Frisco Cricket. Published by the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation Winter Jazz + Photography - Part II

Transcription

1 Frisco Cricket Published by the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation Winter 2012 Jazz + Photography - Part II A Spontaneous Collaboration by William Carter Strange bedfellows, you might say? In 1963 Lu Watters, Bob Mielke and Barbara Dane were each into separate scenes in the SF trad jazz world. As was I: playing occasional gigs, while becoming professionally committed as a photographer and writer. You can read more on this general topic in my blogs at < What brought us together in one of those spontaneously rich, fleeting jazz moments was the decision by Watters (then retired) and Dane (who had been running her own San Francisco blues club called Sugar Hill) to make an album together as part of a protest movement aimed at stopping Pacific Gas & Electric and the California Utilities Commission from building a nuclear power plant at pristine Bodega Bay, north of San Francisco. For many reasons, the plant was never built. The recording session happened on December 1, My equipment was not yet the best, but the negatives have been in my files ever since (48 years and counting). We herewith present a few of those images. The Lu Watters Band Recording Blues Over Bodega in The location is not known, but personnel are: Back row Bob Mielke, trombone, Lu Watters, trumpet, Bob Helm, clarinet, Barbara Dane, vocals. Front row: Thad Vandan, drums, Bob Short, tuba, Monty Ballou, banjo, Wally Rose, piano. Photo by William Carter. Contents Jazz + Photography - Part II by William Carter 1 Some Notes on the Battle Over Bodega by Scott Anthony 5 Donations to the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation Membership Application and Product List 11 1

2 Bob Mielke, Lu Watters, and Bob Helm at the 1963 recording session. Photo By William Carter. The Frisco Cricket Issue No. 54 Published by the SAN FRANCISCO TRADITIONAL JAZZ FOUNDATION 3130 Alpine Road, #288 PMB 187 Portola Valley, CA Phone: (415) , FAX: (415) Website: Publisher: William Carter Editor, Layout, Webmaster: Scott Anthony Curator of the Archive : Clint Baker Special Projects Consultant: Hal Smith Office Manager: Karen Brooks Anthony John R. Browne, III William Carter Jim Cullum Charles Huggins Board of Directors Gregg Keeling John Matthews Terry O Reilly William Tooley Honorary Directors William Alhouse, Charles Campbell, Leon Oakley Board of Advisors Philip Hudner, Michael Keller, Paul Mehling, Margaret Pick,Bunch Schlosser, Bud Spangler Unless otherwise noted, all contents copyright 2010 San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation 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: webmaster@sftradjazz.org or santh@comcast.net Advertising Rates per issue 1/8 Page $35, 1/4 Page $50, 1/2 Page $75 2

3 Photo given to Phil Crumley, leader of the Natural Gas Jazz Band, by Lu Watters of the band that assembled at the original Bodega Bay protest site in From left to right: Bob Helm - clarinet, Bob Neighbor - cornet, Lu Watters - trumpet, Turk Murphy - trombone. Photographer unknown, but possibly John Le Baron, who took the photo for the original album cover. Barbara Dane during the 1963 recording session. Photo By William Carter. 3 Bob Helm on clarinet at the 1963 recording session. Photo By William Carter.

4 Wally Rose at the piano during the 1963 recording session. Photo By William Carter. Lu Watters, Bob Helm, and Barbara Dane at the 1963 recording session. Photo By William Carter. Lu Watters on trumpet at the 1963 recording session. Photo By William Carter. 4

5 Some Notes on the Battle For Bodega by Scott Anthony This has always been one of my favorite albums of all time. Until this issue of the Frisco Cricket, however, I had not known many of the details surrounding the proposed nuclear plant that prompted not only the recording, but the protests that led to it. What follows are a number of items found on the Internet that had references to Lu Watters and the Blues Over Bodega. Original Album Cover front with balloons released at the 1963 protest. In the photo left to right: Bob Helm - clarinet, Bob Neighbor - cornet, Lu Watters - trumpet, Turk Murphy - trombone. The cover photo was by John Le Baron (??). This photo of the cover by Roger Wade of reallyoldrecords.com. Original Album Cover front with balloons released at the 1963 protest. In the photo left to right: Bob Helm - clarinet, Bob Neighbor - cornet, Lu Watters - trumpet, Turk Murphy - trombone. The cover photo was by John Le Baron (??) This photo of the cover by Roger Wade of reallyoldrecords.com. For the online version of his issue in Adobe Reader, zoom in to 200%-400% to read some of the text. 5

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7 Left and Below Excerpts from March 1965 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists describing Lu Watters publicity stunt. Note: some words are highlighted in yellow because they were the search terms that were found in the document. Previous Page Full page article from the Press Democrat newspaper (Marin County, CA) describing a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Battle for Bodega. Zoom in to 200%-400% to read the text of the article in Adobe PDF Reader. 7

