A Nanaimo musician is remembered for his incredible talent and love of crows and ravens.
John Forrest died Jan. 10. He was 58.
“John was really bigger than life,” said longtime friend and fellow musician Paul Gogo. “Everything in his life was music.”
He first met Forrest as a child when the musician would babysit him and his siblings.
“When he was over, he would just play the piano the whole time,” Gogo said.
Forrest attended Malaspina College, University of B.C. and Berklee College of Music in Boston. He scored 12 National Film Board productions, including Seven Crows a Secret in 1994, which he also directed.
Forrest also wrote a column for the News Bulletin from 2004-07 called Face the Music. Often, it was about music. He played with the Vancouver Island Symphony and taught music in Nanaimo.
Most recently Forrest produced, co-wrote and played on Norman Foote’s Juno Award-winning children’s album My New Shirt. In December he premiered his new band, The Deadly Nite Shades, at the Queen’s annual Salvation Army Benefit.
Forrest began performing in rock bands in Nanaimo when still a teenager, playing his stand-up bass as well as trumpet and accordion.
Gogo said he left Nanaimo for the big city of Toronto and toured with all calibre of musicians, such as Buddy Rich, who often threatened to fire players in his band.
“He never fired John Forrest,” Gogo said. “That’s a credit on John’s resume.”
Forrest could play any instrument, sometimes at the same time. He could play a jazz solo on trumpet while laying down the bass line with one hand.
Eventually, he returned to Nanaimo where he continued playing wherever and with whomever he chose.
“He wasn’t after the fame and the big buck,” Gogo said.
Somewhere between here and there, Forrest picked up the nickname Blackie, which most people attribute to his love of crows and ravens.
Gogo said Forrest loved jazz – even just the way the word sounded – and will remember his beatnik style, an actual jazz cat.
“He could get away with anything because he was so lovable,” Gogo said.
Forrest is survived by his son, Paul; partner Kim Garland; and father James Forrest, plus other family members.
An informal gathering of family and friends is set for Saturday (Jan. 28), 1-3 p.m., at Bowen Park.
Memorial donations can be made in Forrest’s name to the Salvation Army, one of his favourite causes.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
