Bob Draga: 1947 – 2025

Bob Draga was a larger-than-life personality as well as a superb musician. You never knew what you were going to get when he was on the bandstand.

Joe and Paul Midiri were among the many fellow musicians who responded to the news of Bob’s passing on September 24th at the age of 78, saying, “Bob was a marvelous clarinet player and a master entertainer. He always played from the heart, something very few accomplished. For decades, he was a fixture at jazz festivals across the country and internationally, both with his bands and as a guest artist. He was a great friend who encouraged many; generous, always helping young players.”

Tom Rigney joined in the tributes: “Bob was one of the most brilliant natural musicians I have ever met or played with. His virtuosity on the clarinet was matchless, but it was linked to a deep musicality and a powerfully expressive sense of tone and phrasing. Bob was also a truly great human being, with an ability to connect with people that was a gift at least as rare and beautiful as his musicality.”

He was also one of the funniest humans in our planet’s long history, and his humor was always surprising, inappropriate, usually in poor taste, and nevertheless, hilarious for its lack of decorum. Who can ever forget when he jumped onstage in a silver wig, long-flowered kimono, and red-painted sneakers after I had delivered a serious, heartfelt introduction of him? Believe me, I’ve tried to forget that, but I never will…

Danny Coots recalled: “I played festivals with the Draga-Vax Connection that featured Bob, Mike Vax and Steve Yokum. It was a crazy group that provided humor and entertainment, but always great music. We laughed and joked and played pranks on each other, both on the stage and off. We were happy fools, and that’s what the audience got. At the same time, we regenerated some of the best, high-energy Dixieland and Swing music on the circuit.”

“I was always intrigued watching Bob talk to people in the audience. When he talked to fans, they were always the center of his attention. They felt loved, and they were. If a person was unable to come to a festival due to illness or age, Bob called them at home. He kept track of them and did this with dozens and dozens of people.”

“When we were together in the Titan Hot 7, band members would often poke around backstage and look for ‘props’ that might add to the mayhem on stage. One of my favorites was procuring a gurney, white tablecloth and a tag with a string. We put Draga with his clarinet on the gurney, shoeless with a tag tied around his big toe, and covered him with the tablecloth with the exception of his feet. The band would fire up St. James Infirmary Blues, and we’d wheel Bob out in front of the band. When it came time for a clarinet solo, his clarinet would rise up repeatedly from under the sheet.”

Mike Vax’s contribution told us that “The original idea for the Draga/Vax Connection came from playing late night duets together with Joe Foss, who was the house pianist in the Duchin Room at the Sun Valley Festival. We seemed to hit it off musically right from the beginning. While the band was together, we were one of the most popular bands on the traditional jazz circuit. Our shows were always unpredictable, especially when Draga and Steve Yocum decided to pull lots of jokes and crazy stunts on stage, but we had a great run while we were together.”

(My comment in reporting the breakup, ‘After three years, the triumvirate went their separate ways, probably realizing that the group had two leaders too many.”)

Classic Video Parody

There’s a video on YouTube taken at the 2003 Mammoth Lakes Jazz Jubilee featuring Danny Coots depicting “Bob Draga in 25 Years.” Bent over with a fake Draga beard, holding a broken clarinet, Danny shuffles on-stage alongside of a young attractive nurse holding a bottle of Jack Daniels that provides the liquid for the feeble patient’s IV therapy treatment as Danny holds forth with a 15-minute dialog of typical Draga banter. (You had to wonder about these guys’ mental stability, but it was fun.)

Excerpts from My Bob Draga Profile

(from JAZZ BEAT, Notes on Classic Jazz, published 2013)

Clarinetist Bob Draga was considered the consummate entertainer, having mastered the art of pleasing an audience with his musical talent, classy appearance and entertaining repartee. He seemed to intuitively know what an audience wanted to hear and provided it. As a guest artist, he relished the challenge of adapting to the varied styles and personalities of the various groups with whom he was asked to play.

