[Dixielandjazz] Wally Homes, Director of the Sweet and Hot Festival, on Jackie Coon.

[Marek Boym]

Hello,
We've got a few of the Arbors among us (mostly under Rick Fay's name,
but also under his own), and I can only agree with you.
Marek

On 30/08/07, Stan Brager <sbrager at socal.rr.com> wrote:
> I second what Lowell and Wally have to say about Jackie Coon. His playing
> was always tasty and lyrical. If you're interested in his music, check any
> of the Arbors CDs he recorded for that label.
>
> Stan
> Stan Brager
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Lowell Busching" <verbose at daktel.com>
> To: <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Cc: "Dixieland Jazz Mailing List" <dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com>
> Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 10:48 PM
> Subject: [Dixielandjazz] Wally Homes, Director of the Sweet and Hot
> Festival, on Jackie Coon.
>
>
> > From the August 2007 American Rag by Wally Homes. (Additional comments
> > at the end by Mad Dog.)
> >
> > Jackie Coon died at his home in Hawaii sometime near the end
> > March, 2007. Congestive heart failure took him down and after
> > a few weeks took him out.
> >
> > To say he was one of the great jazz players of the 20th century might be
> > stretching it a little, but not by much. And to say he was one of the
> > great classic jazz players is not stretching one bit.  Jackie, an
> > absolute original, played with a thirties sense of swing so
> > unobtrusively invigorating it gathered in every jazz musician he took
> > the stand with. He could play with trad, swing bop or straight ahead
> > musicians and fit in.  Why?  Because he always played Jackie Coon music,
> > his music, and when you're blowing your own mind, your very own, nobody
> > can take that away from you.
> >
> > I don't think anyone who ever played with him can describe exactly what
> > it was that set him apart.  I know I can't. But whatever special elixir
> > he gently mixed into every set, it was always there.  And a Jackie Coon
> > chorus -man would I like to hear another one right now -one of those
> > lilting floaters he always played.  Jackie's sound moving lightly over
> > the top of the rhythm section, quietly creating a center, a focal point,
> > a feeling of jazz tranquility that always managed to permeate the
> > players as well as much of the audience.  One more thing about a Jackie
> > Coon chorus: he'd be swinging along, making us all feel good when
> > suddenly, from somewhere (maybe that Jazz Utopia all jazz players keep
> > looking for) he'd play a phrase so fresh, so original, you'd have to
> > shake your head in disbelief.  Maybe it was only four or five notes put
> > together in some unusual way but it was enough to let you in on a moment
> > of truth.
> >
> > And Jackie as a person: He was one of the most gentle people I've ever
> > been around.  Find me anybody who ever heard Jackie say something
> > negative, about anyone and I'll buy you a drink. And by the time you
> > finish it I'll bet I can convince you Jackie didn't say it in the first
> > place.
> >
> > Don't look for Jackie on the internet.  He never got famous, not even
> > well known.  Every time he had a shot at becoming big (and their were
> > several) he walked away from it.  But if you want to find out more just
> > ask Jake Hanna, Eddie Erickson, Howard Alden or any musician who had the
> > good fortune to be on the stand with him over the last forty years--and
> > man will you hear some stories.
> >
> > The end. (unquote)
> >
> >
> > If someone else has not posted the above to the DJML, I think it should
> > be, for Jackies fans. There must be a few on the list that remember
> > Jackie. I know I do. It has been a long time since I last saw and heard
> > Jackie, but I always hoped I would again someday. Not just as a musician
> > who was fun to listen to, but as a person. A true "gentle giant".
> >
> > My own remembrance is a personal one also, but I remember it like
> > yesterday. At a time long before many of the musicians would condescend
> > to even speak to a sound mixer or learn your name, Jackie would always
> > act like a long lost friend when we saw each other. Of course as Wally
> > says, he was that way with everyone he knew even casually. There are a
> > few others like that. Eddie Erickson, for one, one of those mentioned by
> > Wally as a friend of Jackies, is cut from the same cloth. Perhaps it
> > rubs off! Or is part of the common area of Ca. they come from?
> >
> > You would often see Jackie even before it was his time to come on stage,
> > something not true of all musicians. The last conversation I remember
> > having with him, long ago now, was when he came into the Hangover Room
> > at the LA festival for a set and said to me,  "You and I are the only
> > ones in this room that never seem to look any older."   That was still
> > at a time back when I still looked younger then my age. No longer the
> > case. Jackie, of course, also always looked the same over the years.  He
> > definitely was one of a kind as Wally said.
> >
> > The Hangover Room is still at the Marriott for the now "Sweet and Hot
> > festival", and thanks to Wally, many of the faces are still the same
> > over the years, but the likes of Jackie Coon will not be seen there again.
> >
> > As the probably tin pan alley Hawaiian Song says. "Farewell until we
> > meet again."  Aloha Jackie.
> >
> > Lowell aka Mad Dog
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> To unsubscribe or change your e-mail preferences for the Dixieland Jazz Mailing list, or to find the online archives, please visit:
>
> http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>
>
>
> Dixielandjazz mailing list
> Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>