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[ Jazz music playing ]

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[ Indistinct chatter ]

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♪♪

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♪♪

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-Hi, welcome.

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I'm Kabibi Monie,

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and I want to take you
on a journey through the magic,

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the music, and the emotions
of the Jazz Alley.

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♪♪

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-Now, ladies and gentlemen,

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please make these guys
feel welcome --

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the world-famous
Count Basie Orchestra.

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♪♪

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♪♪

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-I think that one reason
that Seattle

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is such a big jazz town may be

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that there are so many
jazz musicians living here,

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so many world-class players
that do live here.

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-I mean, you can start
an argument in this town

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about the piano playing

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of Marc Seales
versus Randy Halberstadt.

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I mean,
that's a serious music town.

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That's where,
if you come into town,

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you know, there's people
with ears listening to you.

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-I've been the stereotype
I guess, in the old days

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where we could still smoke
in clubs,

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you know,
with a scotch in one hand

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and cigarette in the other
and a great band on stage.

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Got to love it.

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♪♪

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-And if you love it,

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you've probably been
to the Jazz Alley,

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coming up on 30 years
of providing a venue

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for world-class jazz.

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The alley has heard
the likes of Dizzy Gillespie,

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Oscar Peterson,
Ernestine Anderson, Ray Brown.

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Just to think, it's right here
in our own back alley.

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-[ Scatting ]

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-I think part of why
it feels like coming home

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is because of
the appreciative audience

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and the knowledgeable audience.

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It's very interactive.

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It has a lot of intimacy,
which I really appreciate.

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-[ Scatting ]

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-It's a great room

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It has great audiences,
has a great boss.

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-You know,
everybody plays there

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that's anybody, you know?

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And it's one
of the fabulous venues

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in the United States,
you know?

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And given the the whims
of a fickle market,

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to stay in business this long,
it takes a lot.

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-♪ If you're asked ♪

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♪ To give up dreaming,
never say yes ♪

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♪ Just how far to
chase a star ♪

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♪ Is anyone's guess ♪

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-To be honest with you,
a lot of it was trial and error.

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-♪ Your dream will come true ♪

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-I've always been
interested in music.

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I've always listened to it.

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I've always been
enthralled by it,

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and I have a kind of a a passion
that that goes way back.

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-He really does know
and love the music.

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He's not some bozo
who just got into it

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because he wanted
to make a dollar.

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Nobody goes into jazz
for that reason.

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-One of the reasons that
Jazz Alley has been

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one of the long-running clubs,

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when we see other cities,
some bigger than Seattle,

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that haven't had a club
with this much history,

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is that John is a stubborn man.

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♪♪

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-I think it was in 1963 or '64,

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one of my first jobs was
a busboy at the Edgewater Inn.

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They would bring in people
like the Tijuana Brass.

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They had George Gobel,
they had Joey Brown was there.

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And I would work down
in the restaurant

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and I would sneak up
the back stairway

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and listen to
some of the performers.

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And I was like, really wide-eyed
and really enthralled with that,

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so that really piqued
my curiosity.

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I decided that I wanted
to become a musician,

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so I went out
and bought a set of drums

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and I formed a band called
Joe Bananas and The Bunch.

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It was called

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Joe Bananas and The Bunch:
A Group with a Peel.

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And it was a lounge band,

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and I was the weakest player
in the band,

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and actually got fired
from my own band after awhile.

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-We're glad he got fired,
because in 1971,

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John joined his brother Gus,
who had opened

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the Pioneer Banque
Restaurant & Nightclub

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at 1st and Yesler.

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John took on hiring talent,
and he was damn good at it,

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something he credits
to the smarts of

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New York agent Jack Whittemore,

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who was also the agent
for Miles Davis.

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-He had in his stable
Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk,

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Betty Carter, Stan Getz,
Sonny Stitt, Ahmad Jamal,

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and he was kind of my mentor.

