Deservedly, my friend, master drummer Von Barlow was just inducted into the Jacksonville Jazz Festival Hall of Fame on Tuesday, February 27th. It was a great honor for this music titan whose star lineage goes back to Ray Charles’ recording studio, hanging out with Redd Foxx, and playing Woodstock with the late great O.C. Smith.

Over the years I’ve lauded Von Barlow’s stellar drumming in many different playing situations. Yes, as Dizzy Gillespie would say, Von has bull chops and is the first drummer anyone thinks of if they need a substitute traps man. I talk to Von frequently just to chat. So it wasn’t a stretch to call him about his induction ceremony. Von was humbled by the honor and a bit befuddled as to what he would say.

During the Jazz Festival events, Von will be playing at the Piano Competition with Noel Friedline during the time the judges are deliberating. Regularly, though, Von pops up with various groups like Longineu Parsons at Simons, where I last crossed paths with him. Unequivocally, I consider Von to be the best drummer I’ve ever heard. And believe me, I heard a representative sample of the best stickmeisters in music. Von can hold his own with all of them.

"The Mayor’s office called me Thursday before the event on that next Tuesday at City Hall. I went numb and I had no idea what to say. So after a day or reflection, I pulled myself together to write a little acceptance speech. It was a great honor and although I never get nervous before a gig, this caught me off guard and stopped my circulation. Man, I was flabbergasted." "Receiving this honor made me nostalgic about the past when I lived in Los Angeles from 1962 through 1972, and hung out with Ray Charles and Redd Foxx at a recording studio near where I lived. I used to go to Redd Foxx’s club and hang out with Redd. When I traveled to NYC to play gigs with groups at the Apollo Theater, I’d run into Bill Cosby and Redd Foxx. Cosby used to joke with me and try to get on my drum set. Bill plays drums, but not seriously. He’d be smoking his cigar and joking with me. At the time, it was funny but after awhile I got annoyed with him. But later when he became such a big star, I felt honored that he took the time to joke with me."

"I knew Lou Rawls who was on the bill with the groups I was playing with at the time. I guess you could say my big break was joining O.C. Smith’s band right before his big top ten single God Didn’t Make Green Apples hit big. That put him in a different league and his record company Columbia booked him all over the world on a bill with Lou Rawls, Bill Cosby, Herb Albert’s Tijuana Brass, and Richard Prior plus other comics like Redd Foxx’s rival Slappy White. As fate would have it, I ended up at Woodstock with O.C. Smith and met Jim Hendrix and the other luminaries playing at what turned out to be a legendary event. I had never seen so many people in one place before. It was literally a sea of humanity. So it was a memorable gig. The pot smoke was so thick backstage, I couldn’t see anything."

"Later we went on to play the Monterey Jazz Festival, Madison Square Garden, and the Apollo Theater. I toured the world with O.C. riding that one hit for ages. But O.C. had a whole catalogue of his original material that people loved. So, he was able to capitalize on the one hit and expose his other material to vast audiences. For some years I played with Ben Tucker who brought in renowned guest artists at Hannah’s in historic Savannah. I also played with the Hilton Head Jazz Society. Lately, I’ve played many gigs with my friend Longineu Parsons’ Tribal Disorder ensemble. I’ve traveled to Morocco with Longineu to play for the King. I’ve played many gigs with Longineu in France, Spain, and Italy. So, life is good and I’m grateful to all those who have helped me including you, Teresa O’Donnell-Price, who has always gone to bat for me, and many other journalists and friends," Von Barlow said.

Indeed, Von is a man for all seasons. In music, he has been everywhere and done everything. Von’s nuanced playing is always musically interesting, and in context with the focus of the ensemble in which he is playing. Von plays the drums with sensitive dynamics and creative improvisations. Von is one of a few top drummers who treat the drums as a melodic musical instrument, making the traps sing with sweet vibrations.