[Dixielandjazz] Obituary: Herb Wong, jazz educator and editor The Ultimate Jazz Fake Book

Wed Apr 30 07:21:35 PDT 2014

To:  Musicians and Jazzfans list; DJML

From:  Norman Vickers, Jazz Society of Pensacola

Jazzfan and listmate Victor Horwitz of San Francisco alerted me to Herb
Wong's obituary.  Most of the listmates know this story:  Victor was
employed by the company which makes Levi's jeans and other items of
clothing.  His "signature gift" to jazz musicians was socks made by his
company.

Personal note:  When the Ultimate Jazz Fake Book came out in 1988, I bought
the smaller version   6X9" so I could easily carry with me in briefcase.
Fake books usually were not completely legal as they were printed by "outlaw
press"  and avoided paying copyright license fees.  Also there were frequent
errors in notation, or chords.   Wong's editing of the "legal" fake book
published by Hal Leonard company had copyright information, lyrics ( if
there were any) and acknowledged the composer and lyricist. Subsequently, as
concession to aging eyes, I bought the  standard size ( 9x12") but also use
the smaller version  of carry with me as necessary.

As you can see by the obituary, Herb Wong was a polymath, accomplished not
only in music but in zoology and science education. 

As the blues phrase goes, " Another good man done gone!" 

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Herb Wong, leading Bay Area jazz expert, dies at 88

Aidin Vaziri

Updated 5:52 pm, Friday, April 25, 2014

.         Herb Wong at a New York recording session for Palo Alto Jazz
Records in 1984. Photo: W. Patrick Hinely

Herb Wong at a New York recording session for Palo Alto Jazz Records in
1984. Photo: W. Patrick Hinely

Herb Wong, one of the West Coast's leading jazz experts and educators who
for more than 35 years hosted and produced shows for the Bay Area radio
station KJAZ, died Sunday at his home in Menlo Park. He was 88.

His death, after a lengthy battle with cancer, was confirmed by
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Paul+S.+Fingerote%22> Paul S. Fingerote, a
longtime friend and colleague.

Mr. Wong was frequently called upon for his encyclopedic knowledge of jazz
history, whether recounting the evolution of the Monterey Jazz Festival on
CNN or commenting on the cultural significance of Dave Brubeck for PBS.

He wrote liner notes for hundreds of jazz albums and co-founded the
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Palo+Alto+Jazz+Alliance%22> Palo Alto Jazz
Alliance, a nonprofit group dedicated to promoting jazz education and
performance on the Peninsula.

For 25 years, Mr. Wong taught jazz history at the
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Palo+Alto+Adult+School%22> Palo Alto Adult
School and developed an oral history of the genre for the
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Smithsonian+Institution%22> Smithsonian
Institution. He introduced jazz education in Berkeley elementary schools,
bolstered by performances by jazz greats such as
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Oscar+Peterson%22> Oscar Peterson and
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Duke+Ellington%22> Duke Ellington's Orchestra.
He also co-authored several children's books on science.

In the early '80s, Mr. Wong served as the artistic director and president
for Palo Alto Records, an independent label that released albums by the
likes of
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Dianne+Reeves%22> Dianne Reeves,
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22McCoy+Tyner%22> McCoy Tyner and
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Lalo+Schifrin%22> Lalo Schifrin.

<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Herbert+Wong%22> Herbert Wong was born in
Oakland on March 18, 1926. He grew up in Stockton, where he started to play
classical piano at age 6. He fortuitously discovered jazz when he was 11 by
opening a package addressed to the former occupant of his home, which
contained seminal records by the likes of
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Count+Basie%22> Count Basie, Duke Ellington and
Benny Carter. He and his brother Elwood became lifelong fans of the genre.

"We used that as a starter for a game that we devised," Mr. Wong said during
a 2011 interview with "The Jake Feinberg Show."

"We made a game out of these recordings by challenging each other to come up
with the name of the tune, the artist involved and then we had to name
everybody in the band playing an instrument. Eventually, we found that the
game started to become a little dull because it wasn't challenging enough."

In the '30s and '40s, Mr. Wong would frequently take the train from Stockton
to the bay to see jazz concerts at venues such as the Orpheum and the Rio.
He served in the Army during World War II, gaining his first experience as a
disc jockey on the
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Armed+Forces+Radio+Service%22> Armed Forces
Radio Service.

When he returned to the States, Mr. Wong enrolled at UC Berkeley, pursuing
bachelor and doctoral degrees in zoology. In an interview with the Palo Alto
Jazz Alliance's magazine, he said he postponed a final because it conflicted
with an appearance by
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Woody+Herman%22> Woody Herman at Sweet's
Ballroom in Oakland.

"I had to convince the professor to let me take the test orally at a later
date," he said. "So I told him, 'I got to go see this Woody Herman show,'
and the professor said, 'Oh, jeez, I wish I could go.' "

He also earned a master's degree in science education at
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22San+Jose+State+University%22> San Jose State
University.

In 1959, Mr. Wong started hosting his own radio show on KJAZ - a position he
held until 1996. In his later years, he founded the
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Stanford+Shopping+Center+Jazz%22> Stanford
Shopping Center Jazz concert series and served as the president of the
<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22International+Association+for+Jazz+Education%22
> International Association for Jazz Education. In 2013, he was awarded the
Palo Alto Excellence Award in Jazz Education.

Mr. Wong is survived by his wife, Marilyn; brother Elwood; daughters Kira
and Kamberly; and four grandchildren.

Memorial plans are pending.

<http://www.sfgate.com/?controllerName=search&action=search&channel=music&se
arch=1&inlineLink=1&query=%22Aidin+Vaziri%22> Aidin Vaziri is The San
Francisco Chronicle's pop music critic. E-mail:
<mailto:avaziri at sfchronicle.com> avaziri at sfchronicle.com Twitter:
<http://twitter.com/MusicSF> @MusicSF

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