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We talked almost
every day for years,

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and he kind of really taught me
a lot about the music,

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about booking the music
and the business of business,

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of running a music club.

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♪♪

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-If you're thinking opening
his own club came next,

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hang on.

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John took his new skills east

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to manage the now-famous
Blues Alley in Washington, DC,

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which happens to be

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the second longest-running
jazz club in the country.

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After success there, he headed
back to Seattle with a new wife

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and a dream.

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♪♪

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-When he started out at
Jazz Alley in the U District,

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The jazz world being what it is,
people said,

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"Well, they'll probably
last three months,"

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because jazz is
a tough go, economically.

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But the jazz scene was
pretty darn good at that time.

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[ Applause ]

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♪♪

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Everyone's very nostalgic
in the jazz community

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about the club
that was on the Ave.

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I mean,
it was clearly not feasible.

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For a long time, it was small.

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I think it sat maybe
85, 125 people.

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But I have such
fond, warm memories

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of seeing Dave McKenna there,
the great saloon piano player,

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as he describes himself,
from Boston.

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I mean, Dave just came in there,

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didn't say nothing,
sat down at the piano

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and played his butt off
for an hour.

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[ Piano playing ]

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People like Earl "Fatha" Hines,
a legend in jazz history,

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recording with Louis Armstrong
in the 1920s,

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for God's sake,
played for Jazz Alley

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in the U District for a week.

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Dexter Gordon on one of
his many comebacks

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and returns in the late '70s.

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I can just see him on stage,

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holding that tenor saxophone
out the way he would --

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flat, present to the audience,

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as if to say, "It's the horn
that played the music, not me."

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-I used to go down all the time
on Monday nights especially.

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As a matter of fact,
I was working for

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a radio station at the time,
in the early '80s,

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called K-Jazz, K-JZZ,

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and we hosted a Monday night
jam session there.

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So it was all
the fabulous local artists,

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many of whom, thankfully for us,
still reside here.

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You could go hear
John Bishop on drums

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and Chuck Deardorf on bass
and Dave Peck playing piano,

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and Mark Seales down there
with his group.

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-In the early days,
he hired a lot of local guys

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to play behind famous people
who came through town,

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and I got to do a lot of that.

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And that's...
and I learned a lot.

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-Other musicians
from around town

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would come do the hang
on Monday night.

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If you were a jazz musician,
you know, Jazz Alley

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in the University District
was definitely the place to be.

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-In fact,
that club became so popular

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that lines were
treading outside,

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and John decided,
after four years

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that he'd open a second club.

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He called that
Jazz Alley Downtown,

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located over there on
Second Avenue in Pioneer Square.

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-For a while, John was
under the influence

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of a financial adviser who said,

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"Well, you should
really franchise this place

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and have two jazz clubs."

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He could barely make one work,

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so nobody knew
what that was about.

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-The idea was bringing in bigger
bands, different names,

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and then trying
to shake it up a little bit.

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-So I said, "Well, I don't know.

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I don't know if two Jazz Alleys
in one town is a good idea,

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but what the heck?"

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So we went down there and tried
it, and I was correct

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in my original assumption
that it wasn't a good idea.

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-There are jokes about
that kind of thing.

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"You know, if I win the lottery,
I think I'll open a jazz club

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and run it until
the money runs out."

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-John has only survived

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because he has danced
with the marketplace.

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-And back in '85, John was
dancing as fast as he could.

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He closed down both clubs
in the University District

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and in Pioneer Square,
and later that same year,

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he reopened at the current
location on Sixth and Lenora.

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♪♪

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-Jazz Alley is really nice.

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I mean, everybody
that's playing music

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comes to play through here.

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I remember one time, being
in town with the Music Maker,

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and I had about a half an hour
break and I came down here.

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It was unbelievable.
It's Hank Crawford, Frank West.

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That was a real nice night
here for me,

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to come down
and walk in and go, like,

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"Oh, my God,
that's a slice of music

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I didn't even know
still was happening."

