Dixieland Jazz - Meet the Jazzer

Hello,my name is Doug, and after living 9 years in S Florida, I have recently moved back to Canada and since June 2005 have taken up residence in London, Ontario.This page is my home away from home, and from here you can catch a glimpse of my life, passions and meet some of my favorite people.

You will find links relating to my music, woodworking, favorite people, plus a couple of "Commercials" for the "JAZZ RASCALS" and "HAGS" (Hot Jazz & Alligator Gumbo Society).

I hope you enjoy your visit & return often, as the pages will be continually updated.

My interests were never in the academic field, quite possibly due to the fact that I could not read text books or see the blackboard (When I was in grade 3 the school nurse gave me a note to take home saying that I needed glasses, not wanting to be the class "Nerd" a gust of wind or something must have blown that note clear away), also it is no coincidence that my last day of school was the day I played "hooky" and travelled to Toronto to see Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong & Woody Herman in concert.....but that is another story.

As a result I was a high school drop out, I worked 3 yrs as a mailboy and an offset duplicator operator, then one day while looking through the newspaper, I saw a recruiting ad for the Navy...WOW! a chance for travel & adventure, I ran down to the recruiting office only to find that at under 100 lbs they didn't want me (Maybe afraid I'd blow off the ship or something).So I sulked around the house for the next couple of weeks, until coming across an ad for the army,even though I didn't like the uniform as well, it did show a photo of troops marching through Soest Germany, and that still sounded like travel & adventure to me; so off I went again and this time I was accepted (Guess they were a little more desperate than the Navy).

So for the next 7 years I learned how to shoot rifles,sten guns & rocket launchers,iron shirts, make a bed & live in the great outdoors for 2 months a year (under a makeshift tent ,made from ground sheets and with a fallen log & trench as the master bathroom (damn those black flies up north are mean). But alas although being posted to a new locale at least once a year, I never got out of Ontario :((

Fortunately in my final year in the army I got into data processing, at first coding documents for computer input, then sorting cards & wiring panels.

For the next 25 years, except for 3 yrs when I moved to Biloxi Miss and started a Jazz Band, I worked in the data processing field, progressing through the positions of computer operator,Supervisor Operations,Systems Project Manager and Manager of Data Centre Operations, ultimately having a staff of 70 people & an annual budget of 9 million dollars.

Although intrigued by the technology and motivated by the desire to make something of myself despite the lack of education, I finally became disillusioned by the game playing & office politics and felt that by continuing, I could not be "True to Myself", in 1990 I retired from Corporate Management.

So at 50 yrs of age & without a job, what do I do now....off I went to the local tool supply store, bought $20,000 worth of wood working equipment that I wasn't sure what I was going to do with, sold my home in Toronto & moved to a small town about 90 miles away, invested another $15,000 renovating the garage to a workshop & spent the next year learning how to design and build custom furniture. The learning process was primarily trial & error and believe me in the early stages, the errors far outweighed the successes.

At the end of the year I had become a proficient woodworker,building quality pieces from solid wood (no veneers) featuring dovetail drawers, hand turned legs and hand rubbed finishes.

I opened a 3000 sq ft shop & showroom, but despite working 12 - 14 hrs, 7 days per week, after 6 years of fighting the recession sales dried up and I was forced to close the business (My target market of middle and upper income types were running scared, due to Corporate downsizing & in many cases had taken a severe beating in the real estate market, carrying large mortgages in excess of what their homes were worth).

Although not a financial success, I delighted in finding this new outlet for my creative energy and as each piece was completed I would stand back, admire and say to myself "I can't believe I made that", each piece was branded with my company logo & signed, to become a legacy for others to enjoy for years after I am gone :)).

CLICK HERE To See: JAZZER's Wood Work

Another of my passions is music, at the age of 12, I began playing trumpet and became obsessed with the sounds of dixieland & traditional jazz. I have always been a bit of a free spirit and the freedom of jazz expression appealed to me very much. I started to take music lessons, but found the regimentation,discipline & scales etc. didn't appeal to me so I quit and l let my records, "Louis","Bix","Wild Bill" and the like be my teachers. I still can't read music, but have been blessed with a very good ear.

CLICK HERE to see: Music Page