December 16, 2025 • 9 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, before jazz became a subject for textbooks and framed posters, it lived in families like the Gozzards. Harry Gozzard never worked the factory lines that defined Detroit. His world unfolded late at night, horn in hand, moving from club to club as the big band era held on. His son, Georges, traces those memories across cities and seasons and remembers what it felt like to watch a parent step into a spotlight that few families ever saw.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
And we returned to our American stories. Harry Gazard was
an American jazz trumpeter who played from the nineteen thirties
all the way to nineteen eighty. Today, we're going to
hear from his son, George, sharing some memories he holds
about his father's time in the big band lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I grew up in Warren, Michigan, a blue collar city
just north of Detroit. It's the automobile capital of the world.
At one time, Warren had more factories than any other
city in the entire country. Except for my dad. It
seemed as if every kid that I knew when I
was growing up had a dad who worked on the
assembly line for one of the big three car companies.
(00:51):
Even though my dad didn't directly work for gm Ford Chrysler,
he did help its workers relax during their time off
with his unusual and playful profession that he sometimes referred
to as work. Harry Gozard was a big band musician,
(01:13):
and a very good one at that. My dad truly
enjoyed soothing the ears off of the residence of Metro
Detroit with his hot lips and cool trumpet. From what
I understand, he was one of the best trumpet players
in the country. Harry Gozard was born on a farm
in Shelbourne, Ontario, Canada. In nineteen twenty four, at eight
(01:37):
years of age, he his parents and three siblings migrated
to Detroit. He dropped out of high school when he
was just a teenager and began traveling around the country
tooting his trumpet. I'm not certain, but I think it
was the Sam Donogue Orchestra who asked my dad to
drop out of school and join their band. For all
(01:58):
I know, my grandparents were diametrically opposed to him doing so. Nevertheless,
he did it anyway. He was one of the fortunate
few musicians who was able to record a few record
albums during his musical career. My dad's fame, if you will,
was even noticed by some people who I never thought
(02:19):
of as being a fan of his. I still remember
when my kindergarten teacher, missus Mitchell, came up to me
during class one day and told me how much she
enjoyed watching and listening to my dad perform at the
Elmwood Casino the previous night. The Elmwood was a premier
night club for the residents of Metro Detroit and southern Ontario.
(02:42):
It was located just across the Detroit River in the
beautiful city of Windsor. Many well known entertainers performed there.
Sammy Davis Junior, Anne Margaret, Tony Bennett, Bob Newhart, Patty Page,
and Tom Jones were some of the celebs that my
dad were with. Although my dad retired from the big
(03:06):
band way of life when I was very young, there
were a few times and I had the opportunity to
watch him perform live on stage. During the nineteen sixties,
he played on the Saint Clair and the Columbia river boats.
The Saint Clair and the Columbia transported excited passengers down
(03:26):
the Detroit River to the locally famous Bablo Island Amusement Park.
The cruise was about a two hour long voyage that
originated from Detroit. Cruising down the Detroit River while watching
my dad play his trumpet before a live audience of
hundreds of people and getting to play all day at
Bablo was probably one of the coolest things that I
(03:48):
ever did when I was a kid. Another cool memory
that I have of my dad performing was the time
when he played in the band for the al Cayline
Day celebration at Tiger Stadium. It was on August second,
nineteen seventy. The legendary singer songwriter Mel Tormae nicknamed the
Velvet Fog, saying thanks for the memory due to the
(04:11):
fact that my dad brought my mom and all of
us kids to that memorable baseball game. He was late
getting to the stadium. I have seven siblings, as you
can imagine, getting a large family the size of ours
ready for a notable event like that was a monumental task.
I vividly remember the commotion going on that particular day.
(04:34):
It was reminiscent of the scene in the first Home
Alone movie where they were all rushing around to get
ready for their big flight to Paris. Long story short.