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-Jazz Alley is bigger
than it used to be,

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but somehow, in the redesign,

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it's still a very
intimate place to go hear music.

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Almost anywhere in that room,

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you have an uninterrupted view
of the stage,

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and you're never very far away.

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-It helps feel like you've got
to keep your chops on,

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because it's intimate.

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People are right there
and they're hearing every note,

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and it's not being masked
by a big sound system

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or something else.

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-I come from, you know,
from the club scene.

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What we do runs the gamut,
but the intimate thing

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is very right up my alley,
no pun intended,

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or I should say,
every pun intended.

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♪♪

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-You almost get spoiled by it,

218
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because it's difficult then
to go to a large arena

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to see anybody because,

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you know you can go
to the Jazz Alley

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and see, you know,
a high-quality act

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and you can be five feet away
from that person.

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♪♪

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-This has been a solid space,

225
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and a lot of people
love to come out

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and have a meal or a night out

227
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and the great music
that they really like to hear.

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It's a really
fantastic audience.

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00:11:06,734 --> 00:11:11,601
♪♪

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-When artists go into a club,
they need special attention.

231
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Well, let's face it,
they can be a temperamental lot.

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The Alley knows that,

233
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and they do what it takes
to keep them coming back.

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[ Applause ]

235
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-I miss the days
of the Hickory House

236
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when the cash register
would ring

237
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and there would be
so much noise,

238
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but the the club owner's son,
he would,

239
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I think he would purposely
ring the cash register

240
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when I was playing a ballad.

241
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He just knew when
that was going to happen,

242
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so just to annoy them all,
after the end of the set,

243
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I would help myself
to a drink on the way out.

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Not 'cause I wanted it,
but 'cause I could.

245
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If you're working at a club

246
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where the boss doesn't seem
to like the music

247
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or he keeps fiddling
with the microphone

248
00:12:14,167 --> 00:12:17,200
or or stuff like that...

249
00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:21,033
I mean,
John lets us do our thing.

250
00:12:21,033 --> 00:12:23,501
He doesn't bother us.

251
00:12:23,501 --> 00:12:27,767
And I remember working
for a guy years ago,

252
00:12:27,767 --> 00:12:32,334
he would get us on one side
and tell us what to play.

253
00:12:32,334 --> 00:12:35,334
"I want to hear more
bossa novas."

254
00:12:35,334 --> 00:12:38,601
You know, if John did that,
I'd be very surprised.

255
00:12:40,701 --> 00:12:42,067
-Club owners in general,

256
00:12:42,067 --> 00:12:46,634
they have to love the music,
but it's a business.

257
00:12:46,634 --> 00:12:51,434
The first time he hired me
to play behind Mark Murphy,

258
00:12:51,434 --> 00:12:56,200
he said, "And I'll pay you
400 bucks a week to do it."

259
00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:02,334
And I said, "Okay."
And he went -- And he was mad.

260
00:13:02,334 --> 00:13:03,734
And I said, "Why are you mad?"

261
00:13:03,734 --> 00:13:06,834
He said, "Well, because
you didn't negotiate with me,

262
00:13:06,834 --> 00:13:09,567
because that's business, right?"

263
00:13:09,567 --> 00:13:13,834
And negotiation is like,
it's exciting.

264
00:13:13,834 --> 00:13:18,434
♪♪

265
00:13:18,434 --> 00:13:21,000
-This is a man who really
knows how to run a business,

266
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:23,834
but he's hard-nosed
and ruthless in doing so,

267
00:13:23,834 --> 00:13:25,334
and anybody who's ever
worked for him

268
00:13:25,334 --> 00:13:27,234
will tell you that he's fair,

269
00:13:27,234 --> 00:13:30,033
but he will not spend more money
than he's going to make.

270
00:13:30,033 --> 00:13:32,567
And he's gone bankrupt.
He knows.

271
00:13:32,567 --> 00:13:35,400
He's been there, you know?
He knows what leads to that.

