[Dixielandjazz] Joe Turner, the stride pianist

[Marek Boym]

A very nice and moving story, Alain!
Thank you for sharing it,
Marek,
Israel

On 3 November 2014 19:07, Jazz en Ville <jazz-en-ville at orange.fr> wrote:

> Hi
> "Jazz on the tube" sent to me a video where we can see and hear Joe Turner
> the stride pianist playing Carolina shout. And this video reminds me a
> short anecdote about this musician. (I beg your pardon for my english)
>
> As founder, with my brother Christian,  of "le Jazz club de Picardie" in
> Amiens (France), I invited Joe, who lived in Paris, to come and play in our
> club.
>
> I must say that our club was situated in a small street along the 13th
> century gothic cathedral of Amiens,  which is the highest gothic church in
> the world. The club was housed  in two  levels of gothics caves at more
> than 10 meters under the street and Joe was very impressed by the style of
> the architecture.
>
> After the concert (he played 3 sets with punch and swing and got a high
> success) we climbed out to the street.
> It was more that 2.am and the february night was very cold.
>
> Joe stayed almost 10 minutes in the freezing air , without a word, neither
> a move, looking at this marvelous cathedral . And then, slowly, with a
> great emotion he turned his face to me and, eye to eye, said: *" Oh... You
> made that...!" *and, after a silence, he added: *" But, WE made Jazz!!**!"*
> and he turned back, proudly, to the Hotel.
>
> I found that so great!  So, fourty years later, I remember it.
>
> Before the concert, dining with me in a good restaurant, he had told me
> the way he had learnt piano.
> During the twenties, his aunt, in Baltimore, used to sell fish on a horse
> cart along the streets. To attract customers there was a piano on the cart
> and, entering a street, she used to play for a while.
>
> You may imagine little Joe  climbing on the cart, learning piano to allow
> his aunt to sell more fish,  and taking by the way, his part of the Great
> History of Jazz?
>
> The very truth!
>
> Alain de La Simone
>
> /Joe Turner ( 1907-1990)
>
> At 21 he got a gig playing with the King's orchestra. (That's Benny
> Carter, thus his name "The King.")
> Turner also played with Louis Armstrong.
>
> In 1962, Turner moved to Paris where he stayed until his death in 1990. He
> had a regular gig at La Calavados, a nightclub on the Champs Elysees -/
>
>
>
>
>
> ---
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