A Musician’s Musician
Lonnie Jacobson – a musician’s musician
Classic Lonnie Jacobson pose with his Acoustical Bass.
One of three brothers, Lonnie Jacobson grew up in New Hope, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. His father was a mailman and his mother, Norma, was just a sweetheart to everyone. He loved playing music and, in 1973, graduated from Rutgers University with a degree in Musical Arts.
Jacobson had a distinguished career in jazz. After working for Ray Charles and serving as house bassist in major jazz clubs in Philadelphia and Hawaii, he settled in Key West. He brought some outstanding pianists to Key West, among them Brian Murphy and Johnny O’Neal.
One night in 1980 while waiting on a bass player who finally called and couldn’t make it, pianist Dave Burns found himself leaning on the balcony at Captain Hornblower’s wondering what to do for a bass. He saw someone below get out of a car with New York plates, holding what looked like a bass guitar. The guy was heading next door to the Rooftop Café. Dave hailed him and asked his to come upstairs to Hornblower’s – it was Lonnie Jacobson. The two men played music that night and really connected. They performed as Burns & Jacobson for the next 25 years. Lonnie Jacobson was quickly recognized as the best bass player in Key West.
Lonnie Jacobson at the Green Parrot
His long-term partnership with Dave Burns would see them play an excellent series at The Top of La Concha and an outstanding dinner series at Banana Café. They also performed upstairs at Louie’s Back Yard and at the Casa Marina. The heyday of Key West jazz was the late 70s- 80s. Captain Hornblower’s closed in 1996. Jacobson and Burns went out on their own and continued playing together. Lonnie Jacobson, Richard Crooks, and Dave Burns performed as a trio for several years at the Tavern N Town restaurant. Jazz vocalist, and former girlfriend, Leanna Hettinger loved his incredible sensitive ear for jazz. She said Lonnie’s best quality was his sense of humor.
Harry Schroeder published a story in Solaris Hill newspaper December 9, 2012, he stated “Lonnie Jacobson, for many years the premier bass player on the island, died last week, by his own hand. It’s a sad thing when someone destroys himself, and much worse when that’s done by someone with so much talent…”
Schroeder went on to say, “The musical community is in shock. Lonnie had a history of clinical depression. For several years now, he had been withdrawn…and not returning calls from even very close friends, some of whom he had lost contact for years.”
Guitarist Michael Gillis, who worked with him often, said, “I’m very shocked and saddened by his untimely death. Lonnie was a part of the Key West jazz scene for many years. He promoted jazz in Key West until the music scene changed…”
The Lonnie Jacobson, Larry Smith, Richards Crooks trio
Larry Smith told a story how he and wife/singer Christine Cordone were casually walking by the Casa Marina when they were both mesmerized by a flawless, intelligent, beautiful, be-bop jazz solo. They could not decipher the instrument that was creating this music. Was it a cello, a baritone saxophone, a trombone – was it a monophonic keyboard synthesizer? They were both exhausted after playing a corporate gig, but both wanted to see who this wonderful, high-art soloist was. Surprised Larry Smith said “It was Lonnie Jacobson, playing solo on his bass displaying the proficiency, artistry, and execution of Charlie Parker or John Coltrane. Christine and I just took it in with awe, reverence, and gratitude. Lonnie was unique.”
Melody Cooper said when she first met Lonnie, “she was thrilled to find a player that understood the jazz repertoire and had such a high level of performance to listen and to sing with. Lonnie kept a high standard and expected the same around him.” She was thrilled that Lonnie played on her first album, Journey Through the Heart. She said he also brought quite a few of his own projects into Private Ear Recording studio as the producer and bass player.
Burns & Jacobson
“I will miss Lon Jacobson. We both, for our own reasons, scaled our playing back and hadn’t see much of each other before his untimely passing. We talked about getting together just to play for ourselves but, unfortunately, that never happened. As a piano player, I enjoyed the rare opportunity to play with the same bass player for more than twenty five years.”
There is a certain bond between a pianist and a bass player who get to perform together that often. Dave would start a sentence and Lonnie would finish it. They talked in code that only they understood. The non-verbal communication on stage during a song quickly became strong. Words seemed unnecessary. They could communicate with a simple look or gesture or a hand signal. They were that close. Their relationship, had its speed bumps. Dave said “sometimes we wanted to kill each other. But a few days would pass and everything was ok again.”
Lonnie was a very accomplished, as well as a complex musician and had many opportunities to play with other more advanced pianists. But he was always happy when he got back together on stage with Dave to do our thing. Dave said “I gave up trying to figure out what makes people do the things they do. I’m just glad that the demons that plagued Lonnie can’t get to him anymore, and I hope that his spirit is finally at peace.”
Dave went on to say “When it’s late at night, and I’m missing him, I can always play tapes or CD’s of us playing together and say to myself, ‘I told you a million times that’s supposed to be an F-sharp there,’ or more likely, just enjoy the music, the good stuff, the train wrecks, the memories of Burns & Jacobson.”
Lonnie Jacobson and Dave Burns at the Casa Marina in the mid 80s.
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