272
00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:39,567
-My very first and memorable
experience at Jazz Alley,

273
00:13:39,567 --> 00:13:43,834
that first week
when I started there,

274
00:13:43,834 --> 00:13:46,868
Ahmad Jamal was the performer.

275
00:13:46,868 --> 00:13:49,234
Ahmad had played every club

276
00:13:49,234 --> 00:13:52,167
that John had had
either owned or managed,

277
00:13:52,167 --> 00:13:55,133
so I met Ahmad
for the first time by him

278
00:13:55,133 --> 00:13:58,334
pointing his finger at me
and said, "You, come here.

279
00:13:58,334 --> 00:14:01,734
You tell John I'm not
going to play." He was upset.

280
00:14:01,734 --> 00:14:05,634
There was some financial thing
going on and he was upset about.

281
00:14:05,634 --> 00:14:06,934
So I went back to John,
"John,

282
00:14:06,934 --> 00:14:08,901
he's really
threatening to leave."

283
00:14:08,901 --> 00:14:11,167
And John's saying,
"Screw him. He'll play."

284
00:14:11,167 --> 00:14:13,267
You know, and they were mad
at each other.

285
00:14:13,267 --> 00:14:17,067
So he played and John
and him did not talk,

286
00:14:17,067 --> 00:14:19,601
and then the next night,
went through the same thing.

287
00:14:19,601 --> 00:14:21,868
And then the third night,

288
00:14:21,868 --> 00:14:24,167
Ahmad and John are sitting down
and drinking, laughing,

289
00:14:24,167 --> 00:14:25,968
and having
a great time, you know?

290
00:14:25,968 --> 00:14:28,234
This was my introduction
to Jazz Alley,

291
00:14:28,234 --> 00:14:32,133
and I'm going, "What did
I get myself into here?"

292
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:35,667
Dinner specials coming?
-Right now.

293
00:14:35,667 --> 00:14:37,067
We got two of them?

294
00:14:37,067 --> 00:14:38,434
-I've been really lucky
with some of the employees

295
00:14:38,434 --> 00:14:39,567
that I've had.

296
00:14:39,567 --> 00:14:40,701
The reason that they're here

297
00:14:40,701 --> 00:14:42,801
is because they all have
a passion for the music.

298
00:14:42,801 --> 00:14:45,901
They're all excited
about being involved

299
00:14:45,901 --> 00:14:49,901
in some way with the music
and being touched by it.

300
00:14:49,901 --> 00:14:53,100
-One, two, three, four, five.

301
00:14:53,100 --> 00:14:55,000
♪ Ooh ♪

302
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:58,033
-To be able to have
had the opportunity

303
00:14:58,033 --> 00:14:59,934
to listen to Betty Carter,

304
00:14:59,934 --> 00:15:02,934
a uniquely different show
every night...

305
00:15:02,934 --> 00:15:06,767
-♪ What a little moonlight
can do to you ♪

306
00:15:06,767 --> 00:15:09,901
-And one night
she's so wonderful

307
00:15:09,901 --> 00:15:12,467
and on fire and gracious,

308
00:15:12,467 --> 00:15:14,367
and another night,
she'll be doing the same thing

309
00:15:14,367 --> 00:15:17,167
and she'll turn around
as she's singing,

310
00:15:17,167 --> 00:15:19,501
and I see her from the side

311
00:15:19,501 --> 00:15:23,501
and I see her turning around
and yelling at the drummer,

312
00:15:23,501 --> 00:15:25,300
"Pick up the pace,
God damn it!"

313
00:15:25,300 --> 00:15:29,033
And then she'll turn back to the
crowd and like, nobody saw it.

314
00:15:29,033 --> 00:15:34,934
-♪ So in love ♪

315
00:15:34,934 --> 00:15:38,801
-I think one of
the most popular artists

316
00:15:38,801 --> 00:15:40,734
that used to come
to the Jazz Alley

317
00:15:40,734 --> 00:15:44,501
on a regular basis
was the pianist Gene Harris.

