The Detroit Jazz Festival All- Stars will assemble at the Dirty Dog this week to preview the excellence we associate with our world class jazz festival. The Director of the festival, Chris Collins will join other Detroit band leaders to oil our gears and prepare our ears for what is to come this Labor Day in beautiful Detroit.
One of the first persons that you might meet at the Dirty Dog is the guy behind the bar, Carl. Carl is friend material. He became a friend and an important person in my life. I remember the first time he served me a beer. We chatted, and he changed my life. He encouraged me to photograph the musicians, and I am still doing my best to document the great artists like the All-Stars that stream through the Dirty Dog. Those photos are now in the book Detroit Jazz.
Carl has an ability to size people up. Long before the internet and government surveillance there was Carl, someone who somehow seems to know a lot about you and your needs. He soaks up info with a glance. He senses when to be there and when not to be. He knows when you need to be understood. When your spirit needs a boost, serious Carl becomes Carl with a smile. Not just any smile. A Carl smile. It can make your day.
Carl can keep a secret and he can share a story. He can listen, and he can appropriately disappear. Carl tends a great bar, keeps the supplies up to date, buses and serves when needed as part of the great Dirty Dog team. He is a genuine all-star.
John Osler
I asked some of his mates on the Dirty Dog staff to say something about Carl
Here they are
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