[Dixielandjazz] Re: Carl Fontana

[Robert S. Ringwald]

Bob
mr.wonderful@ringwald.com
Placerville, CA, USA, Earth, Sol's System, Milky Way
Amateur (ham) Radio Station K6YBV
Fulton Street Jazz Band
See: http://www.ringwald.com
Boondockers Jazz & Comedy Band
See: http://www.theboondockers.com


----- Original Message -----
From: "Tubadude" <jmcclernan2@comcast.net>
To: "Home" <mcclernan1@comcast.net>
Sent: Friday, December 20, 2002 1:29 PM
Subject: Carl Fontana
I don't know who sent this to me but I think it will be of interest to
members of DJML.

Bob
mr.wonderful@ringwald.com
Placerville, CA


> Date: Wed, 18 Dec 2002 18:35:34 -0500
>
> Subject: Carl Fontana
>
> Message-ID: <20021218.183536.-1799263.1.saxman9@juno.com>
>
>
>
>
> Hi Walt - I saw the e-mail about Carl Fontana.  I'm becoming  friends with
> someone who knows Carl from the Aegis.  That's the name of  the home for
> Alzheimer's residents where he lives now. She's a volunteer  there. She
says
> anyone is welcome to visit him.  It is near Desert Inn  and Fort Apache.
He
> won't remember you though.
>
>
>
> My friend says Carl's family visits him a lot, but they are so sad about
> the
> Alzheimers.
>
>
>
> She says he doesn't play anymore.  He went through a period when he  was
> always looking for his mouthpiece, which wasn't at the Aegis.  It  was
like
> an obsession to find his mouthpiece.
>
>
>
> The caregivers at the Aegis became aware of what a great trombone  player
> Carl was after they heard a tribute to him on the jazz station.   The
e-mail
> Sam Cernuto sent was so good that I sent it to my friend and told  her she
> could share it with other people at the Aegis who know Carl if she  wants
> to.
> I hope he won't mind.
>
>
>
> - Deb Trinter
>
>
>
> In response to Sam's remembrances of CF from Brian Bergstrom:
>
>     I was on the DI house band at the time of my  interaction with CF. It
> must have been around 1978? The DI had Thursdays  off, as did two other
> hotels, three nights off and only two relief bands.  Haig put together a
> third relief
> band for that night of the week and so I  ended being the bass trombone
> player at the Hilton. Of all the acts in the hotel during that time, what
I
> remember the most was a rehearsal for Paul  Anka. Yes, CF was playing lead
> and the jazz and I was sitting to his left.  Any bass trombone player that
> sat to the left of CF was in a prized seat, the  closest to his bell of
any
> other person in the entire room. The rehearsal I  am remembering happened
> when Ankas' conductor was testing some new tunes.  Anka, of course wasn't
> there. The particular tune I remember was used in a  telephone co. add. It
> was a ballad that I don't recall the name of at this  time. ("time of your
> life" was in the lyric I think.) Well, because Anka  wasn't there CF
played
> the entire tune as a trombone solo. It was awesome. As  conductors may  do
> in rehearsal, he
> decided that perhaps Anka would  sound better if the tune were played a
tone
> higher. CF once again played the  tune, now a tone higher (it was again
> mindblowing.) I don't remember the rest  of the rehearsal. I do remember
> that night,
> playing the show and looking  out at the audience admiring Anka, and
> commenting to myself, "you have no  idea what you missed this afternoon",
> and knowing the musical genius in that  room was sitting next to me.
>
> Thank you. Brian Bergstrom.
>