[Dixielandjazz] Overlooked clarinetist - Jimmy Granata

[Patrick Cooke]

Steve wrote:
     >>> He was notorious for the bilious state of his instrument, which was
almost always held together by rubber bands.<<<

        Your brings back memories of another clarinetist I played with in
1945.  His name was Raymond Burke, who played around New Orleans.  His
clarinet was held together with rubber bands, also.  It was an old Albert
system.  One of the keys had fallen off and he plugged the hole with chewing
gum!
          I saw a CD of his in a music store in New Orleans with his picture
on the front, holding that clarinet with the rubber band in plain view.  It
brought back a fond memory and a smile. Unfortunately, that CD got lost in
my last move.
       He couldn't read a note as big as a basketball, but he played
beautifully.  He could fake anything in any key.  He had that natural
ability we all wish we had.
       We would play tunes in odd keys as a prank.  He always jumped right
in, never missing a note.  One night we did a tune in B just to be devilish.
He had his eyes closed, and his brow severely wrinkled, but he played a
great chorus without missing a beat.  After the tune, his comment was "You
guys put me in a funny fingering that time."
     We were playing in Mobile, AL at the time, and I was sharing a room
with Ray.  I was 18, Ray was a seasoned veteran.  Ray liked to travel light.
He brought two pairs of undershorts with him on the road...the ones he was
wearing, plus one more.  When he took a bath, he'd use the ones he had been
wearing for a wash cloth, hang them up to dry and put on the other ones.
Now, that's traveling LIGHT!
      Ray was a funny, likeable fellow, and one of the great players, but
he's gone now.  Only the older musicians around remember who he was.  He was
one of a kind.
     Pat Cooke
     New Orleans

----- Original Message -----
From: "steven holzer" <slholzer@iquest.net>
To: "Don Ingle" <dingle@baldwin-net.com>
Cc: <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2002 10:42 AM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Overlooked clarinetist - Jimmy Granata


> Jimmy Granata is a name from the past. He was  a native Hoosier and
> spent the last part of his life in a small town south of Indianapolis.
> He made a number of gigs for the Indianapolis Jazz Club. He was
> notorious for the bilious state of his instrument, which was almost
> always held together by rubber bands.
>
> Steve Holzer
>
> Don Ingle wrote:
> >
> > I played afew sides this past weekend and heard some old friends or old
> > favorites that are not all that well mentioned these days. Time to
recall
> > some clarinetists who were among the "good players" ranking.
>
> . . .
>
> > Jimmy Granata
>
> _______________________________________________
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>