Mary McCaslin's Roundup

Sept 8, 2000

THE BALLAD OF RAMBLIN' JACK

The first time I saw Aiyana Elliott was at the Ash Grove folk club in Los Angeles a few months after she was born, sometime around late 1969 or early 1970. I didn't really know her dad then, and in fact had never spoken with him. I just remember Jack Elliott sitting in the front lobby that night cradling his infant daughter in his arms.

The next time I saw Aiyana was in the early 1990s at a show Jack was playing for Snazzy Productions at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center here in Santa Cruz. After the lights were dimmed there was a buzz in the audience and this very lovely young woman stepped in front of the microphone. She introduced herself as Aiyana Elliott and after a few words, brought her father, Jack Elliott, to the stage.

I think I ran into Aiyana a couple more times over the next few years, but it wasn't until the 1998 Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada that I had any sort of conversation with her. Like Jack, I was performing that weekend. Aiyana was shooting footage for the documentary she was making about her dad. What struck me was how gracefully she handled what surely must have been a continuing series of situations that ranged from mildly uncomfortable to downright awkward. How does one hope to be unobtrusive when following someone around with a camara, especially when that person happens to be Rambling Jack Elliott?

Thankfully, Aiyana's step father, Jerry Kaye, was also at Elko that year. Everyone could see how supportive he was of Aiyana's project. Jerry had become Aiyana's step father when her mother, Martha, married him after divorcing Jack. Jerry brought Aiyana and Martha to Santa Cruz, where Aiyana spent her later childhood and adolescence. Aiyana graduated from high school here in Santa Cruz.

Martha and Jerry eventually split up. Though Jerry has remarried and become the father of two, he and Aiyana have remained close to this day. Another interesting fact is that Jerry and Jack have been the best of friends for many years. As we all know Jack has incredible story telling skills, but one of the most memorable scenes from this film is Jerry Kaye's hillarious account of a trip to a grocery store with Jack.

The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack is a wonderful film. For those of us who care about this music and its history, it is a treasure trove. I know that I'll have to see it at least a couple more times just to savor its sights and sounds and to pick up the things I missed in the first viewing. There are many musicians who appear but who are not identified. This is the only substantial fault I found with this film, but as one of many who appreciate the musical connections of that era I would have liked to be sure who I was seeing in some of that classic footage.

The other, smaller complaint I have is to do with the very brief mention of a daughter Jack fathered with one of his earlier wives. I couldn't help wondering what has become of the woman who is Aiyana's older half sister. It's understandable that some of the people from Jack's past would not want to participate in this project. But it would have been much better to say something more about this woman, if only one or two sentences giving some sort of update.