Most of the time this is an incredible life we live as artists, specifally performing artists, and most specifically, musicians. As a jazz musician who is in the business, most of the places you go and the things you do are happy occations, birthdays, weddings, dances, sometimes concerts, or jazz clubs, but over all it's a happy business.
I guess that makes it a little sadder when a musician passes on, particularly one as great as Rene Netto.
Not only was he one of the greatest musicians, I have known, he was kind enough to share his talent with me on the bandstand. Rene taught me alot about music, about jazz music. He was a great help to me as I started in the business.
For Rene, fame wasn't in his destiny, as much as he may have desrved it. Some say he was a better player than Pete Fountain, or Boots Randolf, maybe in class with Benny Goodman and Stan Getz. But the business side of entertainment escaped him. He chance at fame via The Lawrence Welk show and a few other shots just never quite materialzed. So how I think he came to terms with all of that. In the end, he was happy just to play his horns. It brought him peace and satisfaction knowing he could paint that sound in a partiular moment and do so like nobody else could. It was audio magic listening to him, musch less trying to play and keep up with him.
We did countless private parties, concerts and travels togehter. Criss crossed the USA a few times, covered South America at least in part but that never seemed to matter much to him. A stage was a stage. He just wanted to play his horns.
He did and with unbelievable musical virtuosity. It was amazing and he will be missed, but never forgotten.
Sadly,
Jimmy Maxwell