Tom Rippey: jazz lover
'No one ever did more for our music'
* Music director
* Longtime member, board of directors
* Past President
* Railroad buff
* Big-time Green Bay Packers buff
* Baseball nut
As you drifted into Jazz Society gigs over the years, you probably did not recognize that you were passing at your right the most important person in the 33-year history of the organization.
Think back to the times you entered The Mountaineers or the Elks Club in Ballard. Youíd see him wandering behind tables of CDs and books, chatting with customers, always wearing a T-shirt, sometimes wearing a Green Bay Packers cap or otherwise allowing his partially bald and shaved head go naked, and usually wearing a smile. As he wandered, heíd often have a beer in one hand and heíd spontaneously click his thumbs and fingers of the other hand to the beat of the music if a band had started to play the gig.
It was easy to think of Tom Rippey as sort of an Ordinary Joe, a purveyor of recorded music and jazz books, as though that were his position in the society. He never presented himself as anything more than a Ordinary Joe and youíd never know otherwise unless you knew him well. T-shirt, beer, football, cap -- they all fit such an image.
In truth, he was far more than the Ordinary Joe. Although he was not a musician, he was an unabashed shill for vintage jazz -- especially 'West Coast,' with two cornets -- in the face of contemporary jazz, rock'n' roll, country and other styles. His steadfast tastes in music made him unlike anybody else.
Anyone who had a least an acquaintance with Rippey knew he also was a fan of railroads, baseball (especially the Cincinnati Reds and Seattle Mariners) and the Green Bay Packers, by a nose over the Seattle Seahawks.
Rippey, who died March 11 of prostate cancer at age 76, so loved the Packers that he was buried with one of their hats. And he so loved classic jazz that he took his wife, Carol, to jazz legend Bix Beiderbeckeís gravesite in Davenport, Iowa. Such was his devotion to his passions.
The importance of Rippeyís contributions to the Jazz Society since he and Carol joined the organization in early 1976 have not been approached, much less matched. It is fair and reasonable to say that without those contributions, it would be a smaller and perhaps a struggling organization or it would not exist anymore.
"He became the driving force," original Jazz Society member Jan James said. "He was a connector. Tom had people skills and he knew musicians everywhere. Heís the one who put it all together."
Here's why Rippey was the driving force of the Jazz Society:
For many years, he performed a trying task -- booking all bands that played for the Jazz Society. A sharp and comprehensive mind is needed to recall when he did not do so. The position is called "Music Director," but that description is inadequate because it does not reveal the duties.
As music director, he managed the infrastructure of a band's trip from faraway places, Johnson said. That means he booked airplane flights, coordinating them so musicians arrived in Seattle at approximately the same time. He also booked hotel rooms and arranged local transportation for musicians when they arrived at and departed from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, as well as ferrying them from their hotels to our gigs, those at the New Orleans Restaurant and Cafe, plus occasional concerts in Bellingham. Members do not know the many hours Rippey put into those tasks, Johnson said.
He was a member of the board of directors for about 30 years. Again, no one can recall when he was not on the board, mulling issues that shaped the organization.
He served as president in the early years of the society.
Our president, Judy Levy, has benefited from Rippey's many involvements. When she talks about him, she talks about mentoring. She began attending Jazz Society events in 1995, primarily to dance, and years later was elected to the board of directors and eventually to the presidency.
"One of the first things I wanted to do was talk to Tom and Carol Rippey about how things worked and what sort of things I could expect to be involved in," she said. "For the past four years Tom has been my mentor. He was always there to answer questions or give thoughtful guidance when I needed it, always with big smile and a kind word."
"We would have phone conversations several times each month, keeping me in the loop with venues when it came time to leave The Mountaineers. His guidance was invaluable. Toward the end of our first event at the Ballard Elks, I looked over at Tom and he was sitting there with his CDs looking very happy. I walked over and asked 'Well, what do you think, did we do it right?" He gave me a huge smile and raised his hand for a high five." she said.
