard and who designed and built it for him. It is a very heavy-duty press to krinkelate the ridges in metal sheets to create washboards. The history of the Krinkelator has taken it from San Francisco to Seattle, then to Orlando, Florida, then Southern California, and finally back to the Bay Area in Berkeley. When Turk died, Bay Area trumpeter Ev Farey helped Turk s wife Harriet clean out their house and she gave Ev the Krinkelator. Some years later, Ev gave the Krinkelator to the late Steve Josephs who played drums and washboard in Seattle with a number of bands. When Steve passed away, his collection of drums and percussion objects was sold, and washboardist Ralph Reynolds of the Reynolds Brothers band, got hold of it and off it went to Orlando. Then, Ralph moved back to southern California, and brought it back with him. Remember, this thing weighs about 25 pounds! Ralph is moving to Honduras, and after Bill Reinhart did some guitar work for him, he offered it to Bill rather than having to drag it along with him. So, there we are, back in Berkeley after visiting practically the entire continent! Of what possible interest is this to anyone? I really don t know, except that, as far as anyone involved in this history can tell, there has never been a washboard made with it! e Scott Anthony 4

5 Grazie & Mea Culpa by John Matthews II Treasurer, San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation We all miss our amazing Bunch Schlosser! As Bunch wrote to the members late last year, she has moved full time to her career as tax consultant and consequently has departed as Office Manager of the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation. Serving as Office Manager for the last five years, Bunch performed quietly, efficiently, promptly, and competently in ways we are still discovering. She set up credit card payment processing so membership and product payments can be made both in the Frisco Cricket and web pages, making payments easier for everyone, especially for those outside the United States. Her membership relations involved responses by phone, fax, , and letter, all expressed in a simple, warm, informative manner. Even when she had to remind someone they had forgotten to include California sales tax or shipping costs, it was done tactfully. Bunch included informative paragraphs of the Foundation s recent accomplishments and upcoming activities to help members and non-members understand why it is important to support the Foundation. While most of her work was behind the scenes, the huge success of our live concerts in the last three years was due in large part to Bunch s thoughtful planning, promotion, and organizational work. Bunch, thank you for all you have done and in such a beautiful way. Now to the difficulties we have had following her departure. As Treasurer of the Foundation, I take full responsibility for what turned out to be a rough transfer of responsibilities. Three major hurdles presented themselves: 1 - Finding not only one but several people to take over Bunch s functions. 2 - A large bubble of expiring membership renewals caused, in some cases, a three month delay in our responding to incoming correspondence and orders. 3 - An outdated computer program used for Bunch Schlosser and husband Robbie Schosser, Magnolia Jazz Band leader (see p. 12) Photo: William Carter 5

6 credit card processing allowed several batches of credit card transactions to be double and even triple entered. I apologize to those of you who have endured the long delays in hearing from us and those of you whose credit cards were improperly charged. It has taken the first quarter of 2007 to mostly catch up, but please advise us of any outstanding problems. New faces 1 - Lindy Rowe, the new Office Manager, has sent out all of the membership renewals, CDs, and books that were in our three month backlog. She will continue to send the Frisco Cricket newsletters; respond to new and renewing members; fill and send product orders; and monitor and respond to incoming phone, fax, , and letter inquires to the Foundation. Laura Browne. Photo: Jan Browne 2 - Laura Browne, an independent consultant, will provide public relations for media and direct mail, and will manage our website, Laura will also help to produce our live concert events. Action Tak aken I have purchased and installed the updated credit card program and taken on the task of entering credit card transactions. In late March, with that new program, we reversed the erroneous prior transactions. Hopefully, we will now be able to avoid our earlier gaffes. Your Foundation will continue serving its members and following its core mission of supporting high quality traditional jazz, both regionally and worldwide, But: We all miss our amazing Bunch Schlosser. e John Matthews Photo: WilliamCarter 6

