September 7, 2009 :  My dear friend Eddie Locke has left this vale of tears.

 

His lady Mary Ellen saw to his care in the best possible way. Eddie was at home with hospice care, and on Friday the 5th, Barry Harris, Bill Charlap, Renee Rosnes, Tardo Hammer, Bill Easley, Leroy Williams, Neal Miner, Bob Johnson, Murray and Diana Wall and a host of others descended upon Mary Ellen's beautiful home to say our goodbyes.

 

We said our goodbyes in our own ways, and just about the only thing we all felt missing was Locke's sonorous voice ( there were times you could hear him laughing a block away ) and humor.

 

Locke was a big, gruff, larger than life sort of man who did everything in a big way. Playing, laughing, teaching, scolding, everything was given the full commitment of his personality, no holds barred. You took Locke the way he came, and were the better for it. I know I am.

 

We did a lot of work together. I remember doing a cruise with Eddie and Murray and Diana Wall. After dinner one night Locke seemed to have disappeared and Diana turned to me to ask: "Where's Eddie?"  I said: " He's probably off somewhere glad handing perfect strangers."  That is precisely what he was doing. Locke made friends with everyone, and wasn't the least shy about starting conversations with folks he'd never met. I used to call him my own diplomatic corps. Where ever we travelled, Locke would make new friends and draw a crowd of people who loved him. Some of these relationships went on for years and years. Locke never forgot them and they happily returned the favor.

 

He loved my kids, and they called him "Grampa." Eddie and I did an outdoor concert for the Princeton Jazz Festival one year and I brought along my son Robert who was probably about 14 or 15 at the time. After the concert Robert was helping Eddie pack up and they were having a conversation. Anything Locke did involved conversation especially when there was a young person around. I heard Robert responding in Locke's speach patterns, trying to pick up Eddie's style of speaking. I turned and said: "Great! That's all I need is two Eddie Lockes !" Eddie broke into a big smile, laughed and said: "That's one of the funniest things I've ever heard."  Now I'm damned glad I have the spare.

 

There is another huge gaping hole in my world. You simply don't fill the space left by a man like Eddie Locke. All you can do is to let the emptiness remind you of all the inspiration and friendship that was there for so long and maybe, just maybe go out and glad hand a perfect stranger to try to keep the magic alive a little longer.

 

Good bye Grampa, we'll miss you but we sure as hell won't forget you.