Prescott Arizona News and Events - Read It News Magazine

“We want to see Rosie!” the crowds would shout at the Riverside Ballroom in Phoenix 80 years ago. At that time, bands got attention for their novelty performances, and Leonard Ross’s part was “Rosie the Bearded Lady.” He wore a grass skirt, the beard was really a mop and he danced while he blew his horn. The Phoenix big band fans of 1928 warmed to Leonard like the desert summer sun and ever since then he’s carried their moniker of “Rosie” Ross.

A hundred summers haven’t dimmed Rosie’s love of music or penchant for performance, and you can still catch his big band trumpet sounds at the Pine Cone Inn Supper Club in Prescott.

“As long as there is someone to request Sugar Blues, I’ll live to play it for you,” he said. “I’m committed.”

Born in Wakita, Oklahoma in 1906, he grew up on a farm and remembers having that “terrible love for music” even as a young boy, he said. Inspired by the sounds of his uncle’s harmonica, Rosie spent a nickel to buy himself one, too. As he grew older, the curiosity to play his father’s trombone became too great to resist; in 1921, when Rosie was 15, his father traveled to Wichita and brought back for him his first horn, a brand new baritone. Rosie bought a “how-to” book from Sears, Roebuck & Co. for two bits and he taught himself to play the trombone. After moving to Springfield, Colorado, Rosie and his baritone joined a trio until the three moved on to Denver in pursuit of success. Rosie stayed behind to create his own band, the first of many, and appointed himself to fill the need for a trumpet player.

In 1931 Rosie received an invitation to play his trumpet at the opening of a new outdoor dance hall called the Phoenix Mirradorm, and got a gig at an outdoor ballroom in Prescott, the Garden of the Gods. Located in Granite Dells, Rosie said the Garden would pack the dance floors with folks coming from as far away as Jerome and Phoenix. He also played twice a week with a band on the Prescott downtown plaza. Between all these gigs and his day job as a carpenter, Rosie said he was making more money than Glen Miller in New York City.

Rosie, in a way, later came to take Glen Miller’s place: after Miller’s airplane disappeared over the English Channel during WWII, Rosie played in the London USO band that replaced Miller’s band. After the war, in 1949, Rosie came back to Prescott to play at the Pine Cone Inn, which he did for the next 18 years. Rosie and his wife Mary Elizabeth moved away for a while, but they came back in 1987 to live in Mayer - and for Rosie to continue his Friday night gigs at the Pine Cone Inn. To this day, Rosie says he commutes from his Mayer home to play on “the biggest night of the week,” when he looks forward to “just playing and entertaining the people, and hope they will come back again.”

They do. They keep making reservations, filling the place to hear Rosie’s music. The grass skirt and the beard are gone, and today Rosie wears an enormous layer of generosity and kindness towards those who come to appreciate his trumpet. He’s always willing to play requests, to give back an earful of notes beyond expectation. Rosie’s music is his way of returning a part of himself, his passion to play for all those willing to listen.

Rosie said the song title for his life would be, “Let Me Live Forever To Play That Song That You Like.” He said those who love his music are the key to his longevity, and said he’s lucky to play at such a great venue.

“The people who have discovered this place from as far away as New York to San Francisco to overseas have all claimed that they can’t find the music that’s played at the Pine Cone Inn Supper Club,” he said. It’s one of the few places anywhere that still books this kind of music.

Your attendance grants that unusual recipe for a memorable evening of delicious food, a waiting dance floor and the fabulous live entertainment of Mr. Leonard “Rosie” Ross. A sense of relaxation begins the evening as soft notes from a piano begin to play. Your ears embrace the beautiful notes from the sparkling trumpet held by the well-dressed gentleman who stands in front of a maroon velvet curtain. As songs from the Big Band era fly from his horn, you know you have just entered a time not yet forgotten. Whether you are here for a romantic dinner or to celebrate a special occasion with family and friends, this nights showcase performer will undoubtedly notice and appreciate your company.

On your way out the door, be sure to stop and share your own appreciation with this gracious gentleman. In one hand, as an expression of his love for music, Rosie will hold his horn; the other awaits your handshake as an expression of his thanks for cherishing the night and extending the memories.

(Want to hear Rosie play? So does everyone else; you’ll probably need to make a reservation two weeks in advance. Call the Pine Cone Inn Supper Club at 928-445-2970 for more information.)