Published: September 06, 2008 11:24 pm            

NIAGARA FALLS: Jazz reunion remembers city's roots

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.”

The reunion, in its third year, is sponsored by the city’s Tourism and Advisory Board, which put about $18,000 toward the event. Mayor Paul Dyster was on hand to lend his support Saturday and promised the city would continue efforts to preserve the culture and celebrate diversity of Niagara Falls history.

The weather wasn’t exactly cooperative, with a blanket of clouds in the sky threatening rain throughout the day, but it didn’t deter die-hard jazz fans, who couldn’t help but tap their feet and bob their heads as the bands played.

The last time Reedy performed with his friend “Spider” Martin was in 2000, just weeks before he died. If Martin could see Falls jazz fans and fellow musicians getting together to celebrate the Ontario House’s legacy, Reedy is sure Martin would feel the way he did when he got on stage Saturday.

“He’d probably drop a few tears,” Reedy said. “That’s what I felt like doing because it brought back a lot of memories.”

Contact reporter Caitlin Murray

at 282-2311, ext. 2251.

        

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