Feature Articles - Tributes Etta Jones Dead at 73 by Russ Dantzler Etta Jones was dogged by the confusion between herself and Ms. Etta James all of her life. Her long-time drummer (and poet) got mad when (again) an announcer introduced her as "Etta James" years ago. He took out his anger on paper, and wrote a poem about it. JONES THAT IS She sings the music more better unmistakably it's Miss Etta Jones that is she really belts the blues and has paid her dues Jones that is   She's fluid on the stand and swings like no one else can   like the way she'll interpret a ballad until it becomes personally valid   Her flair, style and class make the memory of each note last and last   and of course there's many singers but none can make you pop your fingers like Miss Etta Jones that is by Chip White, from "I'm Just the Drummer in the Band" (c) Bright Colors Music Etta Jones Etta Jones In mid-June, 1998, back in our age of innocence, I had booked my favorite living vocalist into a spectacular private party for Microsoft. The location was "Windows on the World," the 107th floor of World Trade Tower One. Etta Jones, who lost her second long battle with cancer on October 16 at the age of 72, was the performer. Etta was not accustomed to corporate events, where a singer can be in the background as people socialize. She came directly to me after the first set with a sad look and said, "They aren't listening, I don't think they like me." I asked her to turn around. A line of people wanting to meet this great lady had formed behind her! Etta Jones never became as famous as her talent justified. She was also too much of a friend to act the diva role. Divas remain detached and "above" the fans. Etta couldn't be close enough to them. She remembered every person's name, no matter how long it had been since she'd seen them. All of the great jazz musicians I know wanted to play with Ms. Jones. This is certainly not true with most female vocalists. But Etta was the ultimate, team-playing musician, always interacting. Etta sang as beautifully as ever with her musical partner, the great tenorman Houston Person, at the Charlie Parker Jazz Festival in Harlem's Marcus Garvey Park last August 25. She concluded with her trademark "Don't Go To Strangers." Typically, adoring fans swarmed around her afterward, as she smiled radiantly. She went on to perform without compromise until two weeks prior to her death. Those of us who had gone listening to music with Etta knew that she kept her friends out until the last note was played. People would try to get her to go home, and she'd respond, "This ain't no dress rehearsal." That was her approach to living life to the fullest. In 1996 she threw a birthday party in the Bronx with other childhood friends, including Gloria Lynne. Shortly after the microphones were put away, Etta was leading a dozen dancers doing the Electric Slide at 4:00 a.m.! Etta Jones was born in Akron, Ohio, on November 25, 1928. In 1994, she spoke with me of beating supposedly-fatal cancer, having just been informed by her doctor that she was then "clean" for five years. Cancer returned to a lobe of her left lung late last year. It never prevented her from performing with a smile. Since Etta's passing we have also sadly lost drummer David "Panama" Francis, and The Poet of the Piano, Tommy Flanagan. In just a blink of history's eye, the jazz world lost its complacency and three of its master performers. Did we need to be reminded that life for everybody and every place is temporary? Your favorite artists and the venues in which they perform won't be around forever. But if you support them, you may extend their lives. Go out an enjoy the healing power of jazz -- be a part of the extraordinary community that it brings. Get it while you can, because as Etta Jones would say, "Life ain't no dress rehearsal." © 2002 Russ Dantzler Russ Dantzler can be reached at Hot Jazz Management 212.586.8125 or Russ@HotJazzNYC.com

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