318
00:15:44,501 --> 00:15:46,534
And there was something
about the way

319
00:15:46,534 --> 00:15:49,567
that Gene Harris
communicated to the audience.

320
00:15:49,567 --> 00:15:54,501
I think it was just through
his pure pleasure of playing,

321
00:15:54,501 --> 00:15:57,000
and he just drew people in

322
00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,868
in a way that I've never seen
any other performer,

323
00:16:00,868 --> 00:16:02,868
certainly, you know,
jazz performer do.

324
00:16:02,868 --> 00:16:06,100
-So many amazing
performances there.

325
00:16:06,100 --> 00:16:09,133
One of the funnier ones
that's legendary in Seattle

326
00:16:09,133 --> 00:16:12,334
is Abdullah Ibrahim,
the great South African pianist

327
00:16:12,334 --> 00:16:16,133
who came in with his band Ekaya
and wouldn't get off the stage.

328
00:16:16,133 --> 00:16:18,033
-I kept grabbing
the microphone, thinking,

329
00:16:18,033 --> 00:16:20,267
"Oh, okay, now he's over,"
and I go,

330
00:16:20,267 --> 00:16:22,767
"Let's hear it for..." you know?

331
00:16:22,767 --> 00:16:24,400
And then he started
playing something else.

332
00:16:24,400 --> 00:16:25,901
-I can't remember
how long the show was.

333
00:16:25,901 --> 00:16:28,467
It might have gone on
for like, 2 1/2 hours.

334
00:16:28,467 --> 00:16:30,901
-They played for
3 hours and 10 minutes straight

335
00:16:30,901 --> 00:16:32,834
without a break. [ Laughs ]

336
00:16:32,834 --> 00:16:37,767
♪♪

337
00:16:37,767 --> 00:16:41,634
-There's been a lot of really
amazing legends, really.

338
00:16:41,634 --> 00:16:45,234
Dizzy Gillespie, for instance,
played his very last gig there.

339
00:16:45,234 --> 00:16:48,667
-I believe it was Friday night,
the second show,

340
00:16:48,667 --> 00:16:51,701
he was back in the band room.

341
00:16:51,701 --> 00:16:54,667
He had a nurse
traveling with him.

342
00:16:54,667 --> 00:16:57,701
He'd been ill and they said,
"Well, he's not feeling well."

343
00:16:57,701 --> 00:17:00,501
You know, we got a full house
here for the second show

344
00:17:00,501 --> 00:17:01,868
and the crowd's waiting.

345
00:17:01,868 --> 00:17:04,667
I'm thinking I'm going to
have to cancel the show.

346
00:17:04,667 --> 00:17:08,534
Finally, they come out and said,
"Okay, he's going to play,

347
00:17:08,534 --> 00:17:11,367
and he comes walking out
of the dressing room."

348
00:17:11,367 --> 00:17:13,400
He's got a male nurse.

349
00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,667
He's got his arm
around his arm helping him,

350
00:17:16,667 --> 00:17:19,767
and he starts walking --
they had these wood stairs

351
00:17:19,767 --> 00:17:22,100
that walked up to the stage
then, and he,

352
00:17:22,100 --> 00:17:26,734
bom, bom, bom, walks up and
starts clowning around on stage

353
00:17:26,734 --> 00:17:28,868
and plays
this incredible set of music.

354
00:17:28,868 --> 00:17:33,234
♪♪

355
00:17:33,234 --> 00:17:37,000
And you go, "Wow, where did
that come from?"

356
00:17:37,000 --> 00:17:40,501
♪♪

357
00:17:40,501 --> 00:17:44,334
-It's kind of hard
being around for 27 years,

358
00:17:44,334 --> 00:17:48,801
and a lot of those people
that we that we knew and loved

359
00:17:48,801 --> 00:17:52,133
and worked with year in
and year out are all gone now.

360
00:17:52,133 --> 00:17:55,467
You know, for example,
Ray Brown just passed away.

