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Jack Nimitz: Baritone-in-Chief
Jack Nimitz
saxophone, baritone1930 - 2009
He was, in fact, playing remarkably well almost to his last labored breath (Nimitz had suffered from emphysema for several years), appearing with his quintet in early May and withdrawing from a performance with 
Med Flory
saxophone, tenor1926 - 2014
Woody Herman
band / ensemble / orchestra1913 - 1987
Stan Kenton
piano1911 - 1979
Gerald Wilson
composer / conductor1918 - 2014
Terry Gibbs
vibraphoneb.1924
Oliver Nelson
saxophone1932 - 1975
Frank Capp
drumsb.1931
Bill Perkins
guitar1924 - 2003
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto1920 - 1955
Jack Nimitz and I grew up in Washington, DC, he as a rising star on baritone sax, me as a rudderless craft heading nowhere in particular. As he was five years older (and a musician), our personal contact was nil; I had to admire his artistry from afar, which was the case for many years. The first time I heard him was on a Brunswick LP (circa 1953) by THE Orchestra, an outstanding ensemble led by drummer Joe Timer and fronted by disc jockey Willis Conover who would later earn fame as host of an enormously popular nightly jazz radio program heard around the world via shortwave on the Voice of America. Nimitz' solos on the Bill Potts
b.1928
Of course I had no idea of where those places might be, and perhaps Nimitz didn't either. But after brief stints with bands led by Bob Astor, Johnny Bothwell and Daryl Harpa, he was recruited by Herman to anchor a reed section whose members included Perkins and Dick Hafer
saxophone
b.1927
In spite of his conspicuous talents, Nimitz was a self-effacing man, so much so that he recorded his first album as leader, Confirmation, in 1995, the same year he qualified to earn Social Security benefits. While that quartet session is splendid, a second album, Yesterday and Today, released in 2007, is even better. It consists of two studio dates recorded fifty years apart (1957, 2007), the earlier with famed trombonist 
Bill Harris
saxophone
Dave Carpenter
bass
1959 - 2008
Joe La Barbera
drums
b.1948
Nimitz kept his proficiency unimpaired by playing whenever, wherever and as often as he could. So imposing was his presence that he was nicknamed "the Admiral" after the celebrated World War II Naval commander Chester A. Nimitz. He started playing clarinet at age ten, alto sax four years later, but it was the baritone that captured his heart. "It sounded so warm and nice and dark and rich," he recalled in an interview in the Los Angeles Times. "The bottom notes are the best notes in the whole orchestra because if you don't have a good bottom, nothing really works." As many a bandleader learned, when Nimitz was playing baritone everything worked, whether in a big band or in smaller groups such as Super Sax, the Lighthouse All-Stars or pianist 
Steve Strazzeri
b.1930
As Nimitz was firmly settled on the West Coast from the early 1960s and I was in the East or Midwest (Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Illinois), our paths seldom crossed, and I said not much more than "hello" to him whenever they did. That is until 2007, when Nimitz was alone in the lobby of the Sheraton LAX Four Points Hotel during a four-day Ken Poston event and I approached him again, introducing myself as always as a fellow Washingtonian. This time he wanted to talk, and we chatted amiably for more than half an hour. I can't recall what was said, but toward the end of our conversation I mentioned how much I'd admired his playing since I first heard him on THE Orchestra in DC, and how I'd worn the grooves of that LP to mush and had to replace it with a CD, courtesy of a friend in California. To my surprise, Nimitz said, "I don't have a copy of that album." Not to worry, I said. I asked for his address, and on returning home to Albuquerque, burned a copy and mailed it to him. He thanked me, and I thought that would be the end of it. And it probably would have been were it not for Nimitz's uncommon thoughtfulness.
