Jazz Legends Return to Coast

Hey! Pete Fountain’s back! The legendary jazz icon has had a difficult year, but is ready to set South Mississippi’s feet a-tappin’ once again. He packed the house at Casino Magic Bay St. Louis’ Oak Royale Room before the storm, and will pick up right where he left off next Friday at Hollywood Casino. Tickets are $20, include two free drinks, and go on sale Monday.

Fountain has fought hard to keep himself and his signature Dixieland jazz sound alive in the last year. His Bay St. Louis home, to which he planned to relocate permanently before Katrina, was reduced to a slab. His collection of mementos and memorabilia from a career spanning more than a half-century were washed away, as was his regular gig at the casino. But he’s still going strong after eight moves across two states, a massive heart attack, quadruple bypass surgery and a vicious case of the shingles.

“It’s like coming back home,” he said upon his return to the Bay. “It really feels that way. Bay St. Louis is coming back; I can see that every time I come here. I think we’re going to come over here to stay. There are so many artists here, this is an artist’s community. Main Street, all those places, it’s great.”

Fountain and his wife of 54 years, Beverly, have been staying in their home in New Orleans while their new home, elsewhere in Bay St. Louis, undergoes repairs and renovation. In a wonderful bit of karmic synchronicity, the couple will officially relocate to the Bay about the same time as his first gig back in the Oak Royale Room. That first performance on Oct. 27 is also the night of the couple’s 55th wedding anniversary. You can’t ask for a better homecoming than that.

“They said it’d never last,” he joked. “I always said she should have left me on the honeymoon! I’m trying to rebuild (Beverly’s) jewelry collection, that’s why I’m working!

“I’m looking forward to (performing) every week for the next few years. I’m happy, my wife’s happy. This is the same band I’ve had before. They all stuck around, and now we’re all back together. I’m looking forward to it and we really enjoy playing,” said Fountain.

Throughout his recent troubles, Fountain’s fans have not forgotten him. Fountain describes his old Bay St. Louis home as a museum of pictures, instruments and letters garnered throughout his career. Though all of that was washed away, his fans have been returning items he sent to them years ago.

“There’s a lot of love there,” he said. “That’s what it feels like. They knew I lost everything and now…I can hang things on the wall.”

These days, Fountain is looking forward to the simple things: fans, home and family. He’s already bought more than two-dozen chairs for Christmas dinner with the family, including his six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Through nearly 100 records (three of them gold), performances for four presidents and a pope, and more than 58 appearances on the Johnny Carson show, Fountain says South Mississippi will always be his home

“I feel real comfortable in Mississippi,” he said. “I still have roots here. My dad’s from Biloxi. I spent most of my youth in the Back Bay. All my relatives are there. There’s big family in the Back Bay.”

We’re glad to have you back, Pete. Welcome home.

Source: Justin Hooks covers bars and bands along the Coast for the Sun Herald. He can be reached at jhooks@sunherald.com.

Comments