Roy Parnell (1943-2006) - Earshot Jazz

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Roy Parnell: Jazz club owner and booster 1943-2006 From 1976 to 1980, Roy Parnell operated a jazz club in Pioneer Square that veterans of the Seattle scene still speak of with fondness and respect. He had been suffering for several years from chronic scleroderma, a debilitating disease of the skin that attacks internal organs and the immune system, and died of pneumonia on February 18. Parnell’s hosted national and local acts at its location at 313 Occidential Ave S, which was decorated with the jazz portraits that now hang in Demetriou’s Jazz Alley, as well as with living-room-style fixtures such as lamps and large cushions. Radio host Jim Wilke told the Seattle Times: “I don’t know if there ever was a more comfortable jazz club. It was always like a party in Roy’s living room.” Parnell was raised in Seattle, went to college in California and at Central Washington University, and then in the 1960s and 1970s worked as a parole officer for King and Snohomish counties. He was, as Earshot co-founder and Seattle Times jazz critic Paul DeBarros put it in an obituary, “a tall, big-chested, imposing man who wore a trim beard and carried himself with the authority of a ship’s captain, the former county employee did not fit the stereotype of a jazz-club owner.” That, because he did not drink, nor particular like the night life. He was, however, an entrepreneur, and made good from his 150-seat club, eventually selling it to musician Marv Thomas, father of multihornman Jay Thomas, who then sold it two years later to four investors, including singer Ernestine Anderson. Renamed Ernestine’s, the club closed in 1983. Roy Parnell’s taste in jazz was reflected in the artists he booked, including many of the big, mainstream names of the day: Monty Alexander, Ernestine Anderson, Chet Baker, Ray Brown, Charlie Byrd, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Bob Dorough, Bill Evans, Dave Frishberg, Dexter Gor- 12 • Earshot Jazz • March 2006 don, Eddie Harris, Earl “Fatha” Hines, Barney Kessel, Milt Jackson, Blue Mitchell, Phineas Newborn Jr, Anita O’Day, Art Pepper, Bud Shank, Sonny Stitt and Cal Tjader, Joe Williams, and Phil Woods. He also liked comedians, and often featured the now-obscure Professor Irwin Corey. Many Seattle players were featured at the club, too, as Parnell hired locals to Roy Parnell as he appeared in a 1980 profile in the Everett Herald. fill the rhythm sections for visiting stars. Those included pianist Dave Peck, bassist Chuck Deardorf, and multihornman Floyd Standifer. Peck told the Times: “It was really influential in the history of the scene. It was where we could essentially go to school together. It not only became a really great gig for us all, but it was the driving force for us to get better at playing.” Earlier this year, he told Down Beat Magazine: “Back in the ‘70s, I might have thought about moving to New York. But when I started being house piano player at [the now defunct] Parnell’s and Jazz Alley, I got to play with Sonny Stitt for a week, then I’d be playing with Chet Baker a couple of weeks later. That was the bird in the hand.” Until a few weeks before his death, Roy Parnell worked in his position as vice president for human resources at Crista Ministries, where he had worked since 1986. The Shoreline nonprofit runs churches, the relief charity World Concern, radio stations, and King’s schools. A memorial celebration was held on February 27 at Canyon Hills Community Church, in Bothell. Remembrances can be sent in his name to King’s School, 19303 Fremont Ave. N., Seattle, WA 98133. Some of those who played at the club, and hung out there, recalled the days there, including Jane Peck, who as Jane Lambert often sang at the club. Chuck Deardorf, bassist, Cornish College instructor Roy was a fair minded guy who started a jazz club at just the right time in Seattle; the Pioneer Banque was slowly fading, the only other place for locals was the Other Side of the Tracks in Auburn, run by Victory Music. Parnell’s was comfortable – low cushions and tables, lots of wood, and a relaxed vibe for the musicians. Many musicians of my generation (Dave Peterson, Dave Peck, Dean Johnson, Dave Coleman, Marc Seales, etc.) as well as veterans such as Barney McClure, Dean Hodges, and Bob Nixon among others got a chance to work with many jazz legends there; Chet Baker, Joe Williams, Zoot Sims, Monty Alexander, Charlie Rouse, even Professor Irwin Corey. Roy also opened the club for weekly jam sessions, local groups got an opportunity to work, and made sure the musicians always got paid. Mark Solomon, entertainment agent I had heard about Parnell’s jazz club even before I moved to Seattle in 1979 from my then girlfriend who lived in Seattle and loved the place. In fact the only picture I had of her was taken at Parnell’s. I worked at KUOW and KPLU after I arrived and taped many performances live at Parnell’s. After Roy sold the club to Marv Thomas, I was the booking manager at the club and virtually lived there for a year and a half. After the demise of the club I worked with Roy booking music for a short-lived club on the eastside named Roxy’s. Roy’s intention in starting Parnell’s was to create a club that felt like a living
oom, and Parnell’s certainly was that. It had intimacy partly because it was small (only 150 seats) and also because most of the seating was on couches. Roy loved and appreciated jazz. I think he was in it for the music, not the money. He was a traditionalist who loved the blues, bop, and various offshoots thereof. Most of the time he hired a headliner, like a Zoot Sims or a Chet Baker, and hired local players to back them up. That gave some young local players like Dave Peck, Marc Seales, Chuck Deardorff, and Dean Hodges a chance to play with the “big boys.” Roy also hired a lot of local groups, and he knew who could play and who couldn’t. When you went to Parnell’s you knew you’d hear good music in a great setting. Roy was just the kind of person you hoped would own a jazz club. I always found him gracious and candid. His very being was magnanimous. He inspired the people who worked with or for him, and he was truly beloved by those who came into contact with him. Parnell’s the club was the extension of Roy Parnell the person-warm, intimate, open to the music. Jane Peck, singer Roy Parnell made my career. Many people along the way were encouraging and helpful and none of what I have achieved could have been done without all of that help, but Roy Parnell made me. He had such faith in me and always exhibited such generosity, spirit and humor. He called me Special Lady and he always made me feel such. The best thing about Roy during the Occidental Square Parnell’s years was his absolute sheer joy and love of the music. This guy really loved jazz and said over and over again how lucky he was and how he couldn’t believe he was doing what he was doing, and how lucky for all of us. All the great musicians of my generation in Seattle had the opportunity to play with all the great jazz musicians of the history of the music. Everyone played Parnell’s and everyone loved it. The style of the club was often imitated but never with as much success because it was the heart of Roy Parnellthis big smiling bear of a man-that was the club. I saw him last year and we had a great reminiscence about those years. It was only about four years but still seems like a lifetime to me. The best of me was there. It was the best playing, the best listening, and the best time. Thank you, Roy March 2006 • Earshot Jazz • 13
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Roy Parnell (1943-2006) - Earshot Jazz

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