Jazz Musician Toured Tokyo, then Discovered that He Is Now a Chain of Stores

[Ellery Eskelin]

Jazz Musician Toured Tokyo, then Discovered that He Is Now a Chain of
Stores

By AMY MERRICK and GINNY PARKER
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
October 1, 2004; Page A1

Cecil McBee, an American jazz musician on tour in Japan, made an unscheduled stop one night in the early 1990s. A friend in Tokyo hurried him off to a shopping mall and said there was something he just had to see.

When the elevator doors opened on the third floor, Mr. McBee couldn't
believe his eyes: The words "Cecil McBee" were emblazoned above the window of a chain store selling clothes to teenagers.

Ever since, in Japanese and U.S. courts, Mr. McBee, who has appeared for 40 years with the likes of Benny Goodman and Miles Davis, has been on a crusade to reclaim his name. The 69-year-old bass player hasn't been able to stop his moniker from appearing on bikinis, dog sweaters, cellphone covers and credit cards.

The store he saw is owned by the Japanese holding company Delica Co. It
chose the name in 1984, soon after Mr. McBee's first performances in Japan.
It now owns about 35 Cecil McBee stores, which had sales of about $112
million in 2002. With its miniskirts, fake-fur jackets and silky,
shoulder-baring tops, the chain is the vanguard of a current Japanese
fashion craze called "erogance" -- a melding of "erotic" and "elegant"
styles.

From his home in Yarmouth, Maine, Mr. McBee says the stores have cost him
bookings and damaged his career. Colleagues say searches for his contact
information on the Internet call up the chain's Web site. Music students
have asked whether he had a side business selling clothes to young girls.

"I heard a few jokes about my profession and my name, and that was rather
painful," says Mr. McBee.

Delica says it chose the name at random. Mr. McBee's lawyers hired a
mathematician to calculate the odds of randomly coming up with that name.
Her conclusion: less than 1 in 90,000.

Mr. McBee's team argues that Delica chose the name to convey an artistic,
free-spirited image. They say Delica has violated Mr. McBee's "right of
publicity," the right of a person to have his name and persona publicized
only with his consent and in a manner he deems appropriate.

In court filings, Delica executives deny any association with the jazzman,
though they can't be specific about how they came up with the name. They say
it may have been suggested to the company's late founder by an outside
store-design company, but that can't be confirmed.

Delica also enlisted an assistant professor of foreign languages at Lewis &
Clark College in Portland, Ore., in its defense. In court papers, Bruce
Suttmeier notes that Japanese businesses sometimes play word games to
develop their names. He hypothesizes that "Cecil" evokes "see-through,"
which describes an aspect of the stores' merchandise, and "McBee" suggests
"McV," the nickname for "McVitie's," a British cookie brand that has been
advertised in Japan.

One day recently, the Cecil McBee store in Shibuya, a neighborhood popular
with young people in their teens and twenties, was busy with a constant
stream of young women. Techno music blared and lanky saleswomen in tight
pants and miniskirts paced the white-tile floor. The styles are chic and
racy: velour bandeau tops, lacy camisoles, and bikinis, all in black, white
and jewel tones. A T-shirt with rhinestone studs runs a little under $40.
There is a multitude of miniskirts. Some have chain belts, cargo pockets or
zippers up the side.

Asked what "Cecil McBee" refers to, a store manager said it "has no
meaning." Ai Mizuno, a 17-year-old high-school shopper from Tokyo, said, "I
had no idea that it was a person's name. I just figured that it was some
phrase from a foreign language."

Saori Horikiri, a 17-year-old high-school student from just outside Tokyo,
was purchasing a camisole, probably the 15th Cecil McBee item she'd bought
this year, she said. "Cecil McBee is cool, cute and sophisticated," she
said, wearing a pink sweater with "Cecil McBee" across the chest. "Every
girl in Shibuya probably has at least one item." She'd never heard of the
musician, either.

Todd Holbrook, an attorney for Delica, argues that many Japanese companies
use American names. "If the people buying [the products] don't know who he
is, then he isn't cast as the spokesman," he says. Through its attorney,
Delica declined to comment further.

Robert Newton, one of Mr. McBee's lawyers, contends it doesn't matter
whether Cecil McBee shoppers have ever heard of Cecil McBee, the musician.
"If you didn't know jazz and you heard the name Herbie Hancock, there's
something in that name that evokes a sense of somebody," he says. "I think
the same is true of Cecil McBee."

Mr. McBee first performed in Japan 22 years ago, on a tour with the Chico
Freeman Quartet. After one show, he says, he signed autographs for 30
minutes. Since then, he has performed in Japan more than a dozen times,
frequently with the well-known jazz pianist Yosuke Yamashita. He says Delica
simply borrowed his name to ride his coattails.

In 1984, Delica registered a trademark for the katakana letters that stand
for "Cecil McBee." Katakana is a syllabic form of Japanese writing, often
used for foreign words. In 1996, Mr. McBee had an attorney send a letter to
Delica asking it to stop using his name. Later that year, Delica applied to
the Japan Patent Office to register the roman letters "CECIL McBEE."

