Dick Gibson's Jazz Party film

[duaneiac]

Recently posted to YouTube, a documentary about the annual jazz parties hosted by Dick & Maddie Gibson.  A number of jazz legends are seen performing including Phil Woods, Zoot Sims, Joe Venuti, Clark Terry, Bob Wilber, Ruby Braff, Ralph Sutton, Milt Hinton, Tommy Flanagan, Sir Roland Hanna and Eubie Blake among others.

 

[JSngry]

Joe Venetian on soprano?!?!?!?!

 

Thanks for posting that. Whole 'nother world(s).

[JSngry]

For god only knows whatever reasons, perhaps my favorite moment comes early on, with Bob Wilber playing that solo in the lobby/living room, I like Bob Wilber more often than I probably should, and precisely for the reasons I probably shouldn't like him so much. But he is who he is, and, yeah, I like that about him, he's firmly who he is, he's thought about it, made his choices, and has owned them.

Just wondering, how did the Gibsons make their money?

[duaneiac]

From his obit in the NY Times:

Mr. Gibson had a widely varied career. An expert on Oriental rugs and cloisonne, he also wrote fiction, worked as an investment banker and made a fortune by forming the Water Pik company, which he sold in 1967.

http://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/20/arts/dick-gibson-jazz-producer-and-fan-72.html

[JSngry]

Water Pik!

I have used his product, both pre- and post-1967, indirectly subsidizing jazz in the process. Who knew!