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Burton
                      Cummings & Neil Young 1987


JOSÉ  PONÉIRA


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The José Ponéira
                              Quartet at the Rancho Don Carlos

L-R:  Jimmy Weber (clarinet/saxophone), José Ponéira (piano), Jim Cordupel (bass), Ed Sersen (drums)
The
José Ponéira Quartet at the Rancho don Carlos, 650 Pembina Hwy.  Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 1958.
Owen Clark Collection.  Photo contributed by Ed Sersen.  Photo ID: OC-ES11.

José Ponéira was born in Lubeck, Germany on February 8, 1923.  His father, Alexander Ponéira, came from an affluent German family and was a doctor.  His maternal grandfather was Wilhelm von Humboldt, founder of the Humboldt University of Berlin.  The Humboldtian university concept profoundly influenced higher education throughout Europe, and later, the modern western education system.

The family left their homeland in 1934 during the period when far-right totalitarian ideology was coming to the forefront.  Taking up residence in Spain, the Poniéras operated a ranch until the Spanish Civil War of the late '30s caused them to relocate once again, returning to Germany where they remained until 1941.  They escaped to Cuba, staying for a period of six months, before settling in Argentina.

In Argentina, José developed a life-long love of Latin music that would later influence his career as a musical performer.  In 1947, he moved to New York City where he became a fixture in the nightclub scene, playing at the famed Waldorf Astoria and the popular Harwin Club, where he met his wife, Gladys.

“He knew all the stars and celebrities and moved in that circle,” Richard Ponéira said, adding his father once played at a party for actor Robert Mitchum in 1949, and one of Jose’s trios provided the music for the engagement party of Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco.
   
José Ponéira arrived in Winnipeg in 1955, and for several decades fronted trios and quartets on the nightclub circuit throughout Canada and the United States.  The late 50s/early 60s Ponéira appeared regularly at the Rancho Don Carlos in Winnipeg.  From 1962 to 1964, he hosted his own national weekly show - A Song For You - on CBC television.

Ponéira spent the latter part of the 1960s and early 1970s in Toronto and Vancouver, returning to Winnipeg in 1976.  He was at the piano for Sunday brunch in the Fort Garry Hotel’s Palm Room for 20 years, last playing there for his 90th birthday in February 2013.

José Ponéira died at Winnipeg on June 22, 2013 after a brief illness.

Compiled from the following sources:

The Royal Gazette, Bermuda 1962

"At the Rancho, if a singer was booked, they came with music charts, and Charlie had to provide the backing band.  Playing with some of the big-name acts meant you had to be able to read quickly and learn fast because you generally had one rehearsal.  I don't think the musicians in this city would have developed as quickly without the Rancho.  He gave local musicians a chance to play with major artists.  Also, musicians got to see and interact with some of the finest musicians on the North American scene.  I never ever heard any local musicians say anything bad about Charlie.”

Owen Clarke
Musician and jazz historian in a 2015 interview

The following video is a clip of Cab Calloway at the Rancho Don Carlos with the
José Ponéira Quartet backing him up for the 1959 televised performance of The Cab Calloway Show.
"Very unusual line up for Cab with a clarinet, but Jimmy WEBER proves on several tunes that he can play some fine riffs.  But the best of all is definitely the drummer Ed SERSEN who endures a scat/drum battle on “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead” with Cab and gets great applause by the audience, and consideration by Cab himself! The best part of the show."

Keller Whalen
As published on The Hi De Ho Blog




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