Sunday, July 12, 2009
More about Eddie Collins....
My father, Fred Grant, was a pretty good amateur trombone player. When he and my mom (Deone Grant) would go to nightclubs in Detroit, my dad would sometimes sit in with the band. (He used to say "You don't have to be the best trombone player in the world, you just have to be the best trombone player in the bar.) In the early-to-mid 1960's, when I was in my early teens, my dad used to have Dixieland jam sessions from time to time on Sundays. Back then, the blue laws didn't allow serving alcohol on Sunday, so most of the nightclubs were closed. My dad had become friends with a lot of musicians, and they would come over to the house and jam. (I had job of recording the sessions on our little tape recorder, though I don't think many of the tapes have survived.)
If I remember correctly, my dad met Eddie Collins when he was playing at a nightclub in Detroit called Gaygan's. It was run by a man named Frank Gaygan. Other entertainers who worked there were a comedian named Lenny Schick (he used to joke about his brothers Bull and Horst), and Saucy Silvia, a risque singer/comedienne.
The way my dad told the story was that he asked Eddie Collins if he would like to come to one of his jam sessions, and Eddie said "I don't play with amateurs!" Then he told him who would be there, and he said, "On second thought...." After that, he was a regular attendee.
Some of the others I remember were:
Bill Roper - Clarinet (He apparently idolized Edmond Hall when he was younger, and he sounded so much like him that the first time I heard an Edmond Hall recording, I thought it was Bill),Nate Panacassi - Trumpet, Web Pierce - Guitar, Bob Meek - Drums, There was a white-haired bass player who was close friends with Bob Meek, if I remember correctly. I can't think of his name right now. Jack LaBreque - Vibrophone and trombone and maybe piano (he had a band called the "Zug Island All-Stars", named after an industrial island in the Detroit river.)Tom Martin - Trombone, Larry Merkling - Guitar (his nickname was "Curly", because he had been the studio guitarist for WJR radio, and the guy he replaced had the nickname "Curly". He had a Gibson L4 guitar, which was like a round-hole version of the L5.)
One night someone brought a guest named Hank Francis, who was a nuclear physicist by day, but played piano like Fats Waller. He played a song, which I believe he wrote, called "Bringing in the Cheese." The tapes were always interesting to listen to, because these weren't recording sessions, we'd just have the tape running the whole evening. Sometimes we'd have a guitar player who didn't know the chords for some song, and my dad could be heard on the tape calling out the chords to him. One thing that was kind of funny is that early on in the evening, some of the musicians played a bit ragged because they hadn't loosened up yet. They would have a few drinks to loosen up, and there would be several hours where they just played the most beautiful Dixieland you could imagine. Then as the night, and the drinks, wore on, there were a few hours toward the end where they started getting ragged again, because they were half in the bag.
Eddie came to most of the sessions. If I remember correctly, he usually played guitar, sometimes banjo. (I remember him showing us his business card with the "Principal Banjo, DSO" on it.) Sometimes he would bring other interesting instruments....one time I remember him bringing a piccolo trumpet with him. He may have been the one who introduced my dad to the trombonium, a valve trombone in the shape of a euphonium. (My dad usually played slide trombone, but he played various valve instruments from time to time, as well as his Gibson L7 guitar.) I think most of the sessions were between 1963 and 1967. After that, we moved to Romeo, Michigan, which was a bit of a drive for the musicians. Also, the blue laws had been repealed by then, and most of the guys were working on Sundays. We had a couple of sessions up there, but that was about all.
I personally remember Eddie as being a very interesting guy, who always had something interesting to report. Sometimes it was a new instrument he had acquired, sometimes it was some interesting recording he had discovered. (I remember him telling us about some musician/comedian who would purposely play songs wrong, and Eddie would demonstrate for us how he did this.)
Anyway, I have happy memories from that time period, and I thought I'd share them.
Be well,
Mr. Lynn Grant
lgrant@adamscon.com
If I remember correctly, my dad met Eddie Collins when he was playing at a nightclub in Detroit called Gaygan's. It was run by a man named Frank Gaygan. Other entertainers who worked there were a comedian named Lenny Schick (he used to joke about his brothers Bull and Horst), and Saucy Silvia, a risque singer/comedienne.
The way my dad told the story was that he asked Eddie Collins if he would like to come to one of his jam sessions, and Eddie said "I don't play with amateurs!" Then he told him who would be there, and he said, "On second thought...." After that, he was a regular attendee.
Some of the others I remember were:
Bill Roper - Clarinet (He apparently idolized Edmond Hall when he was younger, and he sounded so much like him that the first time I heard an Edmond Hall recording, I thought it was Bill),Nate Panacassi - Trumpet, Web Pierce - Guitar, Bob Meek - Drums, There was a white-haired bass player who was close friends with Bob Meek, if I remember correctly. I can't think of his name right now. Jack LaBreque - Vibrophone and trombone and maybe piano (he had a band called the "Zug Island All-Stars", named after an industrial island in the Detroit river.)Tom Martin - Trombone, Larry Merkling - Guitar (his nickname was "Curly", because he had been the studio guitarist for WJR radio, and the guy he replaced had the nickname "Curly". He had a Gibson L4 guitar, which was like a round-hole version of the L5.)
One night someone brought a guest named Hank Francis, who was a nuclear physicist by day, but played piano like Fats Waller. He played a song, which I believe he wrote, called "Bringing in the Cheese." The tapes were always interesting to listen to, because these weren't recording sessions, we'd just have the tape running the whole evening. Sometimes we'd have a guitar player who didn't know the chords for some song, and my dad could be heard on the tape calling out the chords to him. One thing that was kind of funny is that early on in the evening, some of the musicians played a bit ragged because they hadn't loosened up yet. They would have a few drinks to loosen up, and there would be several hours where they just played the most beautiful Dixieland you could imagine. Then as the night, and the drinks, wore on, there were a few hours toward the end where they started getting ragged again, because they were half in the bag.
Eddie came to most of the sessions. If I remember correctly, he usually played guitar, sometimes banjo. (I remember him showing us his business card with the "Principal Banjo, DSO" on it.) Sometimes he would bring other interesting instruments....one time I remember him bringing a piccolo trumpet with him. He may have been the one who introduced my dad to the trombonium, a valve trombone in the shape of a euphonium. (My dad usually played slide trombone, but he played various valve instruments from time to time, as well as his Gibson L7 guitar.) I think most of the sessions were between 1963 and 1967. After that, we moved to Romeo, Michigan, which was a bit of a drive for the musicians. Also, the blue laws had been repealed by then, and most of the guys were working on Sundays. We had a couple of sessions up there, but that was about all.
I personally remember Eddie as being a very interesting guy, who always had something interesting to report. Sometimes it was a new instrument he had acquired, sometimes it was some interesting recording he had discovered. (I remember him telling us about some musician/comedian who would purposely play songs wrong, and Eddie would demonstrate for us how he did this.)
Anyway, I have happy memories from that time period, and I thought I'd share them.
Be well,
Mr. Lynn Grant
lgrant@adamscon.com
