[Dixielandjazz] Overlooked or out of mind clarinetist

[Stephen Barbone]

Don & List Mates:

Two come to my mind. First Sal Pace, a fixture at Nick's in NYC in the
50s. Wonderful man, solid player. The other is Hank D'Amico, a neighbor
and early influence on me. He was with Red Norvo and Mildred Bailey in
the 30s. In the 50s, he was a studio muso in NYC and did some free lance
jazz work around the NY Metropolitan area. Wonderful tone, and a
non-Goodman mind of his own on solos.

He was a beautiful man, with a beautiful daughter who had a crush on me.
But when we met, I was 16 and she was 13. Too big an age difference. She
became a ballet dancer and I lost track of her. D'Amico introduced me to
Bechet at Jimmy Ryan's in January 1950, and later to Omer Simeon which
led to Bird, Jackie McLean and a host of boppers. What thrilling times
to be hanging around New York City on the edge of the scene.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone