Photo of the Week

The photo of the week is one of my best photos of Jimmy Pryor. I took this at the Hull Ave Tap. It has his kazoo, and a glass of his favorite drink of Cranberry juice, and gin. Jimmy always had a great time at the Hull, and because he was there and running the jam it brought out other older players who knew that they would get a fair shake at playing. George Davis, Harlan Thomas, Big Mike, and a host of other players started to show up and perform. Each week was like another great surprise. Perhaps the biggest surprise was when Big Mike Showed up. For years I had heard Billy Birch (someone who has now disappeared) talk about this Big Mike who was a great singer. However, no one seemed to know anything about what had happened to him. It was like he had fallen off the face of the earth. Then one night at the jam he walks in and magic happened. He sang four songs with us and blew the doors off. It was an amazing night.

Jimmy always had that magic. He would start the show for us, and get the crowd up and going, and then our guest would get up and keep the crowd rolling till closing time. Jimmy taught all of us young guys how to run a show. he would say get that guy up, or that kid over there wants to play, and I would do it, and it would always turn out good. Jimmy had the touch and the ear to see the greatness in everyone, and it always paid off.