trb@drutx.UUCP (BuckleyTR) (06/29/85)
A couple weeks ago I reposted the jazz anecdote written by Dick Gibson on the invitation to his 1984 jazz party. Today, I got the invitation to the 1985 party, and decided its anecdote was funny enough to post. For those of you not familiar with the Gibson Jazz Party, it is a world-famous institution held once a year over Labor Day weekend in Colorado, hosted by jazz impresario Dick Gibson. About sixty big-name musicians are invited, along with some 1000 guests. Many of the guests themselves are big names: Gary Giddins, Leonard Feather, Ira Gitler, as well as other musicians who want to hear three full days of jazz by the greats. Some of the musicians invited this year are Clark Terry, Pete & Conte Candoli, Urbie Green, Bill Watrous, Slide Hampton, Flip Phillips, Scott Hamilton, Phil Woods, Buddy DeFranco, Ray Brown, Herb Ellis, Wynton Marsalis. Anyway, each year on the invitation is an anecdote from Dick's experiences, or one told to him by one of his many musician friends. Here, in Dick's unique writing style, is a story about the legendary jazz violinist Joe Venuti, exactly as it appeared on my 1985 invitation: ************************************************************************ In the late Fifties, Joe Venuti was on the bill at the Hollywood Palladium with ROY ROGERS AND HIS LOVELY WIFE DALE AND THEIR WONDER HORSE TRIGGER. On opening might, the stars names were huge in lights on the marquee and the names of the six supporting acts on the bill were listed in letters in descending size consonant with the Producer's opinion of their importance. Across the bottom of the marquee in tiny letters was "and joe venuti." On his way into the theater for dress rehersal, Venuti saw the sign and found it interesting. On the first three evenings of the show, Venuti was observed in the wings clocking the star act with a stopwatch. Since everything was rote, it was an easy act to time precisely. Roy Rogers would appear first, make the same few sparkling remarks to the house packed with lovers of the purple sage, and then sing Home on the Range. Next, Roy's lovely wife, Dale, would dimple onto the stage, engage in, some say hilarious, and undeviating, banter with Roy and then the two of them would sing the same couple songs each night. After exactly twenty-eight minutes of this enchantment, Roy and Dale would profess that, to tell the truth, despite their talents they really owed their success to their Wonder Horse Trigger. The house lights would dim, the curtains would part and one powerful blue-white spotlight would shine forth on gleaming white Trigger clopping forward toward the audience on his hind legs, his front legs raised high pawing the air. To thunderous applause, Trigger would stagger about the stage in this clever manner for the longest time. When he finally fell to all fours, Roy and Dale would hug his neck and the three of them would grin cheerfully at the audience and the show would end on that anthropomorphic note. On the fourth night, Venuti was not in the wings. Roy did his inimitable thing, was joined by his lovely wife, Dale, and right on schedule they declaimed their debt to Trigger. The lights went down, the curtains parted and the spotlight stabbed out to reveal Trigger lurching forward on his hind legs, his member sticking straight out rock hard and waggling at the audience like a big red baseball bat. Trigger was, indeed, a Wonder Horse. Roy and Dale stood agape and mute. After an initial collective gasp, the audience grew silent. As Trigger stamped about the stage, awing one and all, the only other sound in the vast Palladium was a raspy voice backstage, "Har, har, har, har." A couple of minutes before Trigger was to go on, Venuti had sauntered alongside and with his resin-loaded violin bow had given Trigger a veritable Flight of the Bumble Bee diddle. No producer since has billed a horse above Venuti. ************************************************************************ Tom Buckley AT&T Information Systems ihnp4!drutx!trb (303) 538-3442