ABOUT
I was born into a musical family on August 24, 1947, in Fort Worth, Texas. During the 1950’s I was a child performer with my older brother, guitarist Jerry Case. We played country music shows in northeast Texas, primarily the Red River Jamboree beginning in 1955. Jerry and I were fully aware of our parents’ musical activities from the mid-1930s until the late 1940s. Ernest Tubb, Carrie Rodgers, and other famous personalities were among their friends.
By 1960, after the childhood music phase, exposure to rhythm & blues and popular music via radio, had a great impact on my music tastes and subsequently led me to explore modern jazz. For the first time in my young life, I began teaching myself to play my mother’s piano. At age 15 I knew that jazz was my true calling.
Jerry Case was already playing professionally. He wisely advised me to enter the music profession by way of country dance bands, as this was the only real option available in our locale. My initial gigs were in Oklahoma, near Paris, Texas where our family lived. After moving to the Dallas area in mid-1964, I played with Jimmy Sarver at Brand’s Log Tavern. The sudden death of my father in November 1964 prompted our family’s relocation to Fort Worth in mid-1965. I found work with Ray Chaney’s band at the Stagecoach Inn (formerly the historic Crystal Springs Dance Pavilion – see link) where I accompanied guest stars Loretta Lynn, Jimmy C. Newman, and Connie Smith. Never for a moment did I lose sight of my desire to someday play jazz. I listened to it and practiced every day. At the time, I couldn’t fully appreciate those special moments I was experiencing in the music that was my family’s musical heritage. Such is the nature of one who is determined to take another path.
Near the close of 1965, vocalist Joe Andrews (of Bob Wills fame) hired me to play piano in a newly-formed band to begin January 1966 at the Aragon Ballroom in Dallas, Texas. This 10-piece ensemble was the finest western swing band I had played with, and I only left the Aragon in late summer to realize the beginning of my dream.
My first jazz gig was with the Adrian Watts Trio at Fort Worth’s historic Hotel Texas. This led to a few other jazz gigs, but their scarcity eventually forced me to take jobs playing in pop combos. In 1969, I returned to the Aragon (Art Guinn’s band) until I left to join Maurice Anderson’s combo playing various pop music venues. I recorded and issued my first LP in 1969 while gigging with Anderson. It is truly an anomaly: unaccompanied vibraharp free improvisations recorded at home, under a spell of mystical creativity. I loved the avant-garde and the idea of totally improvised music that could sustain interest and prove to be of lasting value.
My debut recording as a sideman also occurred in 1969 on volume two of Maurice Anderson’s five-volume set of LPs. Jerry Case plays bass on that record, and he’d already recorded on guitar in 1966 with Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys (Kapp LP: From the Heart of Texas KL-1506).
Throughout the 1970’s I found little work in jazz but stayed afloat by playing commercial music, mostly in society bands. All the while I issued LPs of free-wheeling jazz, usually featuring guitarist Jerry Case along with myself and other gifted improvisers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I also kept in contact with several superlative western swing musicians whose abilities I greatly admired. My recordings as a sideman have been with these artists.
In mid-1980 I landed a six-night-a-week jazz gig at a newly opened club, J.R.’s Place. My skills as an improviser benefited greatly from nightly public performances. It was while working at this jazz club that I met Kitty Keever, whom I would marry in April of 1981. She’s truly my soul mate and my greatest inspiration in life. During this time I also realized my dream of recording avant-garde “free jazz” with other adventurous musicians. The 1981 LP Creative Explosions was followed in 1982 with the realization of my first musique concrete piece, entitled Remnants. Other high points include working various gigs with tenor saxophonist James Clay, and sporadic jazz concerts with other name artists such as Billy Hart, Dewey Redman, David Newman, and more recently with Randy Brecker.
My 28-year stint at Sardines Ristorante Italiano began in September 1983. I took off one night to play a reception for Ornette Coleman at the opening of Fort Worth’s premier jazz club, the Caravan of Dreams. The longevity of my restaurant gig has drawn many remarks. The last time I saw James Clay in the early 1990s, he told me: “That has to be some kind of record”. It’s true, I probably hold the record for the longest-running nightly jazz gig, playing solo piano on weeknights and trio on weekends. When the restaurant closed in November 2011, a beautiful tribute by writer/musician Ken Shimamoto was posted on his Stash Dauber blog site. Thereafter I free-lanced in several jazz groups until I began a happy affiliation with Lili’s Bistro in Fort Worth. I also perform periodically at Arts Fifth Avenue and Stage West, with additional bookings at Shady Oaks and Ridglea Country Clubs.
Other artistic interests in which I have indulged include painting in oils and writing poetry. In summary, to live a life filled with love and music has such joyous rewards that I can’t imagine any greater human experience than the one I am so grateful to have known.
