Jim was a member of the Dutch Falconi Orchestra, as was Bill. The whole Sinister Seven thing was actually a spinoff from Falconi. It was a way for Jim, Bill and several other Falconi musicians to focus more on pure swing, which was their love. They modeled themselves somewhat after Royal Crown Review, an L.A swing band who had played with Falconi twice while in Sacramento. They were also heavily influenced by Louis Prima, whose Capitol Collector's CD was the Bible, from which they quoted often. Sinister Seven had their act down. Nowhere would you find a better sounding, or sharper dressed, swing band than this.
The interesting thing about Jim is that music was not his career. He was also a news director for KOVR - channel 13, a prominent Sacramento station. He had graduated from San Francisco State with a degree in communications, and he had a lucrative career in television laid out before him.
But his heart was not really in it. Music was his love. I remember him tellling stories about how his boss would tear into him in private meetings. Jim started asking for a lot of time off when he joined Falconi so he could make the shows, and of course the station had trouble with it. This is the ten o'clock news in a major market - ratings and money at stake, and all that - and Jim wants to take the night off so he can play trumpet at the Cattle Club?
Somehow, he found a way to balance the two, although it must have been a bit stressful doing so.
He was one of the kind of guys who could play any instrument. Bill tells me that when they were in high school jazz band together (yes, they were high school buddies), Jim was the drummer, and I also think he played bass. In Falconi, he was a trumpet player, and in Sinister Seven, he played Trumpet and even sang a song or two. I even remember Jim coming to a party of mine, seeing a piano, jumping on it, and belting out tunes while singing along! He could pick up his trumpet and just start doodling away, playing anything you might want to hear. He was a great soloist, and I, personally, always had great admiration for his sense of jazz. Some people have it, and some don't, where you can create a riff or phrase that has real soul to it. Or you know how to build a mood, with peaks and valleys within 16 bars. Jim could do these things effortlessly, while I've known other musicians with brilliant technical ability not even realize they don't got it.
I talked to Jim on the phone during his last day with us. He called to remind me of the Sinister Seven show that night. I had already planned on going, but it was nice to talk to him. I told him about my recent purchase of a Mac, and then I told him how I planned to use it to create Techno music, which he abhorred. I liked to kid and argue with him about synthesized music, which he thought was inhuman. I'm glad we got to laugh about it one last time.
Sandy, my fiancee, and I went to the show at the Metropolis that night and it was great. The band was just starting to make a big name for itself, and the packed club was filled with the excitement and energy like they were onto something good before everyone else discovered it. Neither Sandy or I had any kind of premonitions that tragedy would strike later on, which sometimes happens with us. We jut sat and enjoyed the good music. Jim's playing was even better than usual - really good solos - and the song he sang was fun and lively. We left between their second and third set, about 12:30 a.m., because we were tired, and I was able to say my goodbye's to the rest of the band, but Jim was busy talking to some girl, as was usual at a show, and I didn't bother him.
The next day, in the afternoon, Sandy called out to me from downstairs, "Kurt! Jim is dead!" I rushed down and heard it on the news, his own station, reporting that Jim had been murdered on the K Street Mall the night before, about an hour after we had left.
The next couple of days were sad and chaotic, with everyone calling everyone else for information, and consolation. The funeral was lavish and well attended. I was really shaken up by Jim being gone in such a quick, random fashion, but I bled tears for Bill Smith, as well. You see, Bill was a closer friend to me than Jim was, actually. But Bill and Jim were the best of friends. And imagine having your best friend and partner gunned down before your eyes. Jim is in musical heaven now. he doesn't have to work his job anymore. He can stand around and jam with Prima now. (Louis might have something to say about that trumpet solo before Falconi's Bandstand number - it's a little too familiar, you know? - but Jim will win him over with his charm and goofy smile.)
The band is over. No more Spider Smith and the Sinister Seven, by Bill's decision. Some of us have mentioned how Jim might have wanted to carry on the musical tradition, but we respect whatever Bill does. Besides, he says, Jim was the motive force behind the group.
Oh, I really don't know what more to say.
Jim Pantages was a good guy, and I'll miss him.
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