I was at a recording session a few years back and the piano player (I won’t mention any names here) told a great story about playing a gig at the White House in the April of 1969 with the Navy band. The band played at the White House occasionally and thought nothing of it really.

Everything was going fine, they set up and the band was getting ready for any other gig that they played for “official” gigs at the White House. They apparantly were NOT told what the occasion was however.

So the downbeat gets closer and suddenly Dizzy Gillespie walks in with his horn. Then Clark Terry comes strolling in. Then Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan show up along with Earl (Fatha) Hines, Billy Taylor, Dave Brubeck, Hank Jones, Joe Williams and a few others – including Duke Ellington himself.

Turns out the gig was for Duke Ellington’s 70th birthday party hosted by the Richard Nixon White House. To make a long story short, the gig went well into the early morning hours, long after Nixon and his wife went to bed. Many of the musicians were getting stoned right in the White House! Nixon came down late and told them to stay as long as they wanted.

Definitely a gig to remember, and one that wouldn’t be pulled off quite like that today, mainly because of security issues and the fact that most jazz musicians now I think are “tamer” than they were decades ago.

I thought of that story when I watched this video of Barack Obama telling Tom Brokaw how he would like to bring the Arts to the White House, including great jazz musicians.

This is great news to hear. If Barack can do 50% of what he says he is going to do in the next 4 years, the guy will be a hero. Hell, even if he pulls off a portion of it. But I do hope this one will come to pass. Jam sessions at the White house again…has a nice ring to it!

16 Responses to “Jazz at the White House Again?”