361
00:17:55,467 --> 00:17:58,100
Stanley Turrentine,
Betty Carter,

362
00:17:58,100 --> 00:18:03,033
Dizzy Gillespie,
Dexter, Stan Getz

363
00:18:03,033 --> 00:18:05,167
and all of those people
were remarkable.

364
00:18:05,167 --> 00:18:09,501
To be around them was so
enlightening and so fulfilling

365
00:18:09,501 --> 00:18:15,000
that it was really hard
to see them go.

366
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:16,501
-Truth is,

367
00:18:16,501 --> 00:18:20,100
if the Alley had only been
about booking big names,

368
00:18:20,100 --> 00:18:23,767
I'm not sure they'd be
celebrating their 30th birthday.

369
00:18:23,767 --> 00:18:26,701
Over the years,
John has booked a lot of artists

370
00:18:26,701 --> 00:18:30,167
who first played the club
as virtual strangers.

371
00:18:30,167 --> 00:18:32,968
-When I started at KPLU,
I was the morning jazz host

372
00:18:32,968 --> 00:18:36,234
and John Dimitriou
used to call me up and say,

373
00:18:36,234 --> 00:18:37,634
"Hey, what's going on?

374
00:18:37,634 --> 00:18:40,367
Who's hot right now?
Who do you like?"

375
00:18:40,367 --> 00:18:43,534
And a couple of weeks before one
of his phone calls to me,

376
00:18:43,534 --> 00:18:47,400
I was in New York
and I saw a young piano player

377
00:18:47,400 --> 00:18:49,667
by the name of Harry Connick Jr,

378
00:18:49,667 --> 00:18:52,667
and when I went back to Seattle
and John called me and he said,

379
00:18:52,667 --> 00:18:54,234
"Oh, you know,
who's hot right now?"

380
00:18:54,234 --> 00:18:57,334
And I said, "You know, there's
this guy, Harry Connick Jr.

381
00:18:57,334 --> 00:18:58,567
you ought to look into.

382
00:18:58,567 --> 00:19:01,133
I mean,
this guy's got a lot of talent."

383
00:19:01,133 --> 00:19:04,234
And so John brought him
out to the Alley.

384
00:19:04,234 --> 00:19:06,033
And the timing
was fortunate for him, too,

385
00:19:06,033 --> 00:19:09,133
because "When Harry Met Sally,"
the movie,

386
00:19:09,133 --> 00:19:10,734
had just been released.

387
00:19:10,734 --> 00:19:13,467
So he thought after that,
I had some kind of magic touch,

388
00:19:13,467 --> 00:19:14,801
but I didn't.

389
00:19:14,801 --> 00:19:17,434
I just kind of got lucky
on that one.

390
00:19:17,434 --> 00:19:19,767
-If John Dimitriou
knows anything,

391
00:19:19,767 --> 00:19:22,300
he knows jazz is no longer
the private domain

392
00:19:22,300 --> 00:19:26,567
of an elite group of insiders.

393
00:19:26,567 --> 00:19:29,634
Now, jazz is about
inviting everybody.

394
00:19:29,634 --> 00:19:35,234
♪♪

395
00:19:35,234 --> 00:19:40,834
♪♪

396
00:19:40,834 --> 00:19:43,667
-If you talk to me about
Jazz Alley,

397
00:19:43,667 --> 00:19:46,834
the name is "jazz."

398
00:19:46,834 --> 00:19:52,567
I think they play
only jazz music in this club.

399
00:19:52,567 --> 00:19:56,767
This is my third time to come
in Jazz Alley.

400
00:19:56,767 --> 00:20:04,067
Maybe that prove they like
what I do.

401
00:20:04,067 --> 00:20:08,667
-Music evolves.
It just keeps evolving.

