Remembering Edgar James Wood and His Love of Piano

One hundred years ago this month, my late father-in-law arrived back in the United States after touring Europe as a piano player for an "American college jazz band." Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) had been an undergraduate at Tufts University (then Tufts College) until May, 1926, but he didn't graduate because he couldn't pass his last class. This image shows Ed as a member of the Zeta Psi fraternity, in the class of 1926. 

Ed had fond memories of his time at Tufts and he attended reunions on and off for decades. My husband donated Ed's Boston-area theater programs from the 1920s to the Tufts Lilly Music Library several years ago.

Love of piano 

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Ed fell in love with the piano as a preteen. He played just about every day, soon performing for grammar school assemblies and later performing at fraternity and sorority dances around Boston to help pay his Tufts tuition. 

During the 1920s jazz era, Ed took his "fake book" to Europe when he played with an "American college jazz band" (made up with different musicians each time) for several summers. They crossed the Atlantic on big ocean liners and performed at resorts in France and Italy to pay for their travel and board. OK, some of the musicians were out of college but still in their 20s and ready for summer adventures.

In college, Ed composed a class song, Ring Forth! which is archived in the Lilly Library to this day. Years later, Ed and a friend composed a song that won an award bestowed by famed composer George Gershwin in Cleveland in 1934. That original music is framed and has pride of place in one of his children's homes.

Insurance by day, piano by night

From the mid-1930s on, Ed became an insurance adjustor but continued to play piano professionally at night and on weekends. These frequent gigs kept him connected with the Cleveland music community as well as providing extra income. Ed purchased a Steinway baby grand piano (manufactured in the year of his birth, 1903) and it was in his living room wherever he and his wife Marian McClure Wood (1909-1983) made their home.

Ed passed away 40 years ago this month. A few years earlier, my hubby had tape recorded a couple of lengthy interviews with his father, which we transcribed and have digitized for the rest of the family to keep. Rest in peace, Ed, you are remembered with much affection and your stories are not forgotten.

Low Points and High Points of Ed's 1926 Summer of Jazz

On this day, 96 years ago, my late father-in-law (Edgar James Wood, 1903-1986) arrived in New York City aboard the S.S. Berengaria, after a summer of playing jazz piano across the Atlantic and across the European continent.

His name appears at the top of this excerpt from the passenger manifest from the Berengaria, which sailed from Cherbourg on September 11, 1926, and docked in New York City on September 17, 1926. The manifest identifies Ed as a native of Cleveland, Ohio, born on August 13, 1903--exactly matching the passport he saved for the rest of his life. Ed turned 23 years old during that summer.

Ed had been at Tufts College, not graduating because he failed the language requirement. During his college years and for a time afterward, he played piano on gigs around Boston and beyond. That's how he met Richard "Dick" Bowers (see starred name on manifest above) and was recruited for the 1926 summer of jazz. At this point in the Roaring Twenties, jazz had become a worldwide phenomenon.

Low points, high points

Dick, the band leader, billed the group as an all-American college jazz band. For several summers in succession, he secured bookings to play on trans-Atlantic ships, then at resorts around Europe, then on a return voyage back to New York. 

Ed and the other musicians received little or no pay on the ships, playing in return for their passage. Similarly, their pay at the resorts was minimal, but they were allowed to use some of the resort facilities.

Fortunately, Ed kept notes of those unforgettable adventures in 1926, which whetted his appetite for foreign travel. 

The low points: being housed in dinky, tacky "staff rooms" at the ritziest resorts and pooling money with band members to buy super-cheap food toward the end of the summer when cash was running low. 

The high point? When interviewed by the Boston Herald a few weeks after he sailed home, here's what Ed said about his 1926 summer of jazz:

One of the things I remember best was when we played at a costume ball given by Count Volki, Italian minister of finance--he was at the head of the Italian debt commission to the United States, you know--at his castle on the Grand Canal, in honor of Prince Umberto, the Crown Prince. It was attended by members of the royal family and a host of Italian dukes and counts. It was one of the things that you see only in the movies, unless you are fortunate enough to be a member of the Italian nobility or a jazz musician.

"High and low" is the theme for this week's #52Ancestors challenge by Amy Johnson Crow.

Edgar Wood's Untraditional Fake Book

Edgar J. Wood's untraditional fake book--created from scratch!

My late dad-in-law Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) played piano to pay for his college education at Tufts.

He also played piano with college jazz bands to pay for summer trips to/from Europe during the Roaring Twenties.