7 My Love Affair with Bob Helm s 1948 TCMG by Randy Wilkinson I moved to California in 1955 on the urging of a Turk Murphy musician, tuba player Bob Short, who was recognized then as one of the greatest, if no the greatest, bass horn player in the world. Bob had put together a quartet to open the Fallen Angel, a new night club opening on Pine Street in San Francisco. It was an ex brothel, originally built by Ziegfield, then owned by Sally Stanford which she purchased and operated in times past. The quartet was to consist of Bob Helm, clarinet, Don Ewell, piano, Short, and myself on banjo and titled World s Greatest Jazz Quartet. While that quartet and night club job never developed, it did get me to move to the West Coast, and put me in touch with many jazz musicians and cognoscenti of the San Francisco jazz scene. The proposed quartet consisted of musicians far superior to my qualifications, I would add. Among them was Bob Helm, a truly great clarinetist, who owned a TCMG that I coveted. I lived in San Anselmo near the Helms, and spent a lot of time at their home, enjoying a lot of converations, eating, drinking, discussing jazz and meeting many musicians who were friends of theirs. I advised Helm that if he ever wanted to sell the TC, to please let me know because I loved the car. The years rolled on. I essentially retired The TCMG photo by Randy Wilkinson Bob Helm Memorial Plaque photo by Randy Wilkinson from the music business and continued my practice as a professional engineer. I remained in contact with Helm, however, and about ten years ago received a call from Bob s wife, Kay, rather apologetically telling me that Bob was selling the car to a sourthern California tuba player, Bob Rann, with whom he was then working. Rann was a good friend of mine. Sadly, both Helm and his wife Kay subsequently passed away. Many serious listeners consider Helm the finest, most talented musician of the era of the San Francisco style of jazz that was so popular from the 1940s to the late 1950s. Several years ago I had the opportunity to buy a MGTC that belonged to a friend of mine in El Dorado County. I decided to call Rann and ask him some questions about MGTC parts, maintenance, and other related matters. In that conversation he said, Do you want to buy mine? I jumped at the opportunity, drove to southern California, and trailered it to my home in Placerville. I kept the car as it was for about a year and decided to restore it, which took over a year to do. It is now about 95 percent original, looks great, and runs wonderfully, and is a head turner and award winner. On the dash board I have an engraved plaque saying Bob Helm World s Greatest Jazz Clarinetist Memorial 1948 TCMG. The car and the restoration was and is a genuine tribute to a good friend and a wonderful San Francisco musician. e 7

8 The Unheard Bob Scobey Goes into Production! By Hal Smith Special Projects Coordinator, San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation The San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation is pleased to announce that The Unheard Bob Scobey CD is now in production. BCD-281 is jointly produced by the SFTJ Foundation, in association with GHB Records of New Orleans. This compact disc features 18 previously unissued performances by Bob Scobey and his Frisco Band, recorded between 1950 and Thirteen tracks were recorded live, at Jenny Lind Hall in Oakland and the Tin Angel in San Francisco. The remaining cuts are alternates and unissued takes from studio recording sessions in the early 50s. The original tapes were in the collection of the late Richard Krause and were loaned to the Foundation by John Smith, the famed Southern California jazz saxophonist. In addition to the leader on trumpet, Clancy Hayes, Burt Bales, Wally Rose, Darnell Howard, Bill Napier, Bob Helm, George Probert, Jack Buck, Bob Mielke, Squire Girsback, Dick Lammi and Fred Higuera are all heard to good advantage on BCD The sound of the 50-plus-year-old tapes was restored and enhanced by the outstanding sound engineers Bryan Shaw, of Digital Brothers Studio in Costa Mesa, California. The CD booklet includes rare photos from the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation archive and liner notes by trombonist/bandleader/author James Leigh (Heaven on the Side), who also writes the West Coasting column for the Mississippi Rag online. Be sure to check upcoming issues of the Frisco Cricket as well as the Foundation website ( for the release date of BCD-281 and for ordering information. Back of photo Bob Scobey - Fort Sutter Boat, Aug. 26, Photo San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation 8

9 BOOKS BY JIM GOGGIN With Pete Clute The Great Jazz Revival Meet Me at McGoon s ($30 including S & H) Some Jazz Friends With Dick Oxtot Jazz Scrapbook: Dick Oxtot - me and other stuff Jim Goggin Turk Murphy - Just For The Record Bob Scobey, a Bibliography and Discography Jazz Nightclubs and Ballrooms, Hotels and other addresses, The Dude Martin Band Story Some Jazz Friends, Vol. 2 Earl Watkins, The Life of a Jazz Drummer The book Bob Mielke - A Life of Jazz should be available by mid-summer this year. It will have over 460 illustrations. If you would be interested in purchasing this new work, please write Carol Clute and she will notify you when the book is available and the cost. All books - $23 (including S & H) except where indicated otherwise For current availability write to: Mother Lode Productions Attn: Carol Clute 4719 Quail Lakes Drive PMB G-120 Stockton, CA