402
00:20:08,667 --> 00:20:11,968
-[Singing in her language]

403
00:20:11,968 --> 00:20:18,501
♪♪

404
00:20:18,501 --> 00:20:21,534
-I think that's what
keeps the club interesting

405
00:20:21,534 --> 00:20:24,000
and probably helps
the success of the club,

406
00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:25,901
because it reaches out
to more people.

407
00:20:25,901 --> 00:20:27,901
If you play lots
of different styles,

408
00:20:27,901 --> 00:20:29,968
you cast the jazz net wider

409
00:20:29,968 --> 00:20:32,067
and you bring in
more people that way.

410
00:20:32,067 --> 00:20:35,200
♪♪

411
00:20:35,200 --> 00:20:38,734
-A lot of the kids coming up

412
00:20:38,734 --> 00:20:43,334
don't want to play the music
of the old masters anymore,

413
00:20:43,334 --> 00:20:45,100
and I can't say as I blame them.

414
00:20:45,100 --> 00:20:46,567
I think that we need to learn

415
00:20:46,567 --> 00:20:49,133
that it's really important
that we concentrate

416
00:20:49,133 --> 00:20:50,868
on the quality of the music,

417
00:20:50,868 --> 00:20:53,801
the musicianship,
what's being performed on stage,

418
00:20:53,801 --> 00:20:55,167
and how it's making us feel,

419
00:20:55,167 --> 00:20:57,601
not only on stage
but also in the audience.

420
00:20:57,601 --> 00:21:03,667
And that's kind of what we're
working towards in our bookings.

421
00:21:03,667 --> 00:21:05,534
-He's -- What do you call it?

422
00:21:05,534 --> 00:21:10,667
Diversified his portfolio,
musically, at the expense

423
00:21:10,667 --> 00:21:13,567
of the really sincere jazz fan,

424
00:21:13,567 --> 00:21:16,234
but he's still in business.

425
00:21:16,234 --> 00:21:19,767
-Lawrence Welk always used
to call this "Take a Train."

426
00:21:19,767 --> 00:21:22,767
[ Laughter ]

427
00:21:24,167 --> 00:21:26,033
-It's still really important
to recognize that

428
00:21:26,033 --> 00:21:29,167
if he weren't there, we wouldn't
hear Nicholas Payton,

429
00:21:29,167 --> 00:21:31,067
we wouldn't hear
Oscar Peterson,

430
00:21:31,067 --> 00:21:33,400
we wouldn't hear
Marian McPartland.

431
00:21:33,400 --> 00:21:39,300
♪♪

432
00:21:39,300 --> 00:21:45,167
♪♪

433
00:21:45,167 --> 00:21:51,067
♪♪

434
00:21:51,067 --> 00:21:56,167
-I'm 57 now,
and I have an 18-year-old

435
00:21:56,167 --> 00:21:59,033
who is interested in music,
and he works here.

436
00:21:59,033 --> 00:22:01,133
He works back in the kitchen.

437
00:22:01,133 --> 00:22:04,367
He likes being behind
the scenes, like his dad,

438
00:22:04,367 --> 00:22:06,400
but he has a passion
for the music.

439
00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:09,367
And I was thinking to myself,

440
00:22:09,367 --> 00:22:11,634
although I haven't really
talked it over with him,

441
00:22:11,634 --> 00:22:14,467
that I'll probably be looking
to get out of this

442
00:22:14,467 --> 00:22:18,100
somewhere around the time
I'm 70,

443
00:22:18,100 --> 00:22:21,200
which would make him 30-31,

444
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,334
which is the same time
that I started Jazz Alley.

445
00:22:23,334 --> 00:22:25,868
That's the age I was
when I started Jazz Alley.

446
00:22:25,868 --> 00:22:28,200
So maybe, who knows, maybe
he'll come in and take over

447
00:22:28,200 --> 00:22:32,367
and send the old man home
and keep the flame burning.

