Distinctly Montana Magazine

ity, insight into the Ozark Club and its hot jazz survived. During April-May 2005 in a series of interviews at Fireside Books, Philip Aaberg, Montana's modern musical treasure, and this author jointly interviewed Jack Mahood, then 86 years of age. Jack reminisced about the early days of jazz music in Great Falls, including the Ozark Club, where as a young white musician he jammed on Sunday afternoons. During our first session, Jack Mahood casually mentioned Music fills the air at the new Ozark Club. Ken Robison is historian for the Overholser Historical Research Center in Fort Benton and the Great Falls/Cascade County Historic Preservation Commission. Robison has written two books, Fort Benton and Cascade County and Great Falls. The Montana Historical Society named him one of two Montana Heritage Keepers for 2010, and The History Museum presented him an Historic Legacy Award in 2011. Ken is a retired Navy Captain, after a career in Naval Intelligence. Phil Aaberg said: "JACK PUT THE FIRST DISC ON AND DROPPED THE NEEDLE. IT WAS 'ROYAL ROOST,' A TUNE NAMED AFTER A NIGHTCLUB MADE FAMOUS BY A CHARLIE PARKER RECORD. HONESTLY, THE HAIR ON THE BACK OF MY NECK STOOD STRAIGHT UP." Bunny and Sugar, Leo's daughters attend the opening of the new Ozark Club. s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s ss s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s s that he had discs that were recorded at the Ozark about 1950 when he jammed with the Ozark Boys. Several days later Jack brought the recordings. What a rare historical treat it was to listen to "Sweet Georgia Brown," "Lady Be Good," and other jazz while Jack painted a word portrait of the Ozark Club, the musicians, and the musical life in Great Falls in the late 1940s and 1950s. Phil Aaberg captured the moment: "Jack put the first disc on and dropped the needle. It was 'Royal Roost,' a tune named after a nightclub made famous by a Charlie Parker record. Honestly, the hair on the back of my neck stood straight up." Armed with Jack's recordings and my research into the Ozark and the black community, Phil Aaberg worked with Director Chris Morris to bring the Ozark Club back to life at The History Museum. I worked with the Tribune to bring out the colorful history of Leo LaMar and the Ozark Club. Karen Ogden's Ozark story sparked the greatest response ever to a Tribune article with stories pouring in from Alaska to Washington, D. C. Leo LaMar's daughters, Sugar and Bunny LaMar, came from Los Angeles bringing dozens of photographs to help tell the story. The night of June 7, 2007, The Ozark Club in Great Falls, Montana, came back to life with "A Night At the Ozark" playing to a packed house and an electric environment. And on September 10, 2011, the History Museum and Phil Aaberg hosted Tommy Sancton and the New Orleans Legacy Jazz Bank. The Ozark flame was re-ignited. www.distinctlymontana.com 47

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