Sunday, May 9, 2021
I am a professional bassist and was a colleague of David. I played with him on numerous occasions in the late 90's after his arrival in the Pacific Northwest. He used to play at the defunct McGowan's Restaurant in Renton, which is where I first played with him. I remember playing gigs with him elsewhere such as a casino in Lakewood. When David started his magazine Northwest Jazz Profiles, he featured me in one of his first issues. I contributed some writing by doing some interviews that was featured content for his publication. I did interviews with legendary jazz bassist Buddy Catlett as well as original WAR member Lee Oskar. Shortly after I did the Lee Oskar interview, that was one of the last issues before David shut down his publication. That was the last time I saw him. I remember David as an honest sincere man. In a world of jive talkers and fast talking folks who had some sort of angle to get over you, David was never like that. He meant what he said. He was straight forward and did what he set out to do. He didn't talk big or exaggerate. He was down to earth. I always appreciated him for that. He was for real. He was a man of depth on many subjects. He understood the publishing business. He had insights about the live music scene in Seattle that resonated with me. He had sales and marketing chops. We spent a day together at his place where he mentored me on sales techniques when I was looking to do more with the publication. David Keys was a really good guy. I can testify to that. My condolences to his family.
-Emmanuel del Casal