[Dixielandjazz] The SF Mural

[Steve Barbone]

Since it is Benny Goodman for sure, I would think the pianist is Teddy
Wilson. Looks very much like his profile to me, and he was partially bald.

Then I googled <Bill Weber Mural of Benny Goodman> and got this. For more
info about Bill Weber see:

http://www.65mag.com/archives/0709/0709g/0709g.shtml

Cheers,
Steve Barbone

The Muralist (Excerpted from the above site)
There are many facets to Weber's art. His largest project is the giant Jazz
Mural at 606 Broadway in San Francisco. The mural prominently features Benny
Goodman playing on his clarinet and Teddy Wilson playing his piano. It also
depicts San Francisco figures from the past and present including legends
like Herb Caen, Emperor Norton, and a line-up of the City's former mayors
stretching back to Alioto, who was mayor in the 1960s.

One of Benny Goodman's daughters wrote powerfully about Weber's picture of
her father: 

"I'm always stunned at the likeness Bill created. Without question it is one
of the best portraits done, an uncanny resemblance.... I always look up from
my steering wheel and say a quick hello to Daddy when I pass by."

The Jazz Mural is four stories high and more than 100 feet long. The
location at the intersection of Broadway and Columbus Street is significant
because it marks the point where Chinatown, North Beach, and the old Barbary
Coast sections of the City come together. Elements in the mural depict the
history of the three areas - showing, for example, a Chinese dragon and a
scene of the Barbary Coast from the 1930s.

Bill first painted the Jazz Mural in 1987. Two decades of fog, pollution,
and sunshine marred the work and faded the colors so three years ago he
began a restoration project that is nearing completion. He incorporated some
updates in the mural, adding Willy Brown, Gene Kruppa, and Gavin Newsom, for
example.