Charlie Reedy remembers his friend John “Spider" Martin well. They attended music classes at Niagara Falls High School together in the 1940s and eventually formed a band to play at the Ontario House.
Without Spider's help, who knows if Reedy -- who still performs regularly at the Colored Musicians Club of Buffalo -- would ever have became the jazz musician he is today.
“I couldn't talk my parents into buying me a horn, but Spider did," Reedy remembers with a hearty laugh. “He came over to my house, sat there and talked to my mother for about 15 minutes. Next thing I know she said, 'All right, we'll get him a horn.' I don't know how he did it."
The third annual Ontario House Jazz Reunion, a day of jazz music parked right in the middle of Main Street, paid special tribute to Martin, a saxophonist who started his musical career in Niagara Falls before going on to perform with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Etta Jones and Tony Bennett. Martin composed pieces and performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Rochester orchestras before he died in 2000 at the age of 68.
The tribute to Martin went hand-in-hand with a tribute to the Ontario House, the former haven for jazz musicians in Niagara Falls which is the inspiration for the annual show.
Demolished in 1995, the jazz club opened its doors in 1945 and stood just a block from the site of Saturday's performances. That's where the jazz community of Niagara Falls is rooted and the annual reunion show keeps its spirit alive.
And it stands out from other jazz festivals for one important reason, according to Kevin Cottrell, organizer of the event: “It's uniquely Niagara Falls."
“Most of these jazz musicians grew up there (at the Ontario House). Bringing them back, it's kind of like returning home," said Ron Corsaro, who started playing at the Ontario House in the 1950s. “It was the only place you could play jazz, and I wanted to play jazz. You could play pop music anywhere, but the Ontario House was pure jazz."
Without Spider's help, who knows if Reedy -- who still performs regularly at the Colored Musicians Club of Buffalo -- would ever have became the jazz musician he is today.
“I couldn't talk my parents into buying me a horn, but Spider did," Reedy remembers with a hearty laugh. “He came over to my house, sat there and talked to my mother for about 15 minutes. Next thing I know she said, 'All right, we'll get him a horn.' I don't know how he did it."
The third annual Ontario House Jazz Reunion, a day of jazz music parked right in the middle of Main Street, paid special tribute to Martin, a saxophonist who started his musical career in Niagara Falls before going on to perform with artists such as Aretha Franklin, Etta Jones and Tony Bennett. Martin composed pieces and performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Rochester orchestras before he died in 2000 at the age of 68.
The tribute to Martin went hand-in-hand with a tribute to the Ontario House, the former haven for jazz musicians in Niagara Falls which is the inspiration for the annual show.
Demolished in 1995, the jazz club opened its doors in 1945 and stood just a block from the site of Saturday's performances. That's where the jazz community of Niagara Falls is rooted and the annual reunion show keeps its spirit alive.
And it stands out from other jazz festivals for one important reason, according to Kevin Cottrell, organizer of the event: “It's uniquely Niagara Falls."
“Most of these jazz musicians grew up there (at the Ontario House). Bringing them back, it's kind of like returning home," said Ron Corsaro, who started playing at the Ontario House in the 1950s. “It was the only place you could play jazz, and I wanted to play jazz. You could play pop music anywhere, but the Ontario House was pure jazz."
For more information contact All About Jazz.