Impressing Gershwin

After leaving college one course short of graduation, Ed tried to break through as a professional musician in New York City.

However, he felt like a little fish in a big musical pond, he told his son 50 years later. So he returned home to Cleveland, Ohio, with the hope of being a bigger fish in a smaller musical pond.

In 1934, Ed won a prestigious songwriting contest judged by George Gershwin. The newspaper headline read: "Gershwin Winner Plays for Meals." Even though he was talented, Ed simply couldn't make a living playing piano during the Depression.

Fortunately, Ed landed a job as an insurance adjustor, and stayed with the same company for 30 years. During that time, he married, had a family, and still got to play piano professionally on weekends and holidays. He liked the extra income--and he really loved to play.

An Untraditional Fake Book

Performing with bands at dances, weddings, bar mitzvahs, and other social events, Ed needed a wide-ranging repertoire. That's where his untraditional fake book comes in. ("Fake" because even if the musicians didn't know the song very well, they could fake it by following the basic melody--and fake because the real composers didn't get royalties on these non-officially-published versions.)

Edgar J. Wood (1903-1986) playing Christmas
carols on his Steinway Baby Grand Piano

Fifty years ago, Ed wrote out the musical notes by hand and typed in lyrics for dozens of old-time standards like The Sidewalks of New York, Deep in My Heart, and Silent Night. 

Today, commercial fake books are widely available--but back then, Ed chose the unconventional route of creating his own from scratch. He assembled all the songs he wanted into a loose-leaf binder to take when playing for an audience.

Flipping through the fake book, Ed could quickly read the notes and chords (and cue the guitarist or bassist) for nearly any song the band planned to play or was asked to play. Each song was on one side of the page, for his convenience, with chord changes noted here and there.

Sharing the Story Along with the Heirloom

The fake book has been in the family for a long time, but now it's about to have a new home. The original is being gifted to one of his grandchildren, along with a booklet telling the story of Ed's musical career (with photos, of course). I've scanned every page and created a replica fake book for other descendants to save, complete with the story of Ed's musical training and career.

Thanks to Amy Johnson Crow for this week's #52Ancestors prompt of "Tradition." Only two more prompts left in this year's challenge!

Remembering Dads on Father's Day

Harold Burk and oldest daughter

On this Father's Day, I'm remembering my Dad, Harold D. Burk (1909-1978) with love. Born a city boy, he enjoyed taking his children to parks and botanical gardens (such as the one above). In his later years, he took pleasure in baking sky-high apple pies. Although we kids sometimes helped slice the apples, he was the one with the knack for rich, flaky crusts. Missing you, Dad, and your apple pies, too, on this Father's Day 2019.

Edgar J. Wood and Marian McClure Wood on a cruise

Also, I'm honoring the memory of my father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986). He told very lively stories about being in a 1920s jazz band playing on board ocean liners to pay for passage. Ed played piano all his life, even practicing when taking a cruise vacation with his wife, Marian Jane McClure (1909-1983). Thinking of you with affection on Father's Day 2019, Ed.

Detailed Captions from Ninety Years Ago

My late father-in-law, Edgar James Wood (1903-1986) was gifted with a camera for his birthday in 1917. He was immediately smitten with photography, which became his lifelong hobby.

Even before Ed became an insurance adjustor (circa 1930 in Cleveland, Ohio), he was careful about recording details. (He kept a pocket diary for decades, and I'm lucky enough to have 30 full years to mine for genealogical gold.)

Sorting through a box of old snaps and negatives shared by my sis-in-law, I found this neat album of individual negatives from Ed's 1928 trip across the Atlantic.

Ed's European trip from 90 years ago was aboard the Berengaria sailing out of New York. He listed dates, places, names (not always full names), and more. This album consisted of more than three dozen negatives!

Ed played his way across the Atlantic several times as the piano player for a "college jazz band." The band sailed for free, in exchange for playing during meals and perhaps at other times.

Someone in Europe arranged additional bookings in France, Italy, and other countries eager to hear the latest American jazz music popular during the Roaring Twenties. At the end of the summer, Ed and his associates would sail back to New York, playing instead of paying for passage.

I already had Ed's passport from 1928. He said he was a college student, but in reality, he dropped out before graduating in mid-1926--because his mother died suddenly, a few weeks earlier.

Thank you, Ed, for preserving your past for future generations. I'm doing my best to follow in your footsteps by captioning photos (old and new) so descendants will know who's who, where, and when.