WATKINS, Earl Thomas
Earl Watkins, impeccable dresser, long time close family friend, jazz historian, contributor to the organization of the Jazz Heritage Center and JHC founding Board Member is sorely missed.
When it was time to identify the San Francisco “Living Legends of Jazz” for the official Fillmore Heritage Center ground breaking ceremony and the ensuing “ Jazz Heritage Pioneer” award presentation; one call to Earl Watkins was all that was needed. He knew all the players and provided me with most of their contact numbers.
He walked side by side with my mother Pat Nacey, founder of the Friends of Jazz and resident Jazz Legend, Eddie Alley for the television taping of the Bay Area Back Roads celebration of the Revitalized Fillmore Preservation District. Between the three of them, they knew what was what and where back in the day. Their vivid memories of the vital jazz scene in the Fillmore were the essence of love and understanding of what made the Fillmore Jazz scene great.
Earl Watkins is featured in the JHC Public Art Panels on the exterior of the Fillmore Heritage Center, along with his quartet mates: Jerome Richardson on sax, David Wheat on bass and Cedric Haywood on piano.
Rest in Peace Dear Friend,
Peter Fitzsimmons
Executive Director
Jazz Heritage Center
San Francisco
Earl Thomas Watkins, Jr. January 29, 1920 - July 1, 2007 Earl was born in San Francisco, the only child of Earl Watkins Sr. and Susie Bynum Watkins. Susie was a classically trained pianist and Earl Sr. played the ukulele and sang. Earl grew up in the Fillmore, now the Western Addition and attended Galileo High School where he was a 2nd Lt. in the ROTC. While in his teens Earl developed an interest in the drums and learned to play from John Randolph. Earl played with a teenage band and was recommended to Jimmy Brown, a local bass player. At this point Earl had to join the union so he became a member of the segregated Musicians Union Local 6 Subsidiary. He learned to read charts from Jack Downey, a vaudeville drummer and began playing regularly with the Jimmy Brown Band. During World War II, Earl worked in the shipyards during the day and in clubs at night. One memorable evening he played an impromptu jam session with Billie Holiday and musicians from the Jimmy Lunceford Band. It was during this time that he met and married Modena Elaine Butler. They had two children. Earl was recruited into the Navy as a musician and stationed at St. Mary's College which had become a pre-flight school. After the war Earl played at the Slim Jenkins Supper Club in Oakland. He played with Johnny Cooper at the California Theater Club in San Francisco and from there he worked at the Story Club, the Blackhawk, the Say When and "Gay and Friskie." He also played the Cotton Club, now the Great American Music Hall. In 1950 Earl was the first drummer at Jimbo's Bop City, the famous after-hours club in the Fillmore. Bob Scobey called Earl to work with his Dixieland Band at the Tin Angel, in 1955. San Francisco was promoting Dixieland as "Frisco Jazz" and the band was very busy with their regular gig, a TV show on channel 5 as well as club dates in Chicago, Milwaukee, New York and Los Angeles. He joined the Earl "Fatha" Hines Band at the Hangover Club in 1956 and the band played there for five years. They also traveled the country and did a radio show every Saturday morning. In 1960 the court ordered the black and white locals to merge and in 1965 Earl was recruited to work in the Oakland office of Local 6. He continued to play evenings and weekends. By this time the music scene had changed and the jazz clubs were closing or changing format. Despite all the changes Earl was able to keep a full calendar, playing the Claremont Hotel for seven years and with the Tom Donato Trio for 10 years. He played private parties and at Scott's Seafood Restaurant in Oakland, every Sunday, until last September. He retired from the local in 1994 and was elected to the board of directors where he served until he died. Earl received a Certificate of Congressional Recognition for being a jazz legend and historian in 2003 and was inducted into the West Coast Blues Society Hall of Fame in 2006. He will be dearly missed by his daughter Earlaine; son, Robert; son in-law, Bobbie; grandchildren, Dawne, Derek Sr. and Dennis; great-grandchildren, Melissa and Derek Jr.; several cousins and Inge Stoltenberg, as well as the many friends and colleagues he met and worked with through the years. He will be remembered by everyone he touched. Earl will be cremated and buried with his parents at Cypress Lawn in Colma. There will be a musical celebration of his life at Scott's Seafood Restaurant Pavilion at Jack London Square on Sunday, August 19, 2007 from 12:00 pm-4:00 pm. Please contact Musicians Union Local 6, 415-575-0777 for additional info.
This article appeared on page Z - 99 of the San Francisco Chronicle
In recognition of the spirit and photography of Gordon Parks the Joyce Gordon Gallery proudly announces Glimpses in Time: A juried photography exhibition in honor of Gordon Parks.
Joyce Gordon Gallery
Changes could bring tourists to Fillmore(Jason Steinberg/Special to The Examiner)
Business along Fillmore Street between Fulton and Geary streets have been bustling with activity recently. New restaurants have sprouted up with the anticipation of the jazz revival in the lower Fillmore area.
SAN FRANCISCO - Commercial changes under way along Fillmore Street south of Post Street could turn the neighborhood into something it hasn’t been for more than 40 years: a tourist attraction.