[Harp-L] BUBBA JOHNSON & MILT TRAINIER // LONG POST !

["Hurrican Ramón" <party_man1@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Excerpt .

"Hurricane Ramón" <party_man1@xxxxxxxxxx> 

Sez :

I have one great story of " Bubba Johnson " a Chicago veteran sax performer who worked at " Milt Trainer's " night club near the loop , anyone who want's to read about it write me . It's a great story of a magic night I had at Milt's in 1993 with Milt & Bubba Johnson and how he got the gig at Milt's as the music director when he used a wire less and got arrested on a public buss just outside Milt's night club , it's a classic .

And den Gary Hodgson Axed :

" ok, you got me. let's hear it. "

=================================================================

Gary :

I was doing some private corporate shows at the Holiday Inn near the " Loop " for some conventioneers , with the shows done and two weeks off and a pocket full of cash in Chicago and I'm burning to hit the club scene and taste it , feel it and live it , this is one of my musical adventures while in Chicago in 1993  .

I was with my cousin walking back from a posh Jazz club and had done really well playing all sorts of Jazz type standards with my diatonic with some of Chicago's cutting edge players and was on a cloud while strolling towards the hotel , as we came up to it I realized we had taken a different  route back to the hotel and we were standing outside " Milt Trainiers Club " I believe was how it read outside of this " basement " night club on the sign . I looked at my cousin and said " do you know who the Trainier Bros. are ? he did not , I said " man these guys are part of the whole Rock-N-Rool scene from it's earliest beginnings from the mid to late 1940's , he was not impressed ( he makes me mad because he's  a dynomite musician and doesn't know anything about anyone in the music scene outside of the Beatles and the whole pop scene from the 60's& 70's tunnel vision man tunnel vision , oh , and I like the Beatles:) .


Down we walked into a really " sweet " little Pub/Night Club " scene and seated ourselves , it was a Wednesday and " Jam Night " well , I was hot and ready and the music director was " Jimmy Wright " , another heavy weight Jazz / BLues sax man , Jimmy Write , a superb tenor sax player and a really nice man and gent . We hit it off big time on stage that night and the end result was when he called " Mr. " Milt Trainier himself to come , when he arrived at out table  he invited me to sit in on Friday .

- - WOW ,WOW ,WOW ,WOW ,WOW ,WOW ,WOW - -

is all I could say inside my head and all the way ( a block ) back to the hotel , up the elevator and into my room . I could not believe I was going to be on stage with him in his own club in Chicago . . Not bad for a country boy from the south ( southern California rural agriculture community qualifies me there to say that :) . Jimmy informed me it was not his night to play there since he had another gig so he wished me well and I did the same to him and I left the club with my cousin in tow walking back to the hotel  .


Friday I hit the club and what a scene , man the place was packed with some of the best dressed people I have ever seen , and the room was filled with really fine looking ladies . I was told before hand to check in with " Bubba Johnson " by both Jimmy Wright & Milt when I arrived . " What's Jimmy Wright look like " I asked , they both smiled and said at the same time " he'll be the one with the most women at his table heh heh . True to form I found him with some of the pretties ladies there at the club , Bubba Johnson was 62 then ! Once I introduced myself , he said " I was waiting for you to come in  , I heard your blow a mean harp "  . Responding to him in humble manner I said " I hope I don't  disappoint you . He smiled and said , I call you up after the first set , then we see what happens . All I said was " what ever is easy man just give me the { key } and we're rolling " . He smiled and I checked out the first set , wasn't anything there they played I could not follow 
, man did Bubba play his @$$ off ! .

After the set was finished my cousin and Bubba and all his
" lady friends " sat and chatted and Bubba rolled out the set list to me and the keys , I was ready Teddy ! We roll out all sorts of Louie Jordan , Fats Domino , T-Bone Walker ,and Willie Dixon material it was sooooo goooooood , I was on proverbial "cloud 9 " the crowd was awesome , they got into this stuff deep  and showed there appreciation ( $$$ tips ) . About 2/3 thirds into the set " The Man Milt " himself gets on stage and he just rips up the crowd and had the band fired up and really grooving hard a fast at times and then it just smoldered thick and sweet like it can in Chicago music . The last song of the set was :

 " Nobody Knows You  When Your Down and Out " circa 1924 baby ! !