In order to kick off the festivities for al Caline's
big day, the band, in a sold out crowd of
fifty thousand anxious fans had to wait a few moments
for their tardy trumpeter to arrive. The absolute coolest memory
(05:00):
that I have of my dad performing was the time
when he played at the Grand Hotel. It's a ritzy
hotel that is situated on picturesque Mackinaw Island. Even to
this day, it still happens to be a great place
to visit. When I was about ten years old, my
dad played two back to back stints there in the summertime.
(05:22):
Since mckinaw Island was located roughly three hundred miles away
from where we lived, he unfortunately had to leave my
mom and all of his children at home for the summer.
To commute back and forth every weekend was simply out
of the question. Greatly missing him. During the second summer,
my brother Greg and I drove all the way up
(05:42):
there to visit him for a few days. Actually, we
first drove to Mcinaw City. From there we hopped on
a high speed ferry and cruise to the island. The
eight mile journey across beautiful Lake Huron took only about
twenty to thirty minutes. However, it was not without incident.
At about eight o'clock in the morning, my brother and
(06:02):
I arrived at the boat dock parking lot. As soon
as we got out of his cool Caprice Classic, we
both unconcernedly noticed that it was very foggy out on
the lake. Since my brother and I were nautical novices
at the time, we had no idea that cruising on
a large body of water and a heavy dense fog
was considered to be a maritime hazard. To my brother
(06:25):
and me, though, that fog was no big deal, so
we just went up to the ticket counter and bought
our ferry fare to the island. About ten minutes after
the ferry left the dock, we heard several really loud
horn blasts coming from our vessel and several other loud
blasts that were coming from another vessel which seemed to
be too closed for comfort. All of a sudden, the
(06:48):
captain of the ferry turned the wheel very hard to
port or to the left, seemingly trying to avoid a
collision with another boat. The captain turned the ship's wheel
so hard that the know that my brother and I
were sitting next to was completely submerged. Right about then,
our own common sense began to let us know that
something was dreadfully wrong with this picture. Fortunately, though a
(07:13):
few minutes later, the ferries seemed to level out and
return to its normal operating procedure. I immediately began to
turn my head from side to side, much to my surprise.
While looking out at the starboard side window, I noticed
the stern of a massive freighter that was only about
one hundred yards away from us. Apparently, the captain of
(07:34):
our vessel almost broadsided a very large freighter. Who knows.
Perhaps the freighter we nearly collided with was the legendary
ss and Min Fitzgerald. Hey, it could have been more
then likely, though it probably wasn't. Nevertheless, this legend of
mine will not only live on from the Chippewa on down,
(07:56):
but with every other individual who loves a seaworthy store.
As soon as we safely arrived on Macinn Island, our
dad happily greeted us at the boat dock. He then
took us for a stroll down main street. We immediately
began to experience what it was like to live in
an earlier age of long ago. No cars were permitted
(08:18):
on that island at the time. At first, it was
very strange not being able to hear the sound of
one single motor. However, I did get used to it
real quick. Actually, it was rather nice not hearing the
sounds of motors, horns and squealing tires For a few days.
Since there wasn't any motor vehicles to travel around, and
we either had to walk, ride a bike or ride
(08:41):
in a horse drawn carriage in order to get around
the island. The night that I saw my dad play
in the majestic Grand Hotel ballroom was really special. I
felt like I was in an old nineteen forties movie.
There were people all over that ballroom who were dressed
up in formal attire as they dance to the swinging
(09:02):
beat of the big band. Sold All in all, that
pleasant memory of my dad, as well as every other
pleasant one, is something that I'll cherish forever.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
And great job on the production by Madison Derricott, and
a special thanks to George Gazard for sharing the story
of his musician father Harry sharing with us most importantly
the gigs, because that's what you remember if you have
a musician parent. The gigs and the gigs were my
goodness of every variety in kind, from steamboats to casinos
(09:36):
to the Grand Hotel at mackinaw Island. And if you
have never been to Mackinawe Island in Michigan, take a
family trip there over the summer. It may be one
of the most beautiful places in America. The story of
Harry Gozard as told by his son George here on
our American Stories
And we returned to our American stories. Harry Gazard was
an American jazz trumpeter who played from the nineteen thirties
all the way to nineteen eighty. Today, we're going to
hear from his son, George, sharing some memories he holds
about his father's time in the big band lifestyle.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I grew up in Warren, Michigan, a blue collar city
just north of Detroit. It's the automobile capital of the world.