Always nattily attired and sporting his trademark Fu Manchu moustache, Bob developed a stage persona that was one-part musician and one-part entertainer. Most fans probably remember him best for his endless stream of jokes and one-liners. He was perceived by some as a bit of a jazz rogue, but he said he was having fun projecting that image and being his own self. He often found humor in discussing the weather or any topical subject that came to mind, or he would play off a comment from the audience or by a fellow musician who tried to best him in a game of one-upmanship. He didn’t have a planned routine and said his best lines were spontaneous and “just pulled out of thin air.”

Musical Career Milestone

A big fan of the long-running Mickey Finn Show led to Bob joining a Dixieland band in 1969 in Clearwater, Florida, playing the saxophone, and eventually taking over leadership of the group. “We basically played for beer,” he remembered. That led to a swing quartet, and in 1979, he joined Bill Allred’s Reedy Creek Jazz Band. Two years later, he organized the Garden Avenue 7, which he co-led with vocalist Paulette Pepper for the next 23 years. In addition to their musical talents, Bob and Paulette developed a line of husband-and-wife chatter similar to the routines popularized by Sonny and Cher that made a big hit with audiences.

The Garden Avenue 7 broke into the festival circuit at San Diego in 1983 when the band members showed up wearing three-piece suits, assuming that was the proper attire based on their Florida experiences. Festival director Alan Adams quickly set them straight and helped them get booked at five upcoming West Coast festivals, which was the beginning of a very successful run.

In 2004, Bob and Paulette’s marriage ended and so did his involvement with the band. For about a year, he played very little, but Ken Coulter invited him to the Mammoth Jazz Jubilee, feeling he shouldn’t be inactive. Bob kept declining, saying he didn’t have a band. Assuming that ruled out a Draga appearance, Ken took the advance flyer for his upcoming festival to the printer.

That evening at 10 (which would have been 1 a.m. in Florida), Ken got a call for Bob, saying, “I’ve got a band.” Ken promptly hung up. Bob frantically called back, saying, “Don’t hang up. I really do have a band.” Ken, who refers to Bob as “the Dale Earnhardt, Jr of Jazz,” acquiesced and was able to list what turned out to be an all-star lineup that featured Johnny Varro, Jake Hanna, Tommy Saunders, Steve Yocum and Paul Keller in the flyer before it was printed

Bob played on the high seas for Jazzdagen Tours, was the Emperor at the 2010 Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, and was part of “We 3” along with Jeff Barnhart and Danny Coots for what was billed as “superb showmanship, hilarious antics and great music.” For his day job, he ran an air conditioning business in the Clearwater-St. Petersburg area, which he described as “a one-horse shop.”

Helping Young Musicians

Bob was a much-in-demand clinician at the Traditional Jazz Youth Band Festival, an annual educational event sponsored by the Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society and Sacramento State University at which middle school through college level jazz bands perform for feedback and coaching.

Bob was an inspirational influence for young musicians, whether in formal clinics, open jam sessions or quiet conversations. He always took time to promote and encourage promising talent. As a result, the Sacramento Society established a scholarship fund in his name that annually presented cash awards to top high school clarinetists. He also donated several of his instruments to youngsters attending the Mammoth Lakes Youth Jazz Camp.

“I have a selfish interest when it comes to working with young players,” he said. “Selfish in the sense that when I can no longer play, I want to be able to see and hear great jazz played by this next generation.”

RIP Bob Draga.

♫ ♫ ♫ ♫ ♫

CORRECTION: On rare occasions, my mind and my computer do not always end up on the same page, which happened with the lead sentence in my October JAZZ JOTTINGS column. The introduction to the Jazz Education & The Jazz Barn story should have read: “In his just-published book, THE JAZZ BARN, author John Gennari makes a compelling case as to what transpired at the Music Inn in Lenox, Massachusetts in the 1950s and the impact it had on how jazz was performed, heard and taught in the years that followed.”