8 CD Reissue Review by Scott Yanow from allmusic.com Nearly 14 years after he retired from music, trumpeter Lu Watters came out of retirement to musically protest the proposed building of a nuclear power plant on the San Andreas Fault. In addition to a few concerts with his former trombonist Turk Murphy, Watters recorded this lone Fantasy LP. After the nuclear project was shelved, Watters went back into permanent retirement. Surprisingly he is heard in prime form throughout this excellent set, leading a septet that also includes trombonist Bob Mielke, clarinetist Bob Helm, and pianist Wally Rose through such numbers as Some of These Days, Emperor Norton s Hunch, and his new pieces San Andreas Fault and Blues Over Bodega. Blues singer Barbara Dane helps out a couple of songs. Reissued CD Cover based on original album cover artwork. (Partial/cropped) Cover of the LP reissue by Merrymakers Records from the early to mid 1970s. Cover photo of Lu Watters was by Ed Lawless. 8

9 Donations to SFTJF The San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation in gratefully acknowledges these generous financial contributions during the period January 1, 2011 through December 31, Angel Level -- $1000 and above 6 Anonymous Donors Emperor Level -- $500 and above John Plut Hon. Rockwell A. Schnable Also 6 Anonymous Donors Earthquake Level -- $250 and above 1 Anonymous Donor Hambone Level -- $100 and above Karl G. Blume William Carter Hal Harlow V. Plimpton R. Bruce Brougham J. Russell Gilman, Jr. Peter & Sue LaTourrette Bernice Bee Thorpe Aficionado Level -- under $100 Steven & Bonnie Abrams James A. Branson Paul F. Brantner Omar J. Brubaker David C. Carr Dr James K. Goodwine Jr Rosemary Hallum Betty J. Hansen Richard V. Helgason Eric L. Johnson Joseph G. Marvin, Jr. Peter Mehren Mary Etta & Ed Moose Hugh Matthew O Donnell H. Dieter Ochs Ron Ortmann Kenneth W. Royer Richard D. Stone John A. Sutro Conny Svensson Sal & Jo Terrusa Mike Walbridge 9

10 Paid Advertisement About Your New San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation Created as a non-profit in 1981, the San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation stated, as its primary mission, the archival preservation of thousands of items related to the West Coast Jazz Revival that began in San Francisco about In 2009 SFTJF completed the transfer of the main body of those materials to the Stanford University s Music Library. Thereupon, your Foundation s Archive was closed; possible donors of jazz materials should now contact Stanford or other public repositories. SFTJF s wider, ongoing aim is to help foster high-quality traditional jazz, regionally and worldwide. That mission is now carried out primarily via electronic media. The Foundation s main window on the world is our website -- www. sftradjazz.org -- where visitors are invited to become members at $25 per year. Benefits of membership include insider information and discounts to special events and products, and a subscription to our lively newsletter, the Cricket, now available electronically. Those wishing to continue receiving the Cricket on paper in the mail should please contact the SFTJF office manager. Thank you for your generous support over the years. Contributions in categories beyond the basic membership level are tax deductible, and the names of those contributors are published annually (unless a contributor specifies anonymity). Donations welcomed The San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation accepts gifts and grants in many forms, including his tori cal items which shed further light on the history of traditional jazz on the West Coast, such as recordings, music, newspaper clip pings, pho tographs and corre spon dence. 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 Founda tion today to begin taking advan tage of reservations to special events, discounts on selected jazz books and recordings, and a year s sub scription to The Frisco Cricket. If you are already a member, give the gift of Founda tion membership to a friend! Use the form at right. 10

11 Product Order Form & 2012 Membership/Renewal Application Name Address Phone ( ) Compact Discs ($13 for members, $16 for non-members) Quantity Amount El Dorado Jazz Band Live At Mr. Fatfingers...(BCD-510) $ The Sunset Music Company Live in Dusseldorf, (BSR-009) $ The Unheard Bob Scobey and his Frisco Jazz Band (BCD-285) $ 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 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 Jazz West 2, by K.O. Ecklund, published by Donna Ewald NEW PRICE! $6 $8 $ The A-to-Z guide to west coast jazz music; a unique source. Complete the credit card information below, or enclose check or money order for Total. Send to: San Francisco Traditional Jazz Foundation 3130 Alpine Road, #288 PMB 187 Portola Valley, CA Credit Card MasterCard Visa American Express Total Qty: $ California residents, add 8.25% sales tax $ Everyone add shipping (Total Qty X $2.00 per item) = $ If outside U.S., Canada and Mexico, add $5 per order. $ New or Renew SFTJF membership, add $25. $ Donation* $ Total $ *contributions to SFTJF, above the basic membership level, are tax deductible 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 3130 Alpine Road, #288 PMB 187 Portola Valley, CA Anytime is a good time to renew your Membership! Join or renew online at Support Traditional Jazz! The Frisco Cricket Winter 2012