[Dixielandjazz] J. Fred Coots --great uncle of Drummer Danny Coots

[Norman Vickers]

This is a discussion list.  Comments solicited.  Your pertinent comments may be shared with the list unless otherwise instructed.

 

To:  DJML and Musicians & jazzfans lists

From: Norman

 

Lew Shaw, jazz journalist in Scottsdale and jazz activist, shares his comments about  Drummer Danny Coots, great nephew of J. Fred Coots.   Janie Lynch and Bob Ringwald also wrote me about Danny and his relationship to J. Fred.  Thanks all.

 

Back in the 1940s there was a newspaper columnist, Hal Boyle, who used to insert items from time to time.  That item would be entitled:  Things a newspaperman wouldn’t know unless he opened his mail.  That’s the way I feel about this list.  Thanks to everyone who shares your knowledge with the rest of us.

 

 

 

From: Hawkpshaw at aol.com [mailto:Hawkpshaw at aol.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, December 02, 2009 10:56 PM
To: nvickers1 at cox.net
Cc: cooots at juno.com
Subject: Re: J. Fred Coots & Haven Gillespie

 

Norman:

I interviewed ace drummer Danny Coots (a relative of J. Fred) when he was in town last month for the Arizona Classic Jazz Festival (for an upcoming AMERICAN RAG profile). 

 

In the Coots family home in Upper New York State, Danny's mother (who was a probation officer; his Dad was a Lutheran minister) "listened to music non-stop," so Danny had an early indoctrination. Someone gave him a set of drumsticks at a very early age, and he practiced on a cigar box. He then graduated to a toy drum set from Sears. He was auditing college music and art classes at age 14 and was on the adjunct faculty of area colleges (St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Potsdam State)  at 17.

 

I asked Danny about his great uncle J. Fred. He said he spoke with on the phone about music over a period of some 10 years (roughly 1975 to 1985 when J. Fred passed away), but did not have any special memories of the conversations or the infrequent personal contacts.

 

J. Fred wrote "Louisiana Fairy Tale" (with Haven Gillespie),"You Go to My Head" and "Doin' the Racoon" as well as a series of children's songs that were recorded by Rosemary Clooney. He is also credited with teaming Jimmy Durante with Eddie Jackson and Lou Clayton to form the team of Clayton, Jackson and Durante.

 

According to Danny, the family name was originally Coote, and they left Ireland during the Great Potato Famine (1845-49). The first Coote to arrive in America was Sir Thomas Coote who became a farmer in New York State.

 

Lew Shaw