At one time, Warren had more factories than any other
city in the entire country. Except for my dad. It
seemed as if every kid that I knew when I
was growing up had a dad who worked on the
assembly line for one of the big three car companies.
(00:51):
Even though my dad didn't directly work for gm Ford Chrysler,
he did help its workers relax during their time off
with his unusual and playful profession that he sometimes referred
to as work. Harry Gozard was a big band musician,
(01:13):
and a very good one at that. My dad truly
enjoyed soothing the ears off of the residence of Metro
Detroit with his hot lips and cool trumpet. From what
I understand, he was one of the best trumpet players
in the country. Harry Gozard was born on a farm
in Shelbourne, Ontario, Canada. In nineteen twenty four, at eight
(01:37):
years of age, he his parents and three siblings migrated
to Detroit. He dropped out of high school when he
was just a teenager and began traveling around the country
tooting his trumpet. I'm not certain, but I think it
was the Sam Donogue Orchestra who asked my dad to
drop out of school and join their band. For all
(01:58):
I know, my grandparents were diametrically opposed to him doing so. Nevertheless,
he did it anyway. He was one of the fortunate
few musicians who was able to record a few record
albums during his musical career. My dad's fame, if you will,
was even noticed by some people who I never thought
(02:19):
of as being a fan of his. I still remember
when my kindergarten teacher, missus Mitchell, came up to me
during class one day and told me how much she
enjoyed watching and listening to my dad perform at the
Elmwood Casino the previous night. The Elmwood was a premier
night club for the residents of Metro Detroit and southern Ontario.
(02:42):
It was located just across the Detroit River in the
beautiful city of Windsor. Many well known entertainers performed there.
Sammy Davis Junior, Anne Margaret, Tony Bennett, Bob Newhart, Patty Page,
and Tom Jones were some of the celebs that my
dad were with. Although my dad retired from the big
(03:06):
band way of life when I was very young, there
were a few times and I had the opportunity to
watch him perform live on stage. During the nineteen sixties,
he played on the Saint Clair and the Columbia river boats.
The Saint Clair and the Columbia transported excited passengers down
(03:26):
the Detroit River to the locally famous Bablo Island Amusement Park.
The cruise was about a two hour long voyage that
originated from Detroit. Cruising down the Detroit River while watching
my dad play his trumpet before a live audience of
hundreds of people and getting to play all day at
Bablo was probably one of the coolest things that I
(03:48):
ever did when I was a kid. Another cool memory
that I have of my dad performing was the time
when he played in the band for the al Cayline
Day celebration at Tiger Stadium. It was on August second,
nineteen seventy. The legendary singer songwriter Mel Tormae nicknamed the
Velvet Fog, saying thanks for the memory due to the
(04:11):
fact that my dad brought my mom and all of
us kids to that memorable baseball game. He was late
getting to the stadium. I have seven siblings, as you
can imagine, getting a large family the size of ours
ready for a notable event like that was a monumental task.
I vividly remember the commotion going on that particular day.
(04:34):
It was reminiscent of the scene in the first Home
Alone movie where they were all rushing around to get
ready for their big flight to Paris. Long story short.
In order to kick off the festivities for al Caline's
big day, the band, in a sold out crowd of
fifty thousand anxious fans had to wait a few moments
for their tardy trumpeter to arrive. The absolute coolest memory
(05:00):
that I have of my dad performing was the time
when he played at the Grand Hotel. It's a ritzy
hotel that is situated on picturesque Mackinaw Island. Even to
this day, it still happens to be a great place
to visit. When I was about ten years old, my
dad played two back to back stints there in the summertime.
