Dr. Jackie
On Sunday June 15, the historic Tivoli Theatre in Hamilton will be the scene of a special event, Jackie Washington Day, a tribute to our "resident legend" Jackie Washington. It's going to be a great night of music including performances by Ian Thomas, Jeff Healey, Tom Wilson, Ken Whiteley, Mose Scarlett, Jackie Washington, and a video performance from Daniel Lanois. Visit www.jackiewashington.com for updated information. This evening will also mark the official launch of Jackie's new album with Ken Whiteley and Mose Scarlett. The CD titled Scarlett, Washington & Whiteley Sitting On A Rainbow is the trio's third recording for Borealis (available at www.borealisrecords.com). Tickets for the concert are $15, available at the Tivoli Theatre Box Office. Call 905-777-9777 or toll free 1-877-572-3773. Inquiries: info@jackiewashington.com. All proceeds from the event will go to the Jackie Washington Living Trust. Photo by Shawn McAlpine
On June 3, when McMaster University's Faculty of Humanities and Arts & Science confers an honourary Doctorate of Letters on Jackie Washington, the newly acknowledged Dr. Jackie will take an unsteady bow on his artificial leg and probably head off with his J-45 to another gig. With another new CD on Borealis due this month, and summer bookings ahead, he's a busy man at 83 years young.
To be sure, it's not a medical degree, although Jackie's musical healing powers are legendary. After all, who doesn't feel ten times more alive when this singing encyclopedia of pre-bop jazz, early pop and blues charms his way through a deceptively polished set and leaves toes tapping and unanimous smiles in his wake. The magical impact of Jackie - oops, Dr. Jackie- is the stuff that no medical insurance can buy. As the late Peter Gzowski observed, "He makes you feel good, just being around him."
Okay, no question, Jackie is a unique good vibe incarnate. But, more essential, there soon emerges, in the words of the so many who sing his praises, an underpinning of genuine respect, of deeply felt gratitude, of love. For Lincoln Alexander, the former Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, Jackie "is one of the few jazz greats around here, an icon in his own right. Although he's stayed a Hamilton boy, he's highly regarded all over the damn country, all over the North American continent." For Sheila Copps, when she was Canada's Minister of Cultural Heritage, Jackie "never lost sight of his dream, and his enormous spirit and determination never faded. He is truly a great Canadian."
Still, a musician needs his chops so he can look at every other musician eye to eye, look and see in his own reflection a genuine article who means what he does and can really blow results. Listen to Amos Garrett, who in the 60s was nurtured by Jackie into jazz standards and whose Midnight Oasis solo years later fried Chet Atkins' mind. Amos said: "He's a naturally great rhythm guitar player and if you listen you can really hear how a jazz singer should phrase. He's a really underrated singer. He's got a truly nice voice and the way he phrases melodies is so natural."
And isn't that Jay McShann on Jackie's Keeping Out of Mischief CD, on Pyramid Records? The Jay McShann whose wartime band included a young Charlie Parker? "Yes, indeed," as Jackie likes to say. Here's Jay' take on Jackie: "He brought something new to a tune I recorded way back with Al Hibbler called "Get Me on Your Mind." Jackie really added something to that tune. He is wonderful." Peter Appleyard who decades ago had Jackie to guest on his TV show remembers: "He gave a unforgettable performance." Too bad we can't ask Lionel Hampton who, once during a gig, pushed Jackie's guitar chops on and on by urging, "Take another chorus. Take another!"
Let me fess up. Jackie's a dear friend and I've known him since he played a folk concert I produced in 1963. We've done two of Jackie's autobiographical books together, the most recent titled, More Than A Blues Singer: Jackie Washington Tells His Story, published by my Mini Mocho Press -and, yes, that was a plug! We even had our first disagreement when Jackie didn't feel comfortable with the inclusion of some anecdotes about racial tension in Hamilton's past. You see, Jackie likes to move on from sorrow. Ever notice that his blues often feel up and playful, not lowdown?
Jackie is truly a happy man, happy like a guy who's known unforgettable loss and deep depression and whose happiness now seems a double shot of joy -and not at all on the rocks. I used to be occasionally suspicious of his unflappable quipping laughter, his constant delight in everything, his compassionate amusement with the foibles, and sometimes cruelty, of others. Suspicious, that is, until I was walking down a hospital hallway one day, on the way to visit Jackie after his operation. I couldn't find his room until I heard the laughter. They'd amputated half of his leg and here he was, his naked stump plunk on the bed, laughing and flirting with three women at his bedside. In the words of Marie-Lynn Hammond, "Jackie is an incorrigible flirt."
A flirt, a consummate entertainer, a legend, a beloved hero to all walks of life, a national treasure, a gifted preserver and interpreter of the swing tradition, a treasured friend to many, a walking talking upper or -dare I say it?- a most natural high, a D.Litt., a man with The Jackie Washington Rotary Park named after him in Hamilton, an undeniable raconteur, an artist (you should check out his keenly detailed train drawings)..anything else?
Yes, one more. At my sixtieth birthday party recently Jackie threw caution to the wind and sang "Your Feet's Too Big" to a female guest, with size eleven feet, sitting beside him. She laughed for five minutes and, relieved by her reaction, we all laughed along with her. Yes, indeed, Jackie's one gutsy guy. And pure magic, that Dr. Jackie!
- James Strecker
James Strecker is the author or editor of over 20 books, a human development consultant, and director of Creativity Unlimited Consulting.