Ralph ‘Johnny Jazz’ Gatta If the spirit of Red Bank’s west side could be conveyed through a single person, then Ralph “Johnny Jazz” Gatta might have been the one.
“He had been on the west side all his life,” said his brother, John Gatta. “And he had gone through different stages of the west side — from an Italian neighborhood, to a Puerto Rican neighborhood, to a black neighborhood and now to a Mexican neighborhood.
“He lived through the whole thing, and got along with them all. He really was a west side kind of guy — there’s no doubt about it.”
On May 11, Gatta became forever immortalized in Red Bank when borough officials dedicated the pocket park at the corner of Shrewsbury Avenue and Drs. James Parker Boulevard to the jazz aficionado, naming it the Ralph “Johnny Jazz” Gatta Park.
As the proprietor of Johnny’s Jazz Market on Shrewsbury Avenue, Gatta was a fixture in the community for decades until he passed away in 2011 at the age of 74.
Al and Ruth Wright perform; and Juanita Lewis and John Gatta speak about Ralph Gatta’s ties to the west side of Red Bank during the dedication of Ralph “Johnny Jazz” Gatta Park on May 11. Known to residents as a jazz expert, Gatta filled the walls of his market with old album covers, newspaper clippings and quotes from jazz musicians, and personally provided each customer with a free lesson in jazz history.
He also stocked the shelves with cultural and ethnic foods, kept his store open 365 days a year, and always provided a helping hand to customers who were unable to pay.
“He was incredible,” said his niece, Mary Gatta. “When he died, people came [to the services] and said things like, ‘I couldn’t afford food, and he ran a tab that he never called in on.’ ”
Gatta’s sister-in-law, Jan Goldsmith, described him as an “eccentric” person who never left his store because he loved his customers so much.
“He could’ve gone to a restaurant, he could’ve gone to the movies, he could’ve gone to see concerts,” Goldsmith said. “But he basically just stayed in the store and never went anywhere. People would come to him.”
At the park dedication, residents, family members and borough officials recounted their memories of Gatta. Two of Gatta’s friends, Al and Ruth Wright, performed “Take the A Train” by Duke Ellington, which they said was one of Gatta’s favorite tunes. Former Councilwoman Juanita Lewis, who began the initiative to name the park after Gatta, spoke about the impact he made on the west side.
“For close to 50 years, Ralph Gatta lived his life for this community. … So whether you were looking for slabbed bacon; a place to talk, listen and learn; or a safe haven during difficult times, Johnny’s Jazz Market had a little something for everyone,” Lewis said.
“Although the market’s physical location is no longer on Shrewsbury Avenue, Johnny’s spirit and love for Red Bank’s west side will remain right here. I think it is fitting that this location be memorialized for Ralph Gatta, so the next time you stop by this park, take a second to remember my friend — Red Bank’s local ‘cool cat,’ Ralph ‘Johnny Jazz’ Gatta.”
His brother, John, recounted a time when Gatta stood up to racial segregation during his stint in the Army in the 1960s.
“While on duty in Virginia, racial segregation at the time was the norm in Virginia,” John Gatta said. “My brother went onto a bus and sat in the back because that’s where all the cool cats sit, at the back of the bus.
“ … The bus driver came over to him and told him he had to move to the front, and he refused.” One of Gatta’s close friends, Gilda Rogers, said she learned about jazz history through her friendship with Gatta.
“His love for jazz music was beyond belief,” Rogers said. “He was a jazz historian in his own right. He could’ve taught at any master’s degree program for jazz. He knew people’s birthdates, death dates and dates that they did important shows.
“He taught me that jazz was a music that emoted how people feel, and it was pure music because it was people giving up themselves. And that’s why a lot of jazz is improvisation.”
She said a visit to Gatta’s store was more than a shopping trip — it was an entire experience. “When you walked in there, you didn’t have to say a word because jazz was everywhere, written on the walls and in pictures,” Rogers said.
Also in attendance at the ceremony were Councilwoman Linda Schwabenbauer, chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee; Memone Crystian, director of Parks and Recreation; Councilman Edward Zipprich; Councilwoman Cindy Burnham; and former Councilwoman Sharon Lee.
Schwabenbauer said people like Gatta are what make Red Bank the place it is.
“I think Red Bankers know, in our hearts, that the things that truly make Red Bank a great place to live are the things that don’t show up in the guidebooks,” Schwabenbauer said. “The things that really speak to our community, and to our love of our culture, are things that only we know about.
“And sometimes these things aren’t things at all. Sometimes these things are people.”