Memories of William "Bill" Farris Perkins

In memory of

William "Bill" Farris Perkins

Berkeley, CA

November 7, 1932 - October 12, 2019

Nov 7, 1932 - Oct 12, 2019

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Joan Finton

I think of Bill often. I am his former art teacher at Greenridge Senior Care, his lontime final residence. He was a wonderful artist, had a great sense of humor in his art; I have saved some of his work and would love to hand it on if anyone of you would like it. He and I bonded over our love of jazz and often exchanged CDs. As he changed with his illness, so did his art. I just re-read his short auto-bio, and also the speech I made about him when we gave him a wonderful musical birthday party all those years ago. I really miss him. [I'm older than Bill!]

Joan Finton jfinton1525@sbcglobal.net

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Comments:

J. P.

Thank you Joan. Today would have been Dad's 90th birthday. Your tribute is beautifully timed. I sure miss... Read more Thank you Joan. Today would have been Dad's 90th birthday. Your tribute is beautifully timed. I sure miss him too. I would be... Read more Thank you Joan. Today would have been Dad's 90th birthday.... Read more

Joan Finton

I am the teacher of art at Greenridge Senior Care where I met Bill and where we became bonded in our love of music, particularly jazz,

and art. And though I knew he had been a recognized musician, I was blown away by his skill as a visual artist. With recognition of his waning abilities, he faced these facts of life with intelligence and humor. And his continuing ambition to outwit the New Yorker cartoonists never subsided. I grew to love Bill and to treasure our friendship . Joan Finton

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J. P.

From Larry Vuckovich - Bill was a part of the Benny Barth/Fred Mergy Quintet, which was one of the best jazz groups that ever existed in the Bay Area. Bill played meaningful, well-constructed melodic jazz solos on this recording that impressed many musicians. I had first met Bill around 1960 at SF State University where we were both students in the music department. Bill, Benny, and Fred came to a jazz history class and played – the music was fresh, exciting, and the students were knocked out. He played beautiful, melodic lines outlining a seasoned harmonic knowledge. When it comes to jazz playing, Bill was the real deal. He knew the history of the music and was always on top.

As Bill and I developed a good friendship, we would hang at different times, listen to music and make observations, always learning. Whenever possible, we would set up sessions to play and go over interesting material. Bill was older than I, and I really appreciated his comments on the different things we were doing in jazz – his knowledge of this music always made a good learning point.

When Bill lived in LA, he became friends with the great alto saxophonist Herb Geller. Bill told me about an exciting experience he had when Herb took him to an All-Star record session that featured Clifford Brown, Herb Geller, Joe Maini, Walter Benton, Curtis Counce, Kenny Drew and Max Roach. The album was called Best Coast Jazz...Bill and I were also a part of one of the best ever big bands that existed in San Francisco, led by Frank Leal alto saxophonist/clarinetist. The band included such excellent musicians as Monte Budwig on bass, Tom Reynolds on drums, Chuck Travis on tenor, and John Coppola and Allen Smith on trumpets.

In the later years, I was very happy when Bill was available for my first concert at the Filoli Gardens, where he played in the frontline alongside saxophonist Noel Jewkes. The rhythm section had Josh Workman on guitar, Nat Johnson on bass, and Harold Jones on drums. It was a very spirited, wonderful energy concert and Bill was in top form. During the last few years I kept a connection with Bill, exchanging sheet music, CDs, talking on the phone and reminiscing about the great times we had in jazz. May God bless Bill and I know he's in a good place hearing the best music.

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