CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY
NICKLE, recently released from Pro Se Productions, is the first volume in a
fantastic, already popular new imprint from the cutting edge Publisher. The imprint centers on characters
created by classic Pulp Author Charles Boeckman in original stories beginning
in the 1940s being written in new stories by some of today’s best authors. CBP PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE contains
tales by Richard White and Brad Mengel and focuses on a jazz musician with a
penchant for getting into trouble and mystery around every corner. Even more amazing than Boeckman’s
wonderfully colorful characters is the fact that Johnny Nickle, as well as
others, have their origins in a real musician. Charles Boeckman himself.
A renaissance man in many ways,
Boeckman is a self-taught man of many skills. He taught himself to play his
horns, about music theory, to write, and about photography and darkroom work,
as well as many other talents.
Knowing a great deal about music theory, Boeckman wrote all the arrangements
for his own Jazz band. He used lead sheets. The real Dixie musicians didn't
need them, but he had them for all the instruments in case he had to get a
substitute who needed them.
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| Boeckman (left) and Pete Fountain |
92 year old Boeckman literally wrote the book on
Jazz. “Cool, Hot and Blue’,
published in 1968, is a history of Jazz aimed at young readers. Another book by Boeckman, “And the Beat
Goes On,’ has been used as a text book in universities. He also wrote a novel, THE LAST JAZZ BAND, based on some wacky musicians
he knew and played with on bands where he was a sideman before he started
his own band..
Performing professionally since 1938, Boeckman
is remembered as the founder of the 1970s tradition of Sunday evening Jazz
marches down Starr Street in Corpus Christi. According to Charles’ wife, Patti Boeckman, “As a matter of fact, at its height, the Dixie band played
in a smoky dive (the perfect venue for Dixieland) in downtown Corpus Christi,
and during the evening, the band played The Saints, marched out the door with customers
following in a long line, marched to the end of the sidewalk and back, and then
finished the tune back in the dive. After a few months, the police noticed what
we were doing and said we needed to get a parade permit. So Charles went to
police headquarters every week for the permit, until they finally told him
not to bother anymore.”
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| Charles Boeckman's Band, featuring Patti Boeckman |
Boeckman’s band, which Patty was a
member of as a Bass player and a Charleston dancer, played in various locations
in the area. According to Patti,
“The band played in some of the most prestigious locations in town, the Country
Club, the Town Club (for rich folks), in church, etc. We did play other kinds
of music. For example, we put on two gospel concerts. We also had two locally
promoted concerts with our band and the Jim Cullum band from San Antonio, well
known in jazz circles, in a battle of the bands contest.”
Charles Boeckman was awarded a star on the SOUTH
TEXAS MUSIC WALK OF FAME in 2009.
This honor is the South Texas version of Hollywood’s Walk of Fame, but for
musicians, recognizing those who were born in or have lived in Texas and who
have made a lasting contribution to music in South Texas. Boeckman received over 300 nominations
for his Star.
Inductees include the likes of Selena, Kris
Kristofferson, Freddy Fender, and more. The star is embedded in concrete in the
courtyard of a complex called Water Street Marketplace in down town Corpus
Christi.
CHARLES BOECKMAN PRESENTS JOHNNY NICKLE
is available from Pro Se’s own store at http://tinyurl.com/c52g4cc and at Amazon at http://tinyurl.com/cz6s2q3
for $8.00! Available for $2.99 for the Kindle at www.Amazon.com , the
Nook at www.barnesandnoble.com,
and in other formats at www.smashwords.com!
For more information concerning Pro Se Productions,
go to www.pulpmachine.blogspot.com
and www.prose-press.com.