448
00:22:34,501 --> 00:22:37,334
-♪ I betcha' goin' fishin'
all o' the time

449
00:22:37,334 --> 00:22:39,100
♪ Baby goin' fishing too ♪

450
00:22:39,100 --> 00:22:42,767
♪ Bet your life
your sweet wife ♪

451
00:22:42,767 --> 00:22:45,300
♪ Catch more fish than you ♪

452
00:22:45,300 --> 00:22:49,100
♪ Many fish bites if
you got good bait ♪

453
00:22:49,100 --> 00:22:51,868
♪ Here's a little tip
I would like to relate ♪

454
00:22:51,868 --> 00:22:53,701
♪ With my pole and my line ♪

455
00:22:53,701 --> 00:22:55,934
♪ I'm a goin' fishin', mama,
I'm goin' fishin' ♪

456
00:22:55,934 --> 00:22:58,234
♪ And my baby
goin' fishin' too ♪

457
00:22:58,234 --> 00:23:01,701
♪ I went on down to
my favorite fishin' hole ♪

458
00:23:01,701 --> 00:23:04,267
♪ I got myself a pole and line ♪

459
00:23:04,267 --> 00:23:05,701
♪ Caught a nine poun' catfish ♪

460
00:23:05,701 --> 00:23:07,100
♪ On the bottom,
yes, I got him ♪

461
00:23:07,100 --> 00:23:10,000
♪ Home to mama by supper time ♪

462
00:23:10,000 --> 00:23:13,234
♪ Many fish bites
if you got good bait ♪

463
00:23:13,234 --> 00:23:15,567
♪ Here's a little tip that
I would like to relate ♪

464
00:23:15,567 --> 00:23:20,133
♪ Baby, I'm going fishing ♪

465
00:23:20,133 --> 00:23:23,567
♪ Going fishing, baby,
going fishing ♪

466
00:23:23,567 --> 00:23:26,067
♪ Baby brother 'bout to run me
up outta my mind ♪

467
00:23:26,067 --> 00:23:29,167
♪ Sayin', "Man, can I go
fishin' with you?" ♪

468
00:23:29,167 --> 00:23:31,667
♪ So I took him on down to
my favorite fishin' hole ♪

469
00:23:31,667 --> 00:23:34,334
♪ Now, what do you think that
brother of mine did do? ♪

470
00:23:34,334 --> 00:23:35,667
♪ Caught a seven poun' catfish ♪

471
00:23:35,667 --> 00:23:37,067
♪ On the bottom,
hear me, got him ♪

472
00:23:37,067 --> 00:23:40,067
♪ Now he took him home to Mama,
he was real gone ♪

473
00:23:40,067 --> 00:23:42,400
♪ Baby, with his line ♪

474
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:43,801
♪ He's going fishing ♪

475
00:23:43,801 --> 00:23:45,334
♪ Mama, going fishing ♪

476
00:23:45,334 --> 00:23:46,834
♪ Baby going fishing too ♪

477
00:23:46,834 --> 00:23:50,100
♪ I betcha' goin' fishin',
baby, all o' the time ♪

478
00:23:50,100 --> 00:23:52,067
♪ Baby's going fishing too ♪

479
00:23:52,067 --> 00:23:55,400
♪ Bet your life,
your sweet life ♪

480
00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:58,167
♪ I gonna catch more fish
than you ♪

481
00:23:58,167 --> 00:24:01,400
♪ Many fish bites
if you got good bait ♪

482
00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,033
♪ Here's a tip that
I would like to relate ♪

483
00:24:04,033 --> 00:24:05,834
♪ Baby, and my line ♪

484
00:24:05,834 --> 00:24:08,534
♪ I'm going fishin', Mama,
going fishin' ♪

485
00:24:08,534 --> 00:24:10,501
♪ And the baby going
fishin' too ♪

486
00:24:10,501 --> 00:24:18,467
♪♪

487
00:24:18,467 --> 00:24:20,234
[ Cheers and applause ]

488
00:24:20,234 --> 00:24:23,067
-Yeah.
That's the power of jazz.

489
00:24:23,067 --> 00:24:28,801
♪♪

