Jazz icon Duke Ellington made an impromptu recording of his concert at the old Hamilton Forum in 1954. Result: A two-disc set came out in the '90s.
| Jazz icon Duke Ellington made an impromptu recording of his concert at the old Hamilton Forum in 1954. Result: A two-disc set came out in the '90s. |
Just another night in Hamilton, Feb. 8, 1954. That would be 53 years ago tomorrow.
It was a Monday. Most people stayed in that evening, listened to the radio, read a book, played Parcheesi. Some watched TV, though not many homes had one yet. CHCH was still a few months from sign-on.
But on Barton East that night, there was entertainment born in another era. Duke Ellington, jazz royalty, played in a hockey rink called The Hamilton Forum. The seats were wood, the acoustics bad, the ambience a challenge.
But still, it was Ellington, and a couple of thousand people turned out. He wasn't putting out many records at that point. The glory days of the early '40s had passed and it would still be a couple of years until Ellington was rediscovered at the Newport Jazz Festival.
For some reason, though, Ellington decided to record that evening on Barton. It was done without benefit of advance microphone setup or balance and its existence was unknown until discovered in a private collection. A two-disc set came out on a small label in the '90s.
Not long ago, local jazz fan Mark Kempf stumbled across that recording and a light went on.
Kempf is the chair of this year's edition of the big annual concert for the Hamilton All Star Jazz Band.
Hundreds of young people have discovered jazz through the band that Russ Weil founded 23 years ago. They've put out nine CDs and travelled far. The annual 1,000-ticket concert is the way they cover their costs.
They always need a theme and finding that CD gave Kempf the idea for this year. They would recreate the night Ellington played the Forum.
Just as Ellington and his 14-piece band did, they would play Satin Doll, Don't Get Around Much Anymore, Take The "A" Train, Caravan, The Mooche and more. They would dress volunteers in clothes of the era. On a big screen behind the band, they would scroll images of Hamilton in the '50s -- the Forum, the streets, the people.
Kempf would like to hear from anyone who might have images of the time. Or memories of the concert itself.
It was Sam Hebscher who booked Ellington that night. He's 89, sharp, living well in a condo downtown.
Hebscher was manager of the Palace, Capitol and Savoy theatres. One day, CHCH founder Ken Soble stopped by the Palace and took Hebscher for a drive.
They pulled in front of an old rink at Barton and Sanford. Soble said he was going to buy it, fix it up and call it The Hamilton Forum.
He wanted Hebscher to run it for him, as well as buy movies to air on CHCH. Soble brought the Forum up to fire code, installed a new heating system, put in a new entrance.
It opened in October 1953 and four months later the Forum was hosting Ellington.
Hebscher had booked him twice at the Palace. Ellington had even offered Hebscher a road manager's job, but he knew that was no line for a family man.
In that first week of February 1954, Ellington and the band were just finishing a week at the Colonial Tavern in Toronto.
Then it would be on to a week at the Howard Theatre in Washington and a week at the Apollo in New York.
Hebscher got a call from Associated Booking, wondering if he wanted the band for that one night after Toronto. Cost, $1,500.
He knew he could move the tickets and made the deal.
He brought in a grand piano and had the Forum ice covered with boards. It would have been cold sitting down there, but Ellington never complained.
"When he started in with "A" Train, the house came down," Hebscher says.
But beyond that, the show's a little fuzzy. Hebscher was busy in the office, going over the night's receipts and paying people.
He wasn't aware the show was being recorded that night. He only learned of the CD recently, when he discovered it in a bin of used CDs for $2.
At the end, just before the band plays a short and breezy God Save The Queen, we hear Ellington thank the Hamilton crowd "for the wonderful way you've inspired us this evening. You're very beautiful, very sweet and we do love you madly."
It was mostly hockey games, home shows and wrestling that filled the Forum after that.
Lung cancer took Ellington in 1974. The Forum fell two years later.
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The Hamilton All Stars' Evening With Ellington is Saturday, April 14 at Redeemer College. Tickets will be available through the Ancaster Community Services Centre at 905-648-6675.
To reach Mark Kempf with memories or pictures, call 905-525-7259.
StreetBeat appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
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