(05:22):
Since mckinaw Island was located roughly three hundred miles away
from where we lived, he unfortunately had to leave my
mom and all of his children at home for the summer.
To commute back and forth every weekend was simply out
of the question. Greatly missing him. During the second summer,
my brother Greg and I drove all the way up
(05:42):
there to visit him for a few days. Actually, we
first drove to Mcinaw City. From there we hopped on
a high speed ferry and cruise to the island. The
eight mile journey across beautiful Lake Huron took only about
twenty to thirty minutes. However, it was not without incident.
At about eight o'clock in the morning, my brother and
(06:02):
I arrived at the boat dock parking lot. As soon
as we got out of his cool Caprice Classic, we
both unconcernedly noticed that it was very foggy out on
the lake. Since my brother and I were nautical novices
at the time, we had no idea that cruising on
a large body of water and a heavy dense fog
was considered to be a maritime hazard. To my brother
(06:25):
and me, though, that fog was no big deal, so
we just went up to the ticket counter and bought
our ferry fare to the island. About ten minutes after
the ferry left the dock, we heard several really loud
horn blasts coming from our vessel and several other loud
blasts that were coming from another vessel which seemed to
be too closed for comfort. All of a sudden, the
(06:48):
captain of the ferry turned the wheel very hard to
port or to the left, seemingly trying to avoid a
collision with another boat. The captain turned the ship's wheel
so hard that the know that my brother and I
were sitting next to was completely submerged. Right about then,
our own common sense began to let us know that
something was dreadfully wrong with this picture. Fortunately, though a
(07:13):
few minutes later, the ferries seemed to level out and
return to its normal operating procedure. I immediately began to
turn my head from side to side, much to my surprise.
While looking out at the starboard side window, I noticed
the stern of a massive freighter that was only about
one hundred yards away from us. Apparently, the captain of
(07:34):
our vessel almost broadsided a very large freighter. Who knows.
Perhaps the freighter we nearly collided with was the legendary
ss and Min Fitzgerald. Hey, it could have been more
then likely, though it probably wasn't. Nevertheless, this legend of
mine will not only live on from the Chippewa on down,
(07:56):
but with every other individual who loves a seaworthy store.
As soon as we safely arrived on Macinn Island, our
dad happily greeted us at the boat dock. He then
took us for a stroll down main street. We immediately
began to experience what it was like to live in
an earlier age of long ago. No cars were permitted
(08:18):
on that island at the time. At first, it was
very strange not being able to hear the sound of
one single motor. However, I did get used to it
real quick. Actually, it was rather nice not hearing the
sounds of motors, horns and squealing tires For a few days.
Since there wasn't any motor vehicles to travel around, and
we either had to walk, ride a bike or ride
(08:41):
in a horse drawn carriage in order to get around
the island. The night that I saw my dad play
in the majestic Grand Hotel ballroom was really special. I
felt like I was in an old nineteen forties movie.
There were people all over that ballroom who were dressed
up in formal attire as they dance to the swinging
(09:02):
beat of the big band. Sold All in all, that
pleasant memory of my dad, as well as every other
pleasant one, is something that I'll cherish forever.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
And great job on the production by Madison Derricott, and
a special thanks to George Gazard for sharing the story
of his musician father Harry sharing with us most importantly
the gigs, because that's what you remember if you have
a musician parent. The gigs and the gigs were my
goodness of every variety in kind, from steamboats to casinos
(09:36):
to the Grand Hotel at mackinaw Island. And if you
have never been to Mackinawe Island in Michigan, take a
family trip there over the summer. It may be one
of the most beautiful places in America. The story of
Harry Gozard as told by his son George here on
our American Stories
Host
Lee Habeeb
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