| Maynard...by his son-in-law
This is an email that came to me from a respected jazz musician....
-cw-
This account is written by Christian Jacob, Maynard's son-in-law, who for
a time performed in Maynard's band on piano.
Maynard has always treated me as an equal, and I am sure that anybody that
has been in the band has always felt this way. In the first month I was in
the band, the fact that I was his son-in-law, if anything, has been more
of weirdness for me on the bandstand than anything else. I think that the
more time passed, the more Maynard was relieved to see that I was not a
bad musician; it could have been really weird. He ended up loving the
situation, and made sure that when it was time to introduce me, he would
extend it and slip in a joke about how he had to let his youngest daughter
go to a Frenchman in order to have him in the band.
Another time where MF seemed relieved was when we were touring and on the
band bus, we were taking the driver's microphone and telling jokes. After
telling my joke, which by the way, was the dirtiest joke you can imagine,
I remember seeing his face filled with shock, then after a few seconds
uncontrollable laughter. Since this day, he knew that his son-in- law was
one of the guys.
Since the death of Flo, his beloved wife [about a year ago], Wilder, my
wife (his youngest daughter), and I lived with Maynard until the end of
his life. We were taking care of the house when he was on tour and taking
care of him when he was home. Maynard has always loved sports, but soccer
wasn't really part of his sports interests, but he knew that soccer was
the only sport that interested me, especially at world cup season. He made
a point to watch every match of the 2006 Mundial with me and Wilder (who
is a soccer fan as well). By the time of the (infamous) final, the whole
family was watching and rooting for France, of course (my country of
origin).
Lastly, I'd like to recount the most touching moment I'll ever remember.
My 22-year-old cat, Dezi, whom
Maynard was very fond of (he used to bounce her up and down on his belly)
passed away. It was a pretty emotional day for all of us, and Maynard
insisted on playing "Taps" for the little garden ceremony we had planned.
Suddenly he turned to me and apologized for not having asked me first if
that was the way I would like it to be. I was of course lost for words and
reassured him that I loved the idea.
Anyway, Maynard was helped down to the bumpy part of the garden, and with
his cane (because of his feet swollen by gout) he slowly sat on a stool
and played slowly and beautifully. He played with such a gorgeous round
and full sound that I started crying. I remember hearing how carefully and
beautifully he diminished his last note into silence. He then cried and
was a little embarrassed about it. "Taps" was the last piece he ever
played on the trumpet. He passed away 4 days later with all the family
around him at his bed.
-cw-
__________________
Chuck Willard
The Willard of Oz
"Don't be afraid to see what you see."
Ronald Reagan |