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| Wesley "Skip" Norris |
Dear Skip,
Please forgive me for contacting you
out of the blue. Since your death, in
January, I have been meaning to check in on you to see how things are going for you in heaven. I figured, however, I’d better wait
until you settled in. Surely, God has been keeping you busy, making jazz more popular
up there. I bet God has you over for dinner a few times a week, and you
have a ball, regaling Him with the stories of all the famous jazz musicians
you knew. Skip, the music on Detroit’s jazz scene is still happening, and there’s
a gaggle of young talent such as alto saxophonist Benny Rubin Jr., and drummer Tariq
Gardner moving the music forward. I’m confident you would have loved the
youngsters on the scene today. Anyway, I’m writing you to tell you about the
wonderful star-studded tribute concert in your honor Friday evening at Detroit’s
Northwest Activity Center organized by your friends Andrew Rothman, Ronald
Lockett, Gail Boyd, and Jacques Mullins. Skip, I tell you man that they went
all out. They brought in many of your favorite jazz musicians such as pianists Eric
Reed and Joey Calderazzo, husband and wife Jean and Marcus Baylor, vocalists
Nanny Assis, Tammy McCann, vibist Joe Locke, saxophonists JD Allen, Victor
Goines, and Branford Marsalis. If that wasn’t enough the house band for the
evening was drummer Bill Higgins, bassist Ralphe Armstrong, and pianist Gary
Schunk. Linda Yohn was the Mistress of Ceremony. I’m not exaggerating, Skip,
when I say all the musicians played their butts off. The concert open with Eric
Reed. You know, Reed is capable of raising hell on the piano, but he was
reserved this time out. Reed performed two selections solo. Each rendered so
thoughtfully and beautifully Reed’s playing would’ve given the devil goose
bumps. After Reed’s set, vocalist Nanny Assis stretched out on two Brazilian
numbers. Vocalist Tammy McCann hit the stage next. Right away she let the near
capacity audience know that bigger than your love for jazz was your faith in
God. Then McCann opened with a gospel number sung so wonderfully that God
himself would have blushed had he been in attendance. McCann followed that song
with the blues staple “Every Day I Have the Blues.” JD Allen almost blew the
paint off the ceiling during his set. The Baylor Project followed Allen. Then
Joe Locke set the kitchen on fire with a solo performance undoubtedly one of
his finest ever. Victor Goines hit right after Locke. Goines performed an original
titled the “The Beautiful One.” Goines
had the stage so hot during this number I feared his clarinet would melt in
his hands. Branford Marsalis and Joey Calderazzo closed the evening with
Marsalis’s original “Eternal.” I’d put up
a month’s salary there wasn’t a dry eye in the audience when Marsalis and Calderazzo
finished. One of my favorite moments was when Mistress of Ceremony Linda Yohn
informed the audience all the money from the concert would go towards your
daughter’s college education, adding the jazz community would help take care of
your daughter. After Marsalis and Calderazzo had played, all the musicians returned to the stage and performed the
most fitting number of the evening “There Would Never Be Another You.” Skip, I’ve attended many concerts over the
years. This concert – a heartfelt love letter to you -- I won’t soon forget.
Every musician played as if it was the very last jazz concert on earth. Jacques Mullins and I hugged after the concert,
and he said the concert epitomized everything you were, showcasing every brand
of jazz that you held dear.
Skip, you were truly loved, man.
Charles
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