'He loved jazz and the society, and wanted the very best for all the members. He will be a tough act to follow, but I believe he taught me well and I'll do everything I can to keep the standards as he as he always has. I miss him, but I know he's with us each month in spirit,' she said.
The driving force in his devotion to performing his tasks was, of course, traditional jazz, which became not only a passion for him but became part of his fabric. He knew what he liked in music -- as was true in many other aspects of his life -- and to change those likes was unthinkable to him.
'It was his hobby, the love of his life," Carol Rippey said. But not ahead of his family, she conceded.
ìTom Rippey was devoted to classic jazz,î premier drummer/band leader Hal Smith says, ìand he also appreciated good swing. He was a tireless advocate for ëliveí performances, and he worked long hours to make it possible for musicians to work in the Pacific Northwest.î Smith is also president of Americaís Favorite City Dixieland Jazz Society in San Diego.
Rippey was drawn to classic jazz at an early age in Spooner, Wis., which is located in the northwest region of the state, not far from the border with Minnesota. One of his early treasures among recordings was by Benny Goodman's band. By the time he met Carol Rippey, classic jazz was a powerful part of the fabric of his life. They had not known each other at Spooner High School because he was six years older than she but each knew who the other was. "When we first met, I was not experienced in traditional jazz," she said. "I listened to the music of the day back then. I listened to classical and played the violin."
But Tom worked some not-so-gentle persuasion on Carol. The persuasion came when Tom was preparing to leave Spooner to attend one of seven Wisconsin National Guard schools, a six-week stint. "He left me a portable phonograph and a stack of records," Carol said. "He told me I should be listening to those while he was gone. I did."
The rest, as they say, is history. Carol acquired Tomís passion for the music, they relocated in the Seattle area because Tom had been posted at Fort Lewis, joined the Puget Sound Traditional Jazz Society, became engrossed in its workings and high-quality music, he became a partner of giant boat retailer Olympic boats -- but he didn't own a boat and wasn't fond of them -- and they marched side by side though nearly 50 years of marriage with only a few notes that were less than sweet. Only a month separated them from 50 years.
'Twas in Spooner that Tom developed a passion for railroads that lasted the rest of his life. "Spooner was a railroad town," Carol said. "If you didn't work on the railroad in Spooner, youíd better get out of town." In his later years, he lived his dream. He was the engineer on a short railroad in Ballard.
And 'twas in Spooner that Tom developed a passion for the Packers, who were one of the original members of the National Football League in 1920. The team was named 'Packers' because of its affiliation with the Indian Packing Company, a World War I meat-packing company that provided jerseys and practice facilities for the fledgling teams.
Tom followed the Packers almost religiously and, according to Jazz Society Vice President Rod Belcher, had a major hang-up concerning them. "On occasions when the PSTJS monthly concerts occurred on a Sunday with the Packers were playing, woe betide the concert-goer who tried to inform him of an in-progress score of their game. He ALWAYS would be video-recoding the game at home for later playback and would never want to hear details before he could get home and watch the whole game as if it were ëliveí."
In keeping with the theme of not compromising on his likes and dislikes, Belcher said, there were some musical things that drove Rippey nuts, to wit: tenor saxophones, loud drummers, bebop, rock and brass instrumentalist who play too many notes or too many high notes.
Former president, current board member and friend Leroy Johnson said, "Other than being and all-around great guy, he was fiercely loyal -- to his family, to his music, to his sports teams, to his army service and to his railroading."
An extraordinary man, Smith said.
"It was a privilege to be Tomís friend for over 30 years," Smith said. ìI like to think that now Tom is sitting in a club somewhere -- still wearing a Packers cap -- enjoying a beer and an intermission visit with Turk Murphy, Bob Helm, Bob Raggio and other kindred souls.
"Bless Tom Rippey. No one ever did more for our music."
,
©2005 PSTJS | top photo by Jim
Wilke | site design by Susan
Pascal