10 Selections 1. Mystery Pacific 2. Hot Lips 3. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You 4. Sway 5. Number Two 6. Souvenir de Villingen 7. Tickle Toe 8. Black and White 9. Lullabye (Paid advertisement) Yerba Buena Bounce Our tenth, and finest CD is available now at our online store; 17 great tracks recorded in shimmering hi-fi stereo (and then some) by Reference Recordings (their 30th anniversary). Full of gypsy swing classics penned by Django Reinhardt himself, some familiar standards, some contemporary pieces -including a tune by the Beatles and a few originals as well, all played by our 5 piece unit augmented by Seth Asarno on Bandoneon (two tunes), David Grisman on mandolin (two tunes), Marc Caperone on trumpet (two tunes), William Carter on clarinet (two tunes), and Clint Baker on tuba (two tunes). 10. Rythme Futur 11. Yerba Buena Bounce 12. Stardust 13. Borneo 14. Georgia Cabin 15. Improvisiation #2 16. Gong Oh 17. Some Of These Days Available for $17 post paid at Copyright 2007 Reference Recordings About the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation What is the Foundation? Created in 1981 as an archive of several thousand items relating to the jazz revival begun in San Francisco about 1939, the Foundation now seeks to enhance that collection and extend its uses. A wider aim is to help foster live, high quality traditional jazz, regionally and worldwide. What does the Foundation do? Current activities include archival preservation, supporting live events and broadcasts, collaborating with other jazz and educational institutions, and developing new products and media applications. Although the Foundation lacks the funding to open its archive to the general public, other means are being found to make its resources available. For example, historic recordings and documents are being made available to radio stations; and consumer products such as posters, books and tapes are being publicly offered. Who is involved? You are. Membership is $25 per year. Benefits include this quarterly newsletter, invitations to special events and availability of Foundation products (often at exceptionally low prices). Donations welcomed The San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation accepts gifts and grants in many forms, including historical items which shed further light on the history of traditional jazz on the West Coast, such as recordings, music, newspaper clippings, photographs and correspondence. Contributions of materials or funds are tax-deductible under IRS ruling status 501(c)(3). SF Jazz on the Web The San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation has an ever-expanding web site. The site includes sound files and photos of many San Francisco (and other) jazz figures from the 1930s to the present. Please visit us at Join (or rejoin) the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation today to begin taking advantage of reservations to special events, discounts on selected jazz books and recordings, and a year s subscription to The Frisco Cricket. If you are already a member, give the gift of Foundation membership to a friend! Use the form at right. 10

11 Product Order For orm m & 2006 Membership/R ship/rene enewal al Application Name Address Phone ( ) Compact Discs ($13 for members, $16 for non-members) Quantity Amount A Musical Tribute to Lu Watters The Bay City Stompers... (BCD-280) $ Firehouse 5 Plus 2 Live at Earthquake McGoon s (BCD-450) $ William Warfield Something Within Me... (DELMARK DE-772) $ Bob Mielke and his Bearcats... (SFCD-3) $ The Legendary Russ Gilman... (SFTJF CD-109) $ Clancy Hayes Satchel of Song... (SFTJF CD-108) $ Turk Murphy Jazz Band Wild Man Blues... (SFTJF CD-107) $ Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band, Vol 2, (SFTJF CD-106) $ Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band, Vol 1, (SFTJF CD-105) $ Turk Murphy Jazz Band Euphonic Sounds... (SFTJF CD-104) $ Turk Murphy Jazz Band Weary Blues... (SFTJF CD-103) $ Turk Murphy Jazz Band In Hollywood... (SFTJF CD-102) $ Turk Murphy Jazz Band Live at Carson Hot Springs... (SFTJF CD-101) $ Turk Murphy Jazz Band At The Italian Village, with Claire Austin... (MMRC CD-11) $ Lu Watters Yerba Buena Jazz Band At Hambone Kelly s, (MMRC CD-10) $ Bob Helm with the El Dorado Jazz Band 1955*... (SFTJF CD-110) $ *Specially priced two-cd set. Members: $16; non-members: $20. Books Members Non-mem. Jazz on the Barbary Coast, by Tom Stoddard $4 $5 $ Pioneer jazzmen reminisce about old San Francisco and its role as a wellspring of jazz Jazz West 2, by K.O. Ecklund, published by Donna Ewald $12 $15 $ The A-to-Z guide to west coast jazz music; a unique source. Preservation Hall, by William Carter $45 $60 $ Lavish 315 pp. Softbound. Drew national rave reviews. Autographed on request. The Great Jazz Revival, by Pete Clute & Jim Goggin $10 $15 $ The story of the San Francisco jazz revival Meet Me At McGoon s, by Pete Clute & Jim Goggin $25 $33 $ Another Jazz Scrapbook by the authors of The Great Jazz Revival Total Qty: $ Complete the credit card information below, California residents, add 8.5% sales tax $ or enclose check or money order for Total. Everyone add shipping (Total Qty X $2.00 per item) = $ Send to: If outside U.S., Canada and Mexico, add $5 per order. $ San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation New or Renew SFTJF membership, add $25. $ 41 Sutter Street, PMB 1870 Donation* $ San Francisco, CA Total $ *contributions to SFTJF, above the basic membership level, are tax deductible Credit Card MasterCard Visa American Express Name (as appears on card) Account Number (16 digits) Expiration Date (mo/yr) Cardholder Signature 11

12 The Frisco Cricket SAN FRANCISCO TRADITIONAL JAZZ FOUNDATION 41 Sutter Street, PMB 1870 San Francisco, California NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID SAN FRANCISCO,CA PERMIT NO Return Service Requested The Frisco Cricket Spring 2007 Mark Your Calendar Now! the Historic & Incomparable MAGNOLIA JAZZ BAND in a beautiful and classic setting: the California Ballroom, Oakland California Sunday, September 30, 2007, 3-7 PM Details to follow... 12