Jazz Man

Written by: Robert O'Connor
Edited by: Kate Kliner
Joboja Staff Writers

Lift me, won’t you lift me above the old routine

The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities is divided into two campuses, one in northwest St. Paul and the other in northeast Minneapolis. During the school year, a free bus service runs between them every five to ten minutes, and it takes about a half hour to go from one end to the other. Of the many different bus drivers on this route, one speaks poetry on the loudspeaker that changes depending on the day of the week (“Fat frogs frolicking freely in the fog on Fridays”).

However, one stands out among the rest: Rob Thompson, known simply as the Jazz Man. Few people ask his name and barely anyone knows his real name, but the Jazz Man is a famous and beloved figure. And to accomplish this notoriety serving a campus of 100,000 students, faculty and staff, this is quite a feat. The Jazz Man acquired this nickname because for the past seven years, he has brought a boom box on the bus and plays jazz for the riders. He plays upbeat jazz in the afternoon and slower jazz in the evening. When the weather gets cold, he gets into some Latin to distract people.

Besides the music, he happily greets everyone who gets on and engages in friendly conversation with those in the front. If he recognizes you, he’ll honk his horn (always “shave and a haircut”) and wave at you as he drives by. All of this, he says, is done because he believes that jazz brings people together. He tried R&B and soul for a while, but says people really connected with jazz more than anything else.

He’s become such a beloved figure that a former student made a painting of a saxophone blowing the words “Jazz man” out of its horn. The painting hangs above the front door of his bus. When his bus went in for repairs, the Minnesota Daily ran a notice reassuring riders that he wasn’t gone. Daily advice columnist "Dr. Date" once wrote that saying you’re a fan of the Jazz Man "is a big turn-on for dates."

And there aren’t many drivers like Jazz Man in the Twin Cities. Many bus drivers greet you as you get on and off their bus, and every once in a blue moon you’ll run across one who talks to the bus and tries to get it to sing. But none of them have the fame or personality of the Jazz Man.

Of course, in many cities, the drivers don’t talk at all. They sit behind the change slot with an iron expression and a bulletproof window over them. A pre-recorded voice announces all of the stops, and neither the driver nor the canned voice says “good morning” when you get on or “have a good day” when you get off.

The Jazz Man says he wants to retire to Jamaica and run a jazz radio station down there, but for now, and for the better, he is brightening the day of thousands of people and helping to inspire a love for great music.