“I began piano when I was about 15 years old, after I attended a Ray Charles concert and was mesmerized completely. During the years in Tulsa, I played with many great musicians. In 1963, I had a mixed-role group when a national recession was running rampant. Later, I played at Dono’s Club for a year. The group at that time included later-Grammy winner Gordon Shyrock, Ricky Calhoun, another Tulsan who gained fame, and me, with Gus Hardin singing. I’ve been with a number of groups over the years, including recording with Little Joe McLerran and working with Pete and Jennifer Marriott.

“Since working with and learning some jazz secrets from late Sapulpa music legend Ted Moses, I’ve been focused on jazz, and that’s almost certainly the contributing factor that got me involved in the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame (Ted was no stranger to the Jazz Hall, himself, by the way).

“Other members of the core group of musicians who work with me at the Jazz Hall weekly jam include Doug McDuffie, bass; Jerry Smoot, tenor; Stephen Cosper, guitar; Mike Patterson, conga; Pam Van Dyke Crosby, vocals; and Richard Hoe, drums. A number of prominent local talents sit in, including Spike Gore, Kevin Flint, Richard Jones, Mike Leland, Tony Yohe, James Bradley, David Brennan and many more—any one is welcome to play. The Jazz Jam equals community! The wonderful loyal jazz fans deserve a lot of credit for their support, loyalty and friendship. And the staff at Baxter’s Interurban (the Jam’s long-term temporary home)—they’re the best.

“The Tuesday jam started in 2010, the year the Jazz Hall officially opened, when Chuck Cissel, the Hall’s first director, emceed and sometimes sang. Tulsa music legends like Mike Leland, Bill Crosby, Bill’s wife, premier songstress Pam Van Dyke Crosby, Spike Gore and many more got things going, and were staples through the beginnings of the COVID epidemic.

“The jam was designed to accommodate all, from street people to the affluent, and regardless of the level of musicianship. The resulting diversity brings influences from jazz, blues, R&B, funk, gospel, rock, rap and even country music. That diversity helps music breathe and stay alive. I feel that the weekly jam is a great way to bring the diverse people of a community together.

“The weekly jam at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame, aka The Jazz Depot or Jazz Hall, had been a Tulsa Tuesday staple for years by the time I started sitting-in around 2014. The jam was then from 6 PM to 10 PM, with the first two hours, more or less devoted to jazz, and the last two hours to the blues. The jammers ranged from age 13 to age ninety-nine.

“Interestingly, the jam has had very few misses, maybe over 15 years only three or four times. Mostly, the jam is going to happen whether it’s Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or whatever holiday happens to hit on a Tuesday. The misses have mostly been during the Jazz Hall’s closing for renovations, when at times temporary locations have had events or don’t have employees working. Luckily, this has only happened a few times during the roughly two-and-a-half years since the jam has been held at Baxter’s Interurban Restaurant in downtown Tulsa.

“When COVID struck, things changed. For one thing, people were, for obvious reasons, not congregating as much from 2019-2022 as they did before the virus. Indeed, things changed dramatically in terms of gathering together everywhere. Faced with this situation, Jason McIntosh, the then-director, had four or five musicians perform for two hours or so on Tuesdays. Instead of a live audience. He broadcasted the performance each week on the Jazz Hall’s FM radio station, and on Facebook. It worked. It was during this time that I began to have a regular role at the keyboardist-in-residence at the Hall. Other regulars then included Bill Crosby, another bassist from Fort Worth who temporarily lived in Tulsa.”