[Dixielandjazz] Frank Greenstreet Obit

[Stephen G Barbone]

Jazz band leader loved Tampa Bay audiences

By Andrew Meacham, St Petersburg FL Times Staff Writer
In Print: Saturday, December 18, 2010

PALM HARBOR — Frank Greenstreet lived for jazz and made a good living  
at it. He once played the drums at an inaugural ball for President  
Dwight D. Eisenhower and later worked a stint on The Merv Griffin  
Show. He played at society balls and weddings in Washington, D.C.

But he found his greatest love as leader of the Clam Bayou Jazz Band,  
playing for much smaller audiences in the Tampa Bay area. They wore  
flip-flops, not patent leather shoes.

Mr. Greenstreet led the band, which was founded in Gulfport, from 1976  
until his death Dec. 10 due to myelodysplasia, a blood disorder once  
called "preleukemia," and heart trouble. He was 80.

The group played mainly at libraries and civic centers, including a  
regular 3 p.m. concert the third Friday of every month at the Palm  
Harbor Library, often to overflow crowds. Mr. Greenstreet had studied  
jazz extensively and interspersed performances with lectures about its  
origins.

For a while, the group played on a cruise ship out of Clearwater.

Mr. Greenstreet was also president of the Palm Harbor Civic Club, from  
1990 to the present, and a former board member of Palm Harbor Friends  
of the Library.

He particularly loved Dixieland jazz with its interwoven  
improvisations, which he called "the happiest music in the world."

"Dixieland is, for the most part, upbeat, happy music," said Dr. James  
Atkins, a trombonist who at 63 is the band's youngest member. "… You  
get creations on the spot, and nothing is ever played the same way  
twice."

Mr. Greenstreet booked the gigs for his band and made sure they got  
paid up front. He set the tone as emcee, recycling some jokes for  
years and still getting laughs.

Franklin Greenstreet was born in Washington, D.C., an only child. He  
played the drums since childhood. He served on the front lines with  
the Army during the Korean War.

He returned to Washington and worked for big band leader Al Donahue,  
playing at society balls and weddings, as well as Eisenhower's 1957  
inauguration. He moved to St. Petersburg in 1959 with his parents.

He married Dorothy in 1968, at age 38, the first marriage for each. He  
took over the jazz band in 1976.

He played his last engagement Nov. 19, at the Palm Harbor Library. As  
he lay in a hospital bed a week before he died, Mr. Greenstreet told a  
friend, "Get me out of here — I've got a concert to play."

That concert at the library went on as scheduled Friday with a stand- 
in drummer. Four band members had given Mr. Greenstreet a peppy  
sendoff on Tuesday at Curlew Hills Funeral Home with a rendition of  
When the Saints Go Marching In.

The band will stay together at least through April, Dorothy  
Greenstreet said.