{"id":4930,"date":"2013-07-16T22:12:02","date_gmt":"2013-07-17T05:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/?p=4930"},"modified":"2013-07-16T22:12:02","modified_gmt":"2013-07-17T05:12:02","slug":"leonard-garment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/rifftides\/2013\/07\/leonard-garment\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonard Garment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of the obituaries of Leonard Garment mention his background as a jazz musician but not the key role he played in arranging White House honors for Duke Ellington. The former White House adviser died July 13 \"Leonard<\/a>at the age of 89. Garment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clarinet and tenor saxophone skills helped pay his way through college and law school. His gigs included a stint in Woody Herman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s saxophone section, but he opted for a career in law and public service. For a full review of Garment\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s career, see his New York Times<\/em> obituary<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Before Richard Nixon ran for president in 1968, he and Garment were partners in a Washington, DC, law firm. After Nixon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s election, Garment served in the White House as a special consultant on, among other matters, civil rights and the arts. His most visible role was defending Nixon in the Watergate scandal that erupted in 1972 and in the impeachment process that led to the president\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s resignation. Noted for his integrity, Garment convinced Nixon not to destroy the oval office tapes that proved damning in the Senate Watergate hearings and investigation. Ultimately, he played a key role in persuading the president that he must resign.<\/p>\n

Early in Nixon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s term, Willis Conover of the Voice of America suggested that the president throw Ellington a 70th birthday party at the White House. Garment and fellow Nixon adviser Charles McWhorter got the president\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s approval. Conover assembled an all-star tribute band: Bill Berry and Clark Terry, trumpets; Urbie Green and J.J. Johnson, trombones; Paul Desmond and Gerry Mulligan, saxophones; Hank Jones, piano; Jim Hall, guitar; Milt Hinton, bass; and Louie Bellson, drums; Joe Williams and Mary Mayo, vocals. Dave Brubeck, Earl Hines, Willie the Lion Smith and Billy Taylor also played. Conover MCed the concert that followed Nixon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presentation to Ellington of the National Medal of Freedom. The President then accompanied the birthday singalong. The US Information Agency, when there still was a USIA, filmed the event. This clip from an unnamed documentary is all that I have been able to turn up.<\/p>\n

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