Peter Cox Musical Memorial

[Pete C]

Last night’s musical memorial for Peter Cox at Roulette was more than a tribute to one man, it was a celebration of an artistic ecosystem.

But first, for those who didn’t know him, who was Peter Cox? Peter was the jazz fan and supporter extraordinaire. He moved to New York from London about 20 years ago to be in the thick of the music he loved. And boy did he ever take advantage of the thick, going out 3 or 4 times a week to shows. In a certain jazz subculture, the downtown side, or, to use a somewhat antiquated term, the avant-garde side, he was ubiquitous, a legendary fan. For his email handle, this transplanted Brit chose BigAppleJazzMan. I probably saw him at shows for a year or two before we were introduced. I rarely saw Peter at more mainstream, “uptown” jazz gigs, but if I were going to an event at (first) The Knitting Factory, (then) Tonic, (and finally) The Stone, odds are I’d see Peter Cox there. And if my namesake and I were chatting before a show and someone called out, “Peter” or “Pete” I didn’t have to turn around—I knew it was for him.

And most of the musicians knew him. Because we’re talking about a very particular musical subculture, where the music could be any or all these things: challenging, intense, risky, raw, engaging, but definitely not commercial. We’re talking about music making that has a relatively small in size, but huge in loyalty, audience. We’re talking about a form where communion with the audience (oh how this atheist wishes he could find a better word) is paramount. In a music that’s based on musicians’ deep listening to each other, the deep listeners in the audience are an important part of the equation. Peter was one of the deepest listeners. And dozens of musicians and friends came out to Roulette last night to honor him.

Many musicians played, some I knew, some I didn’t, and a few writers read, I among them. I feared that the loose nature of the evening, no set program, could spell possible chaos, but remarkably the opposite happened, and a lot of credit has to go to Mat Maneri, who acted as a sort of music director, but I use the term director rather loosely, perhaps catalyst says it better. So musicians formed ad hoc groups, everyone respected time limitations, and some fabulous music happened, from the freest of improvisation to a wonderful rendition of “All the Things You Are” by a quartet featuring pianist Connie Crothers, and the touching surprise, toward the end, of a rendition of “For All We Know” by Stephanie Stone, the 92-year-old reigning queen of the scene, and a former cabaret chanteuse herself. Stephanie and her late husband Irving were such ardent supporters of the music that John Zorn named his alternative music space The Stone.

Sure, ideally all arts are a dialogue between the artist and the audience, the “producer” and the “consumer,” but it’s really at the core of the live jazz experience. The eagerness of all these musicians Peter supported all those years to play in his honor really says a lot--about Peter and about those particular musicians, but also about the music and its audience more generally.

It was especially touching to see Peter’s three sons speaking and being part of this audience. Peter saw little of them over the last two decades of his life, separated by an ocean. Of course they knew of his passion for the music, but I don’t think they were prepared for the magnitude of love and gratitude for their father from his adopted community. I can’t imagine a better way for them to say goodbye to their father or a better bunch of people to say it with.

Edited March 28, 2013 by Pete C

[7/4]

Thanks for the report. I saw him at all the gigs, but really only chatted with him once, years ago. Nice guy.

[Steve Reynolds]

Pete:

This is the most gorgeous thing you have ever written.

Barbara (my wife) and I really wanted to go but being a weeknight and us being in New Jersey we were unable to attend.

I had met Peter casually a few years back at a Vision Festival show and as I had started to going to more shows over the past 3 years, I started a nice rapport with the beautiful man.

And once my wife met him - and started seeing him usually at her favorite place (mine, too) Cornelia Street Cafe - and sitting next to him on the last night of Vision Fest last summer, she ALWAYS looked forward to seeing Peter - and when he hadn't been around, she was always asking me - was Peter at the show (on the nights I went without her) and then when she heard the news, she gasped - and now the little treks to NY that we seem to take a coupld of times a month will be a little less full, as now we know we won't have the hope that Peter will be at the show....

and on to the next show this Saturday......

[Pete C]

Thanks, Steve.

[CraigP]

Yes, thanks for posting this. It's a nice way to encapsulate what this genre of music means to us in the audience.