Remembering Mister Fathead

BY SANDY SCHOPBACH

David "Fathead" Newman wasn't a fathead in life. Far from it. He was a gentle-speaking man who rarely had anything bad to say about anyone. David told me the nickname was given to him by his Dallas high school music teacher, Mr. Miller.

"[Miller ] saw my music was upside down on my stand in theory class. He shouted "Fathead!" because he knew I had memorized it."

Well now Fathead will be showing Mr. Miller that he learned to read music. David "Fathead" Newman died of pancreatic cancer on January 20…a great loss to jazz. Luckily for us, he leaves many CDs behind in witness of his gift as both composer and performer, including one last one to be released in a few weeks: The Blessing, recorded on December 12, 2008.

Newman was a familiar face at the Detroit Jazz Festival, invited often as guest star; most recently in 2005. He played the now-extinct Bird of Paradise on several occasions. When I booked him there, it was an easy sell. "David and I loved coming to Ann Arbor to play at The Bird where the audiences were always so special and attentive," his wife and manager Karen Newman told me by phone. And the crowds loved him back. The place was always packed, with audiences uncomplainingly respecting the strict no-smoking ban imposed by his past bouts with throat and lung cancer, which never diminished the power of his playing or the sweetness of his sound (he loved the ballads). Listen to "Hard Times," his signature song, or "I Remember Brother Ray" and you'll know what I mean.

Newman also played the Firefly Club in its new digs on Main Street, where I saw him for the last time. Karen and I sat at the table and soaked in the music. The audience, like the audiences at The Bird, was respectfully quiet and admiring. They knew they were hearing one of the best in the business, a genius astride two centuries. Fathead loved playing with pianist Tad Weed. He told me he always felt free to follow the music in his head, knowing that Weed would be equal to the task. And local musicians, such as drummer Pete Siers, loved playing behind him. In spite of his genius on both sax and flute, David Fathead Newman was a quiet man who remained modest. After all, his music spoke for him. And that was more than enough.

For more information, visit Newman's official website.

ABOVE: David and Karen Newman

Photograph by Sandy Schopbach

I N - T H I S - I S S U E :
1. SEMJA AWARD TO GEORGE BENSON   2. REMEMBERING MR. FATHEAD
3. JOHN CLAYTON STEPS OUT   4. AROUND TOWN
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