CALGARY – This past Saturday evening, toddler Jacob Williams was mistaken for jazz legend Duke Ellington while slamming on his xylophone.
Jacob was gifted the xylophone at his third birthday party because he liked to hit things according to his mother, Monica Williams. After opening it, he immediately began banging on the xylophone. None of the adults in attendance noticed as they began to get excited that they were listening to an undiscovered Duke Ellington improvisational performance.
La La Land Director Damien Chazelle is a friend of the family and was at the party that night. “It was remarkable. We were listening to the Money Jungle album and all of sudden this new rift that we never heard before came on. The song ended and then it was this hot lick,” said Chazelle. “I started recording on my phone and sent it to a few other jazz aficionados to see if any of them had heard it.”
Jacob stopped banging to burp which is when the adults got excited that a horn solo was starting. However, Jacob went right back to his xylophone. It wasn’t until Jacob stopped hitting the toy in search of more cake that the guests realized it wasn’t the rare find of a jazz legend but merely a toddler playing his noise-maker.
“Some people were embarrassed but most just think that our Jacob is a musical genius. Chazelle is already searching for a music label based on the recording he made. We now have him playing xylophone 3-4 hours a day so he’s fully prepared when he’s discovered,” beamed Mrs. Williams. “I can’t believe my Jacob is going to be a star.”
Petr Cancura, President of the Jazz Festivals Canada, was quick to point out that Mrs. Williams was overestimating the popularity of jazz in declaring her son would be a star.
“Jacob could headline at every jazz festival in Canada and he would still need at least two other jobs in order to buy a house in any Canadian city that’s big enough to have a jazz club,” said Cancura.
At press time, Chazelle already had written his next musical all about Jacob, with Ryan Gosling onboard to play the toddler.
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