Re: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] SPAH 2013 CORRECTING SMOKEY JOE

[The Iceman <icemanle@xxxxxxx>]

sez Joe....


<<Now Iceman mentions the trio they used to get when he and Bob Williams took over 

and at the end of their reign finally gave it the go ahead. That trio was my 
friend Chuck Robinette.>>


wrongo...I moved past Chuck my first year as Convention Director. He was good, but old fashioned. I wanted hip.


I tapped into the black jazz community...I really wish I could remember the trio. All I remember now is that Pistol Allen was the drummer (one of the Motown Funk Bros). Bass player was a great jazz session (and alternate in the Detroit Symphony) player and the pianist was one of the existing jazz legends at that time from Detroit. It was the real deal. They also brought in a lot of the black community to the convention just by the fact that they were well known.


I remember Buddy Budson as alternate pianist for one of the nights.


I'll always remember the trio of black women who came to the Thursday Night Blues Night in 1998 (we opened it up to the public and filled the ballroom with $10 ticket buyers). This was that legendary Kim Wilson, Curtis Salgado show. Anyways, these women heard Curtis do some gospel singing and came back the next day to ask me if Curtis had gospel recordings they could buy.


Opening up the convention to the general public made for a great and exciting mix - above and beyond the usual harmonica "hang".


Last time I witnessed it was in St. Louis in 1999 when I brought in Toots and Kenny Werner. Contacted St. Louis jazz radio and their main DJ was hired as MC for the night. He did so much on air promotion that we once again filled the ballroom with local folks who paid $15/ticket to get into the show. It paid for the fee to hire him and netted a profit besides.


Man, did we ever rake in the $$ with those types of shows.




-----Original Message-----
From: Joseph Leone <3N037@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: EGS1217 <EGS1217@xxxxxxx>
Cc: Harp L Harp L <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sat, Aug 31, 2013 7:07 pm
Subject: Re: Subject: Re: [Harp-L] SPAH 2013



On Aug 30, 2013, at 12:00 AM, EGS1217@xxxxxxx wrote:

> I do too, Mike--the thing is..it's been discussed and thought about and  
> pondered for SEVERAL years now (ever since I suggested the idea and  requested 

> that we try to do it ages ago). 

The original jazz jams were very informal. Just a couple guys around a piano. 
When I proposed the idea to spah, Norm Dobson and Gordon Mitchell weren't 
interested. THEIR claim was that it wouldn't draw enough people to make it 
justifiable and they would have to hire musicians. You have to understand that 
at the time, the crowd was STILL an older
crowd, BUT it was a crowd from Vaudeville, Burlesque, and supper club days. 
Mostly chromatic, mostly Harmonicats type stuff oriented. 

Now Iceman mentions the trio they used to get when he and Bob Williams took over 
and at the end of their reign finally gave it the go ahead. That trio was my 
friend Chuck Robinette. A Pittsburgher transplanted to Detroit. I used to sit in 
with him when he played in Pgh. Yes, he would have filled the bill. OR I could 
have gotten just him..for a deal. 


>