The last note from a master musician

by Yeoh Siew Hoon

I knew it wasn’t good news when I received an SMS from drummer friend Tama Goh.

It said, “a very close friend at heart, he was my inspiration in music, a joy to be with always and we shared 17 years of good fun, friendship and good performances. His love to us was unconditional. Eldee Young will always be my hero and I feel blessed to have Eldee in my life.”

Eldee had played his last note at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit Bangkok. He leaves behind his wife, Barbara, and three children, Eldevon, Tyree and Marcus.

Everyone who loved jazz in Asia knew Eldee Young. I first met him in the early 80s when he was playing at the Oasis at the then-New World Harbour View in Hong Kong.

He had a presence that went far beyond his diminutive stature -he was often hidden by the bass he played – and he had a smile that lit up the room. And his fingers, how they worked magic on his bass.

Eldee didn’t sing much, preferring to let his fingers do the playing, but when he did, he always touched you. He had a vocal style that was easy and smooth, just like the jazz greats of old.

He came and joined us for drinks. That sealed our friendship, it was that easy. In Hong Kong, we went out on junk trips and ate a lot ? Eldee had a huge appetite for life.

At the time I met him, I didn’t know what an illustrious musician he was. Eldee gave no hint of his history. Nor did I bother to read up about him – it seemed sufficient to know Eldee as he is, not as he was.

Reading it up now, I learnt that he was born on Jan 7, 1936, was regarded as one of the premier jazz bassists of the 50s and 60s and had performed with the world’s best including James Moody (who celebrated his 80th birthday on stage in Singapore with Eldee playing alongside him at the Esplanade concert hall).

He had a band called Young-Holt Unlimited (his partner was Isaac ‘Redd’ Holt who also played with him in Asia) and they developed a soul-jazz sound that became their trademark.

After the group split up in the mid-70s, Eldee worked with many pop and rock stars on top of his jazz credits. His session work earned him gold records for ‘The In Crowd’ and ‘Hang On Sloopy’.

But Eldee was so taken by Asia from his first visit that he spent the next 20-something years travelling between the region and his home in Chicago. He became a fixture at some of the best jazz bars in Asia – Somersets at the then-Westin Plaza, Blue Note at Kowloon Shangri-La and later the Sheraton Grande in Bangkok, as well as in several other cities.

On the website, www.thehistorymakers.com, Eldee lists Asian as one of his favourite three foods, the others being Cajun and Soul Food. His favourite colour was blue and his favourite quote “remember who you are and where you are”.

I made it a point that whenever I was in a city where Eldee was playing, I would try and pop in. In Singapore, he played jazz concerts in the park, The Esplanade and at The Regent.

In fact, he was due to appear at the Regent in two weeks’ time. It was through Eldee too that I met Singapore musicians such as Tama Goh and Jeremy Monteiro.

I last saw him at the Sheraton in December in Bangkok. It was nearly Christmas and Eldee was in top form – jovial and jolly as always. “Siew,” he said (he could never quite get my name right), “it’s been too long, I will be in Singapore early next year. Let?s get together.”

Alas, this was not to be. I am glad though that my last memory of Eldee was him playing his bass and singing, “What a wonderful world.”

Vintage Eldee. The world has lost a huge talent and a big heart.
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Espresso Corner is where you can relax with Yeoh Siew Hoon of The Transit Café (www.thetransitcafe.com). Each week Siew Hoon will bring her own special insights and style to this must-read corner of TravelMole Asia