Whatever you may say about Desmond Bourne, he was knowledgeable, and good at his range of careers, including radio jazz host, print and broadcast journalist, and the voice of many ads. But more importantly, he had no qualms about sharing the wide knowledge gained from his work and travels.
I learnt this firsthand after I started covering entertainment, since Desmond followed my writings, often commending or berating, but flavouring his comments with sound advice. I wrote an article on Frank Sinatra and tried to compare his lyrical improvisation with the early bebop of some jazz instrumenalists. Desmond called and in no uncertain terms, told me I shouldn’t “go there” – with which I politely disagreed.
He then called fellow jazz aficionado Carl Moore, and what I got was an unforgettable lesson in the essence of jazz, explained to me more eloquently than any Downbeat magazine could. Via that three-way phone hook-up, I sat at the feet of two of the region’s foremost jazz critics, which was humbling.
Bourne also lent me some Billie Holiday recordings, and after calling to find out if I had truly listened to them, pointed out the acute changes in her voice: the young songbird full of life, and the older Holiday whose vocals bore the haunting pain of hardship and drug abuse. She died at 44 after giving the world classics like God Bless The Child and Strange Fruit, which I appreciated more as a result of Bourne’s chats.
It was also Bourne’s erudite writings about other jazz artists that caused me to start a collection, not only of the names known in mainstream circles like Charlie “Bird” Parker, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, but the brilliant trombonists “Jay and Kai” – J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding. As a result, each time I travel, a portion of time is set aside to peruse the jazz section of some record store.
Bourne had little time for the modern jazz proponents, not even “young lions” like Nicholas Payton who was here last weekend for Christmas Jazz, Wynton Marsalis or Joshua Redman, but knowing my interest in jazz and other genres, he would call me whenever a major televised event was upcoming, especially if it featured Bajan superstar Rihanna.
Rest in peace, Desmond.
