I cant remember the exact dates, but it was probably close to twenty years ago that I was playing some music on The City of Napa paddle wheeler riverboat during the summertime tourist season over there in Napa Valley. We would start at Cuttings Wharf after loading up buses full of tourists and we would paddle up to the city of Napa and back. Food and drink and music and sightseeing were the standards. It was a fun gig. The first day that I was playing on the boat, a young woman approached me and said, Thats my boyfriend. He plays bass. You should get him to play with you. The kid she was talking about was a waiter and seemed like a friendly sort of guy. Its always awkward to handle a situation like this, because as a hired performer, you have the responsibility to maintain a professional level. An unknown sit-in can result in a real disaster, so I made the usual polite noises about how the owner really doesnt want me to have a jam type of a gig. The pretty young lady, named Natasha, responded saying, Im sure its okay for him to play. His Mom owns the boat. Hes got this little travel bass and amp with him, and Im sure it would be okay. Well, this situation became really awkward, because the kid seemed pretty young, and although his Mother, Barbre, in fact, owned the boat, and was my boss, I still had to be responsible for the level of quality of the music. This was too much of an unknown. So I started trying to think of acceptable reasons for him not to play with me [until I had a chance in private to hear him, to determine his skill level.]. Plus, I thought that if he was playing bass, who would serve the customers as a waiter. Fortunately, the young man, named Jeff, came to my rescue as Natasha and I were talking, and he said, Hey guys, Im too busy to play music, and Im not sure if I know your stuff, but Id love to play some music with you sometime together. He was really cool, and his Mom talked to me about him after the gig. He was a serious musician, turns out. She wondered what could he do to expand his musical horizons. We had a nice conversation. I suggested that Jeff venture into the Upright Bass category and add that discipline to his skill set. Barbre called me a few weeks later and asked some advice about an old Kay Bass she found that was structurally sound and at a really good price. She bought it for him for his birthday I think. It may have been a Christmas present. Within a short time, Jeff Turner became my number one bassist and played with me as a duo, trio and also with my old band, The Jumpin Bobcats for some years. He is the bassist on the CD The Frill is Gone, and he is playing that old Kay on that record. He and Natasha and their children, Lomax and Katya remain some of my favorite people and best friends in the world!! I know, I know, I do go on and on and on and on ---- the entire point of this little talk is this --- today is Jeff Turners birthday! Happy Birthday Jeffie! I love you!
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 16:51:20 +0000