Jimmy Guilford celebrates 90th

Jimmy Guilford celebrates 90th

Ever the debonair man about town, the astonishing Jimmy Guilford celebrated his 90th birthday (that's right, 90th!) with a party at Scullers Jazz Club, Oct. 6.

Sixty or so of his friends and family, including his equally amazing 88-year-old sister, the elegantly attired and lively Agatha Howard, toasted the dapper nonagenarian throughout a gala time. Younger guests may have wearied, but the honorees began celebrating at seven in the evening and went on into the wee hours.

Guilford was a great pal of jazz maestro Duke Ellington who also sparkled at the thought of a good time.

The evening at the sleek Double-tree Guest Suites Hotel began with a reception and sit down dinner in a room next to Scullers. Every so often, when there was a tiny pause in the bubbling conversation, you could tune into melodic phrases from the wonderfully accomplished John Andrews Ross at the piano. And now and again, his sister Paula Ross got our attention for a special moment such as when president of the Boston City Council Charles Yancey appeared with a proclamation giving official notice that the city applauded James E. Guilford, Jr.'s 90th.

At eight, the Guilford party filed into the nightclub to hear from the acknowledged creme de la creme of the cabaret scene, singer/pianist Bobby Short.

In manner and at first glance, you'd guess he's the epitome of how life is spent on Easy Street. Mr. Short looks as if he has put his martini down just for the moment at the urging of his idle rich pals who are pleading that he play a tune or two as the yacht rocks gently at the mooring.

He got you there, because Bobby Short is far, far removed from a doodler. This night, with Jimmy Guilford patting his foot at the stage center front row table, Bobby Short and his energetic, eight piece, bright and brassy jazz band swing handsomely. The man with the mega smile, Mr. Short himself, leads the charge. Between you and me, he seemed turned on playing to a houseful of mostly African Americans, reputedly a change of pace for the reigning ruler of N.Y.'s Cafe Carlyle supper club.

Bobby Short has diction to die for. It's ideal for the witty repertoire of Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rogers & Hart and others of that show tune upper echelon. Moreover, Short's fished through their songbooks with a finely meshed net bringing up tunes long overlooked by everyone but the composers's heirs.

The mix of the fondly remembered with the rarely heard keeps Short's program fresh. At Scullers some of the songs that elicited sighs of pleasure and rousing applause included "Taking A Chance on Love" from the Broadway show "Cabin in the Sky" that starred Ethel Merman, "We're in the Money" from "Golddiggers of 1933," and "Sand in my Shoes" which he notes was "a big hit in Boston only because the radio disc jockey Bill Marlowe liked it so well."

Short, himself a vital 74, as he took in the array of platinum dudes and silver foxes in the audience, quipped, "anyone who doesn't know who Cole Porter is, you are obviously at the wrong party."

Mid set, Short, who's had a large turnout over the three nights he's been at Scullers, stepped into the audience to embrace Jimmy Guilford.

At the show's conclusion Jimmy returns the compliment by giving Bobby Short a Standing "O" (as does the entire packed house).

Now the Guilford party moves on for champagne and birthday cake. The large reception hall has been remade into an art gallery with a nice selection of Guilford's prints, pastels, charcoals, and oils (including two nifty landscapes of Franklin Park) decorating the walls. As a party favor, Jimmy gives every guest a print of his very lifelike portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. There's more of John Ross's piano playing with Barbara Rucker coming to the mike for a bluesy rendition of Nat King Cole's "Nature Boy."

A Bostonian all his life, Jimmy Guilford, born Oct. 7, 1911, got his first job at 12 years old as an apprentice to barber Robert Gordon of the Progressive Barbershop at 724 Shawmut Ave. Guilford, who was a student at Boston Latin, would later open his own barbershop in 1934 at 810 Tremont St. His sister Agatha, with whom he shared birthday honors, entered the education field completing her career as principal of the Mattahunt School in Mattapan.

They were surrounded on the splendid occasion by a bevy of relatives. There was his nephew Richard and his wife Cheryl Guilford, cousin Wilfred with Melinda Johns, his daughter Jeanne Eason and her daughter Lena Eason and her son Bryent Eason-Johnson. Jimmy's son James E. Guilford, III was there with Deniaque LaBaptiste and grandson James E. Guilford, IV. Cousins Alton and Joyce Reed were up from Virginia and nephew Allen Furey came in from Washington, D.C. There too was Jimmy's ex wife Maryalice Guilford, a dear friend.

Boston Black Artists Association president Rebecca Hill gave Jimmy a framed tribute from the BBAA which he has belonged to since he took up painting after retiring from barbering. Other artists at the party included Milton Derr, Frank Morris, and Linda Clave, who was Jimmy's first art teacher. Mr. Guilford reminisced that at the time she had a studio across from his barbershop at 832-834-836 Tremont St. in Lower Roxbury. Other careers on Mr. Guilford's resume include bail bondsman and booking agent for entertainers. He served in the military in World War II, earning a Purple Heart.

Other friends attending were a contingent from New York of Brenda Turner, Estelle Robinson, Maurice Callendar, and Edna Williams. A cluster of Nubian Notion people were there reminding Jimmy of his friendship with the late Malik Abu Abdul Khallaq that began in the '40s. Representing that family were Mrs. Eva Khallaq, Mr. and Mrs. Abu Abdul Khallaq, and Sharif Abu Abdul Khallaq. There also was Eleanor Walcott, whose father founded Wally's jazz club and who has been friends with Jimmy since they were teenagers. So too was Marian Spencer, formerly the head nurse at Jewish Memorial Hospital and a retired professor from Boston University School of Medicine.

Other notables included Mildred Otway, a vibrant 88, retired Judge Harry Elam and his wife Barbara, a retired Boston Public Library librarian, as well

Photo (Jimmy Guilford)