soulpope "Ever Since The World Ended, I Don`t Get Out As Much"
Registriert seit: 02.12.2013
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Carol Kaye …. memories about Joe Maini
I liked Joe, he, like all others respected me, my musicianship and as a woman. Jazz musicians of the 1950s while a few were prejudiced against working with women in Jazz, most were excited and happy to work with you I found. It all depends upon your (as a woman) attitude in professionalism, and fitting in with the „guys“ and all their attitudes and great playing. If you were respectful, they (if you played!) were respectful…it was a co-op thing
Yes, a few were into the heroin, but it was a very quiet hidden thing, never overt like it is now, almost a „pride“ now…..it was shameful in the 1950s, so pot (in the form of hash, with the „bubble machine“) and (sometimes) a little heroin were done in the „back-room of clubs“ during breaks
The rest of us? Hanging out near the bar or being treated to whatever you wanted to drink by the fans…..most of whom were in the money-earning Aerospace Industry, very huge back in the 1950s L.A. with the race-on with Russia, and the new jet-airliner manufacturing fervor by all Aircraft Companies, North American, Hughes, Boeing, and Lockheed.
Everyone loved going out to their fav jazz club nearby to hear fine jazz….the WWTwo vets working in Aerospace, all jazz lovers (some country too, the country-western bands were working too, but with 100+ Jazz clubs in LA, Jazz was the „pop“ music of the 1950s…. It was a hot era for good music
Like I said, I always liked Joe, a fantastic bebopper, we called him the „West Coast Bird“, he was that good yes. One day I bumped into him at Farmers Market (Fairfax) and we always enjoyed kidding with each other. I didn’t know until we walked out, he had a huge T-bone steak underneath his shirt….whew…..yes musicians were nutty enough to steal, it was sort of a „given“, you didn’t lend your guitar to anyone on drugs, like Joe Pass etc….at that time
Somehow I didn’t blame Joe, tho‘ I always was against stealing, even food….I worked for my money for my kids and mother 1956-57, day job daily, then quick nap, dinner and jazz gig working almost every night too….sometimes I hung out (tho‘ rarely) to listen to records with the guys 3-4 times….all were respectful and I was one of them. I knew they respected my playing also. I worked with everyone.
One day, I bumped into Joe Maini on Cahuenga near Hollywood Blvd. in the day time. Hollywood was a nice sleepy town back then, no druggies, no prostitutes nor dealing on the streets like in late 1960s on…..we were surprised to see each other, and like most jazz musicians serious in their soloing, we couldn’t find the words to express how we felt in a conversation. So I asked him a question by singing, ad-libbing scat singing of patterns, he loved it and answered back to me in jazz patterns only scatting, no words. There we were on the street, going back and forth like that, and even understanding what each other meant. Having fun „talking with music notes“…it was a language we used musically and we had fun „discussing“ stuff.
A new different mutual bond made, we both smiled and walked on – always friends on the stand too – RIP Joe, I miss you and everyone else especially today. Joe’s spirit was amazing!
Yes, I miss Joe, I miss them all, mostly good men, yes some flawed especially when it came to maybe some doing drugs, and some in booze heavily too, but they could play…..and it was with respect for each other on the stage. Then later….I bumped into a few in the rock studio stuff who weren’t of that quality of musician (never playing in Jazz clubs) in recording records but only a few…my kids knew who they were, I’d come home complaining about them. But mainly recording those records 1957 on started with the same great professional attitudes, for it was mainly jazz musicians who did the best of the Studio work too!
JOE MAINI! One of west coast’s greats, his playing was superb, inventive, and was called West Coast’s Bird, how great he was! And was a nice man too! A little crazy but in this world, that’s a blessing-
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"Kunst ist schön, macht aber viel Arbeit" (K. Valentin)