[JPL] Cosby / Joe Jones

Tue Jun 9 17:56:58 EDT 2009

One more once on this clip.  When Cosby told this story at Max's funeral, 
his revised punch line was, "Max, you owe me $75!"

Tom Reney

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Reney" <tr at wfcr.org>
To: <jazzproglist at jazzweek.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 1:32 PM
Subject: Re: [JPL] Cosby / Joe Jones

> Jae,
> The lesson deep inside this hilarious improvisation by Cos is, as you 
> state in your own vivid story, know your limits and shed like there's no 
> tomorrow if your career goal happens to be jazz musician.  I've screened 
> this clip several times for jazz history classes and other public 
> addresses I've made on jazz.  Cosby's fame and the impact of his story on 
> Dick Cavett and Jack Benny conveys something really profound about the 
> music.
>
> On another comedic note, I caught the brilliant stand-up Steven Wright the 
> other night and heard him wonder if Miles Davis would have been named 
> Kilometer Davis in Europe.
>
>
> Tom Reney
> Jazz à la Mode
>
> WFCR
> NPR News and Music for Western New England
>
> Hampshire House
> 131 County Circle
> Amherst, MA 01003-9257
>
> tr at wfcr.org
> www.wfcr.org
> 413-545-3220
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jae Sinnett" <jaejazz at yahoo.com>
> To: <jazzproglist at jazzweek.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 12:34 PM
> Subject: Re: [JPL] Cosby / Joe Jones
>
>
>
> Yes Larry...this is him. Joe was an amazingly underrated pianist. His 
> legend lives in this part as well. When I first started playing jazz I had 
> heard about this pianist name Joe Jones. Everyone always talked about him. 
> Use to play at a place in Hampton called Herman's. I thought I was the 
> cat...based on those that new nothing about jazz telling me how great I 
> was. I went to see Joe because I heard he liked to have folks sit in and 
> smoke'um.
>
> It was freezing that night and I walked in the place with my hands frozen. 
> I think I sat down for five minute and he asked me to come up and play. He 
> didn't know me but his drummer did. I said sure. The first tune was 
> "Cherokee" at warp ninety. Never played that fast in my life and wasn't 
> going to play it right then. This is why I found that Cosby skit so 
> hilarious. Then after that I was getting up to go sit down and he said 
> "no...play another one." He played "Take Five." I had never played odd 
> meters at that time and he played it like it was nothing to him. That 
> cigarette hanging off his bottom lip with his head tilted to keep the 
> smoke from going in his eye...killin. Breaking up the time and such. I 
> didn't have a clue where the one beat was.
>
> I was humbled beyond belief. He taught me the most valuable lesson of my 
> musical life and that was I needed to shed like it was an obsession IF I 
> would be worth anything as a musician. I told him that he nor anyone else 
> would ever do that to me again and no one has. He eventually started 
> calling me for gigs and that was profound for my confidence. Joe and I had 
> very deep discussions about the music. It's hard to explain what I got 
> from him in that short period of time but I'm grateful in having a chance 
> to thank him before he passed. Glad he was recognized and appreciated in 
> your area.
>
> Jae
>
> --- On Tue, 6/9/09, JASSavannah <jassav at comcast.net> wrote:
>
>> From: JASSavannah <jassav at comcast.net>
>> Subject: [JPL] Cosby / Joe Jones
>> To: jazzproglist at jazzweek.com
>> Date: Tuesday, June 9, 2009, 11:59 AM
>> Jae,
>>
>> I am assuming this is the same Joe Jone who came to
>> Savannah in '83 and lived and played here the last years of
>> his life. He is in the Coastal Jazz Association Hall
>> of Fame: http://www.coastal-jazz.org/cjahalloffameii.html.
>> He is somewhat of a legend among Savannah Jazz fans.
>>
>> Larry
>>
>> Larry Dane-Kellogg
>> WHCJ 90.3 FM
>> 19 E. 64th Street
>> Savannah, GA 31405
>>
>> WHCJ: Critic's Choice For "Best of Savannah"
>>
>> "After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the
>> inexpressible is music."
>>
>> - Author Aldous Huxley , 1894 - 1963
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: "Jae Sinnett" <jaejazz at yahoo.com>
>> To: <jazzproglist at jazzweek.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 10:13 AM
>> Subject: [JPL] Cosby
>>
>>
>>
>>  Truly one of the funniest skits I've ever seen. Perhaps
>> because as a drummer I experienced the exact same
>> situation... on the same tune...Cos is talking about.
>> Some... out of that older generation like to lay it on the
>> younger folk when sitting in. I made that mistake years ago
>> with the late great pianist Joe Jones. Maybe some of you
>> heard of him. He was out of Virginia initially. Cosby is
>> absolutely hysterical talking about his experience in this
>> particular jam session but it's also obvious the man knows
>> jazz. Hope you enjoy it.
>>
>>  http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/billcosbydrumming.html
>>
>>  Jae Sinnett
>> --
>>
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>
>
>
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