05 Aug Ralph Walker – As Time Goes By

My quest for stories, photos, and other jazz related artifacts from Newfoundland and Labrador continues. Speaking of NL jazz, there’s a special show at the Black Sheep Monday Aug 7. Click here for details.

Pianist Ralph Walker was a central figure in jazz and popular music in St. John’s especially. Sandy Morris recalls asking Ralph to learn more about jazz in hopes of playing together someday.

Ralph replied “Do you have a car?”

Sandy said yes.

“Well, you’re in the band!”

I will offer much more on Ralph down the line, but the reason for posting this gem is to hopefully inspire people to get in touch with me. Did you or your family members go to The Fishing Admiral in St. John’s on Sunday afternoons in the 1980s? Do you have any photos of Ralph playing? Most recently, I was blessed with a lend of some marvelous videos of Ralph performing at the Admiral with Leo Sandoval, Rob Mills, Buddy Pennington, and Jim Thomson. As I try to learn more about that particular scene, it would be incredibly helpful to talk to folks who attended these extremely popular events. I’d love to meet or chat on the phone.

This nugget comes from a cassette self-produced by Ralph and featuring many top singers of the day. Liner notes are below.