Johnnie Garry
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Johnnie Garry | |
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| Born | October 31, 1924 Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Died | March 13, 2018 (aged 93) Windsor Mill, Maryland [1] Windsor Hills Historic District |
| Nationality | United States |
| Occupation(s) | Production Director, Producer, Road Manager (entertainment) |
Johnnie Garry was an entertainment director, producer, historian, nightclub manager and road manager for Sarah Vaughan and Mary Lou Williams. He was the stage manager at Birdland for over 60 years, and worked as a stagehand, and production director for Jazzmobile in New York City.[2][3]
Early life
Garry was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. His family moved to Harlem in 1928. He grew up near the Apollo Theatre on 127th Street. He saw his first show at the Apollo Theatre, which featured Don Redman. He dropped out of high school and started working in the garment district to support his mother.
Career
His career as a stagehand started at Cafe Society in Greenwich Village. When he was asked by Josh White to fill in for another stagehand, and road manager for pianist Mary Lou Williams. He continued to work as a stagehand for other artists such as Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, and Eddie Heywood. Garry was also a part of Sarah Vaughan's management team for over twelve years.
Garry was a manager for Birdland, a jazz club in New York City in the 1960s.
In 1977, Garry was hired to work for Jazzmobile by Dr. Billy Taylor. He worked for Jazzmobile for 35 years as production coordinator, technical director, and historian. He served as production coordinator for the production of Jazzmobile's free outdoor summer mobile concert series.
Garry worked with many artists, such as Dr. Billy Taylor, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, B.B. King, Jimmy Heath, Clark Terry, Sarah Vaughan, Wycliffe Gordon, Carmen McRae, Wynton Marsalis, James Brown, Houston Person, Lou Donaldson, Jimmy Heath, Roy Hargrove, Dianne Reeves, King Solomon Hicks, Randy Weston, Christian Sands, Frank Foster, Charenee Wade, Bobby Sanabria, Antoinette Montague, Monty Alexander, TK Blue, Cedar Walton and more.
Awards
- 2018: Jazzmobile's Jazzy Award (posthumously).[4]
References
- ^ "Obituary of Johnnie Garry - Vaughn C Greene Funeral Services". Vaughncgreene.com.
- ^ "Jazz Icons: Sarah Vaughan DVD". Jazzicons.com.
- ^ "JOHNNIE GARRY - 'MR. JAZZMOBILE' October 31, 1924 - March 13, 2018". Harleminestop.com.
- ^ [1] [dead link]