In autumn 2008, while I was slowly recovering from an adverse reaction to some sedatives that had left me weakened and basically housebound (I'd lost about forty pounds and was dizzy much of the time), the phone rang, and when I answered, the voice at the other end said, "Hi. This is Jack Nimitz. I heard you hadn't been feeling well and wanted to see how you're doing." To say you could have floored me with a feather would be an enormous understatement. As we talked I kept thinking, "What a nice thing to do for someone you hardly know." In May, when Betty and I returned to LA for another Poston event, I looked forward to seeing Nimitz again with Med Flory's band, only to learn that he'd been hospitalized with, we were told, pneumonia. I called information, got the hospital's number and started phoning. No luck. The call couldn't be completed as dialed. Next day I called again, got a second number, and this time it worked. I believe Nimitz was surprised but happy that I was able to reach him, and we chatted for a while until I sensed he was too tired to continue. I had brought another CD for him but gave it to one of Flory's sidemen to deliver on my behalf, as I hadn't enough time to get to the hospital. I don't know if he ever received it. I hope so.
Rest in peace, Jack. You were a giant on your horn, a generous and caring man, and I wish I'd known you better.
Postscript
Jack Nimitz' funeral service was held June 20 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood. My thanks to Steven Harris, who was there, for sending a report. About 150 people attended including Med Flory and Super Sax who played two songs, "Just Friends" and "Scrapple from the Apple," with Schroeder sitting in for Nimitz on baritone. Others in the group were alto 
Lanny Morgan
saxophone
b.1934
Don Menza
saxophone
b.1936Frank Capp
drums
b.1931
Chuck Berghofer
bass, acoustic
b.1937
Others attending the service included Gerald Wilson, 
Bill Holman
composer / conductor
- 2024
Howard Rumsey
bass, acoustic
1917 - 2015
Jeff Clayton
saxophone
1954 - 2020
Gary Foster
woodwinds
b.1936
Mike Barone
composer / conductor
b.1936Polly Podewell
b.1949
James Newton
flute
b.1953
Charles Owens
saxophone, tenor
b.1939
Louis Van Taylor
saxophone
b.1954
NEA Jazz Masters
Composer / arranger / bandleader Bill Holman is one of seven recipients of the 2010 NEA Jazz Masters Award presented by the National Endowment for the Arts. The awards will be presented next January to Holman, pianist / composer / educators 
Muhal Richard Abrams
piano
1930 - 2017
Kenny Barron
piano
b.1943
Bobby Hutcherson
vibraphone
1941 - 2016
Yusef Lateef
woodwinds
1920 - 2013
Annie Ross
vocals
1930 - 2020
Cedar Walton
piano
1934 - 2013
Out and About
On May 30, Betty and I were at the Albuquerque Museum for an outdoor performance of the music of 
Dizzy Gillespie
trumpet
1917 - 1993
Bobby Shew
trumpet
b.1941
Benny Golson
saxophone, tenor
1929 - 2024
Thelonious Monk
piano
1917 - 1982
Tadd Dameron
piano
1917 - 1965
On June 18, while Betty was packing her suitcase for a family reunion (her family) in Roswell, NM, I was at The Outpost Performing Space to see and hear 17 year old alto saxophone prodigy 
Grace Kelly
saxophone
b.1992
Betty's sister June and brother-in-law Clarke Schiller were visiting the following week, and we went to Santa Fe (Betty and June on the Rail Runner train, Clarke and I in my car) for lunch, dinner and an outdoor concert at St. Johns College by multi-reedman Arlen Asher who was celebrating his eightieth birthday. During his two sets Asher played soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones, clarinet, bass clarinet and flute, and played each one about as well as one could wish. He's been one of Santa Fe's musical treasures for more than half a century, and shows no sign of losing any ground to Father Time.
The following evening, sans Betty, I returned to The Outpost for a concert by Los Angeles-based pianist / singer John Proulx's quartet with special guest Bobby Shew. The opening act, drummer Cal Haines' trio, doubled as Proulx's rhythm section. Proulx is a fine pianist who is known as well for his 
Chet Baker
trumpet and vocals
1929 - 1988
On the Horizon
August 28-30 are the dates for the ninth annual Prescott (AZ) Jazz Summit, about two hours (or less) northwest of Phoenix. On the menu are concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoon, Saturday afternoon workshops / clinics for students, a Friday evening "Meet the Musicians" dinner, and two Sunday morning Jazz brunches. The 2009 Summit opens, as usual, with a free noontime concert at the Prescott Courthouse Square. Those scheduled to perform include trumpeters 
Mike Vax
trumpet
Carl Saunders
trumpet
1942 - 2023
Scott Whitfield
trombone
b.1963
And that's it for now. Until next time, keep swingin...'!
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