You got to realize Milt is the consummate performer working the crowd and when that song came up he had his own special way of throwing down on it that was the greatest version I have ever heard and much more to be a part of . When the verse :

" If I get my hands on a dollar again " 

 ,

He stopped and the band did as well , the tension was sooo thick as he looked all across the room at the clientele , fierce was his expression and then after the silence , the band and and Milt played it again the same verse :

" If I get my hands on a dollar again "

The look on Milts face was fierce and determined , on that second break he started again on  that phrase , and as he did the money ( mostly one dollar bills ) came flying on stage from every conceivable direction . As this went down and Milt began to sing  he also was picking up those bills as the flew literally on stage . I realized it was time to be a showman too so , knowing full well what Milt was going to do I began to " pocket " the cash too while before hand " winking " at Milt when we made eye contact just before I started making the "grab " fo dee cash .

It was a riot heh heh Milt with the mic in one hand and collecting money with the other and body checking me so he got between the money and me saying over the mic as the band played :

" Hey fool , this is maa club , maa band , maa stage and MAA MONEY SUCKER ! ! " .

The place went crazy , wow'd em we did along that little showman stunt :)

Set over - - Enter a schooling for Hurricane via Bubba Johnson -

We all talked ( Milt , Bubba & I ) about how well the improv was and I was invited to play the rest of the night and drinks were " free " for myself and my cousin .

3rd. set :

No fooling I was at the top of my game that night , looked like I had been practicing with the band it went sooooo smooth , and as I was taking a really long heavy lead run ( of many that night mind you ) and got the crowd nutzo I was relishing the spot light and the glory ( wow I can't believe it's me doing this in Chicago  type mentality ) I took a bow and as I did this with eyes closed and sweating like a stuck pig . I began clearing my eyelids of the sweat to open them with out feeling my eyes sting . I heard the crowd go absolutely crazy  crazier that anything that night including what Milt had done with myself on the " Down And Out " song , more crazier than many of the great applause I had received that ( with out trying to bag man this is what happened ) had people pounding on tables when alone on stage with the band and Bubba ,  mean I was shocked at the noise level , when  I opened my eyes and looked to see what Bubba was doing because he was soloing now and as I 
said Bubba is one major dude !

There before my eyes was Bubba ripping lead lines and - -

RIPPING HIS SILK SHIRT OFF HIS BACK !

He ripped it and threw it in pieces to the stage floor and into the crowd ! ! People were howling and screaming slamming drinking glasses on the table , they were slamming chairs against each other and ----


As I watched this man put on this display like no other I ever saw , he was looking at my face that was painted in the colour of disbelief and Bubba , he was  smiling at me all the while .


Conclusion :

We sat all together at Bubba's table as the band got paid ( them not me ;) when the smoke had cleared talking with Bubba framed with two fine ladies (  ooh what knock outs they were ) we joked about the shirt bit , and he then said :

" hell man you ain't the only hitter comes in that I have to reclaim my respect on stage over " he then confided " I go to the thrift stores and find moth eating silks for guys just like you "

I then asked how he got the gig with Milt there in the first place , he then told me that on a night like this one he came in like I did and smoked up the place , and , that he was really hard pressed for work and wanted to gig really bad and was out looking for work and he had just purchased a " wireless " mic set up and was about the city hoping to get work . He said when playing at the Milt's that first night he got a " conga line " of people  following him around the club , eventually that night he ventured outside the club climbing the stairs with people following him out the door to the above street where you walk in  from . There close to the entrance was a CTA bus stop and he got on the buss  ! ! 

Anyone who ever rode a buss knows you  can't play a ghetto blaster out loud on a buss and that includes musical instruments too ! ! ! 

Bubba made the 11:00 PM news ----- because he was arrested and taken to jail .

Milts Club was maxed out soon after the news hit TV.

Milt goes to the city jail and bails out Bubba .

Bubba becomes a regular fixture at Milt's .


When I heard this story I was astonished to say the least and had a whole new outlook at showmanship as I was schooled by the best in one " BUBBA JOHNSON " that unforgettable night for this southern Cal guy :)

Gary :

I hope you liked this story , it is a solid memory of memories for me and extra niece that my cousin was there to witness this so I have proof !


Sincerely :


Hurricane Ramón

aka :

Party_Man1@xxxxxxxxxx
 
      




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