Issue #84 - December 1, 2020

This edition of Sky Studio is dedicated to **Bob Jenkins**

This edition of Sky Studio is dedicated to Bob Jenkins who joined former colleagues in Sky Studio, November 29, 2020.

We pay respect to and add a legend to our list of honour, Bob Jenkins, renown for his artistic talents, his skills as a musician and performer, as well as his capacity to amuse with jokes, stories and, having the tightest change purse ever known.

By day over four decades, Bob worked in the Art Department at CJIC Radio and Television and by night was highly regarded on the music scene playing with various groups and having his own band.

Extraordinarily imaginative materials for various purposes came out of that Art Department but primarily it was art cards for client television commercials and for station promotional, identification and programming use. With Bob as a ‘social magnet’ type, the Art Department was also was a gathering place for great discussion by many about various topics.

Lloyd Walton, an Art Department alumnus who went on to a multi-award-winning career as a director, cinematographer, painter, and writer, tells us more. “The Art Department was a place of great debates about politics and music. Aficionados George Jonescu and George Frazer would come in the Art room in between station breaks with the latest jazz gossip. John Rhodes would come in and he just beamed. Don Ramsey always came in before his show with the latest Nashville news with a bundle of records under his arm. Bob endlessly kidded him about the titles of the latest country and western song.

“The Sales Department would come in with the latest salacious local political gossip. During elections, Bob would art direct visuals for all three parties. We would get invited to three victory parties on election night.

“Eventually Bob agreed with me that there was "something " to the Beatles. The last time we met, about twelve years ago, I played him a song that touched him deeply, so he asked me to make him a copy. To his SHOCK it was Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones and the song was Losing My Touch.

“Looking back, that Art Room seemed the center of the universe as it was on the tour for out of town celebs and colourful locals and politicians. It was so because of Bob's wonderfully creative personality. I look back at the time when every morning on the way to work I wore a smile, and it would continue throughout the day.”

Bob had a reputation for being ‘frugal’, an image he enjoyed and perpetuated. Having a beer at the then Mid-City Hotel across the street from the radio-tv station, at the Windsor Hotel or most often at The Vic, Bob would bring out his change purse and say something like he wasn’t sure if he had enough to cover his round. He’d make a little production of fumbling with his money container, opening it and sometimes saying, “Creeeeeek.”

Fellow musician Jeff Holmes says, “Bob was a great musical mentor for me and the rest of the band. He would choose all the songs, making sure we had up tempo numbers, funk tunes, ballads and bossa, a practice I still use today with my group the Northern Jazz Ensemble. It was Bob’s idea to ask Judi to join the band in the early 1990’s. He was not afraid to share the stage with her, a mark of a truly, great entertainer. The original goal of the “Bob Jenkins Band” was to play once a month for fun, but as our reputation grew, we ended up playing once a week instead. We rehearsed every week and had a lot of laughs doing so which developed into deep friendships with Bob, Martin Virta, Judi and Ray MacDonald. He will be truly missed.”

Jeff’s wife Judi adds, “Bob was the one who told me which songs to learn to sing. He would play records of jazz vocalists from the 50’s and 60’s so I could learn “the feel” for singing jazz songs. From this we discovered Diana Krall and made it a point of learning many of her great songs. I will miss him.”

Barb Reid, Creative Services at CTV at 119 East Street, started there in 1980 following graduation from the graphic arts program at Sault College, and continues to work there. “I got a placement working with Bob and he was such a dear man. He always made me laugh, he had such a great sense of humour and was such a genuine person. We had a terrific connection and I learned a lot from him.”

Sitting beside Bob in the Art Department in earlier days for about 13 years was artist Ken MacDougall. “We grew up together on Kohler Street and ended up working together. There’s not one main thing one can say about Bob because he was such a holistic, talented, super nice guy. He had some strong opinions on some things but was always open minded, fair and had that great sense of humour. He was at the core, sincere and caring about people and life – working hard, doing his best all the time.”

To help preserve some artwork from the tv station, Ken spent days last year sorting through thousands of art cards that, “…. were filled with memories. I remembered the art cards of storefronts like Savoy’s, Man Store, Orpheum Theatre, that mostly I did – Bob didn’t like doing the detail involved. But I always admired his style drawing people. He had a defined, unique style, an identity that was rare that I could recognize whenever I saw anything he created. Whenever people drawing work was needed, I handed it over to Bob.

“We always talked about everything while we worked and sometimes the distraction caused mistakes that we’d share great laughs about. An art card that was supposed to say, ‘turkeys’ ended up ‘trukeys’ and one time we each took a side lettering a station van. About a week later as it drove by something caught my eye and I took a closer look. The word ‘Channel’ had three n’s! I brought Bob out to see it and we laughed and laughed.” Asked whose side of the van had the mistake, Ken says Bob initially disputed it but it tuned out to his error, but both laughed just as hard – maybe Ken a bit more.

Ken says Bob never went to art school but was self taught starting at the station when television came to the city in the mid 1950s. Ken joined Bob in 1961 and after leaving in the early 1970s, Ken returned from time to time from his fine art career to help Bob during busy times at the station.

“Another memory I have is that he whistled a lot as he walked. I can still hear you Bob, whistling a jazz tune as you’d be walking home.”

Bob is ‘home’ now in Sky Studio, taking pieces of many hearts with him while leaving behind fond memories, smiles, brushstrokes on our hearts, a tune in our head and a desire to buy him a beer and have one more fun chat.

Sault Star story

https://www.saultstar.com/entertainment/local-arts/jenkins-was-veteran-sault-musician

SooToday story

https://www.sootoday.com/local-news/sault-musicians-remember-bob-jenkins-3145153

Special Announcements

Robert "Bob" Jenkins | Obituary | Sault Star (remembering.ca)

https://www.sootoday.com/obituaries/jenkins-robert-bob-3140384

What A Wonderful World

Excerpt from one of Bob’s signature songs, video from Joe Petrolo
https://youtu.be/PQNTBYKD5Uk

Bob Jenkins Band at Rotary Community Days
https://m.youtube.com/watchfbclid=IwAR0ln3cGt_IioWGnAUG9zi0lEHipbzx2BQ0OwWMQwvRv5THvKU5so6XAj2g&v=IMnF0Z65cN8

Bob Jenkins, closing part of the film about Ken MacDougall,
The Enjoyment of Form
(See 11 min 15 sec mark)
https://youtu.be/4phAdoRpX68