Riverboat's long preceded the train, the automobile, and few things but the horse, your own feet or horse drawn wagons. From the writings of Mark Twain to Gershwin the Mississippi river boat has been one of our cultural legends. The Mississippi connected New Orleans to Chicago and all points in between. Commerce and work would allow blacks from the south to experience life in a free state. And for the rare few, to move from the South to the North. In the early days of slavery, plantation owners had christianity forced upon the dis-planted Africans. The one saving grace, was that christianity afforded slaves one day free of labor. Regional African music would be replaced by gospel both original and church music.
The praise and worship, dancing and singing were profound relief's for the tortured worker's, and near universal conversion to Christianity would occur. The church needed a piano and other instruments would follow, thus learning and performing also occurred every Sunday. Music after working in the fields was allowed, within limits set by the land owner. While unions brought us the weekend, the church brought us Friday and Saturday night jam's with the inclusion of every genre of sound. These gathering or concerts were done out of sight and our of sound. In the north, clubs would hire negro musicians and the gospel turned blues became known as the Chicago sound throughout the twentieth century. Still Wrigley field was segregated through the '70's.
My long time friend and American legend, Leroy Vinegar began as a church pianist, but found few paying jobs, so being 6'6" and 250 pounds he turned the piano on its side and invented the walking bass technique used by half the jazz world. He would soon leave Georgia to play in Chicago, then on to New York City where played on Broadway with Previn and was the un-named in the Les McCan Eddy Harris Trio. He would leave New York, where he became both a Hollywood studio musician as well as playing every week for the Ozzie and Harriet Show, writing the famous Peter Gunn theme song along the way.
In the 80's he left LA, and moved to Portland, hooking up with Jim Pepper, and re-establishing Portland as a major Jazz Town. Jazz festivals would emerge he would continue with Mel Brown and Geoff Lee until 1999. There would be a Leroy Vinegar day established by the legislature, every May first. Friends from LA, New York and around the globe would come to these annual events, and the carry over party would always take place 6 blocks from my house at Leroy's girlfriend Carol's house. Good time had by all, and always a jam. I wouldn't mind going back in time to any one of these parties. Lot's of alcohol, lots of love, and never a single disturbance. Music even the most powerful jazz has the ability to sooth the wild beast.
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