In 2002, the Japan Patent Office invalidated Delica's trademark registration
for "Cecil McBee," ruling in Mr. McBee's favor. But the Tokyo High Court
reversed the decision, because the musician's full legal name is Cecil LeRoy
McBee. He is appealing the decision.

Frustrated, he took on U.S. lawyers who asked Japanese-speaking U.S.
residents to order merchandise from Cecil McBee stores. Once the products
were shipped to America, Mr. McBee's lawyers used the transactions and
correspondence from the stores to establish jurisdiction in the U.S.

Mr. McBee is currently pressing his case in federal court in Portland,
Maine. In August, a magistrate judge recommended that the musician be
allowed to press his case for damages, but that he could not seek an
injunction on the sale of Cecil McBee merchandise outside Maine. The
district court can adopt or disregard the recommendations, which both sides
are challenging.

The growth of the Internet has been a big factor in the case. U.S. residents
who ordered Cecil McBee merchandise relied on photographs and prices of the clothing posted on the chain's Web site. Anyone who types Mr. McBee's name into a search engine such as Google turns up references to the store. And some Cecil McBee merchandise has even turned up for sale on eBay.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Ellery Eskelin

In court papers, Bruce
Suttmeier notes that Japanese businesses sometimes play word games to
develop their names. He hypothesizes that "Cecil" evokes "see-through,"
which describes an aspect of the stores' merchandise, and "McBee" suggests
"McV," the nickname for "McVitie's," a British cookie brand that has been
advertised in Japan.

See-Through McVitie's. Yeah. Makes sense. I'll buy that.

[Cem]

"Cecil McBee is cool, cute and sophisticated"...there's the payoff.

Seriously, you can't even hang on to your own name, eh? There oughta be international laws...

[Ennis Snavely]

Now he knows how Howard Johnson feels.

[Uli]

Originally Posted by Ennis Snavely

Now he knows how Howard Johnson feels.

The first time i was in New York I saw a Howard Johnson I checked it out. I didn't know that it was a chain or anything but with a name like that. It turned out to be quite hip. It must have been around Broadyway and 42 nd and had an extremely mixed crowd of people obviously there to enjoy the $ 7.5 all the Sangria you can drink deal (salad mite have been included, i don't remember).

[Ennis Snavely]

Originally Posted by Uli

The first time i was in New York I saw a Howard Johnson I checked it out. I didn't know that it was a chain or anything but with a name like that. It turned out to be quite hip. It must have been around Broadyway and 42 nd and had an extremely mixed crowd of people obviously there to enjoy the $ 7.5 all the Sangria you can drink deal (salad mite have been included, i don't remember).

I still have dreams about fried clams piled high in a bun, served on a paper plate.

He had his hojo working for a good long while.

[Valerie]

Originally Posted by Ennis Snavely

I still have dreams about fried clams piled high in a bun, served on a paper plate.

He had his hojo working for a good long while.

as kids, we used to call hojo's fried clams, french-fried rubber bands!! there were never any "bellys"!

[Dr Dave]

Yeah, Cecil ought to have a chat with Howard Johnson. I think he's wasting his time on this one.

[Nathaniel Catchpole]

Saw some of those shops in Japan, wondered if there was a connection then decided probably not since they were selling tat.

[Sergio Zamora]

Originally Posted by Nathaniel Catchpole

Saw some of those shops in Japan, wondered if there was a connection then decided probably not since they were selling tat.

Sadly, 'Nat Catchpole' just doesn't have the same ring to it.

[Pete C]

Originally Posted by Sergio Zamora

Sadly, 'Nat Catchpole' just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Good name for a beer, though.

[HenryMc]

Well you know I just logged on to the Ellington and thought i'd surf the net. I had a cup of Mills Bros Java and a couple of Benny Goodman chocolate creams just for a snack. I searched the net for a price on the wonderful new 2004 GM Rahsaan and see if I can get it complete with a set of Dannie Richmonds but they only come with Elvins these days. Then one of the kids come in wearing his brand new Miles mocassins and Lee Konitz shirt. He's going on a date so I said 'Dont for get to wear your John Tchcai tie'. He said "Oh pop its casual I thought I'd just wear my Bennie Wallaces". I said it was a nice choice but I'd match it with his Mulgrews.Still If I know his chic she'll be in her latest Bird ware so they'll look nice together. Then I logged on to JC and saw the stuff about Dolan and Dr Dave and the coffee when through me too so I had to run off for a Wynton

[JazzJunkie]

Originally Posted by HenryMc

Then I logged on to JC and saw the stuff about Dolan and Dr Dave and the coffee when through me too so I had to run off for a Wynton

I hope you remembered to flush your Wynton.


(P.S.) Very clever!

[SinginSumo]

A GREAT avatar, JazzJunkie!

[hearsay]

I heard about this a few years ago from a bass player who had studied with McBee. He is really upset about this. It's got to be tricky considering international laws and stuff, I don't think he's got any chance of them changing the name, but hopefully he can get some money for his trouble. Someone in that company had to be a jazz fan or been at a show and had that name in the back of their mind, there's no way thats random. Besides don't they do some research on the name before they take it?

[JazzJunkie]

Originally Posted by SinginSumo

A GREAT avatar, JazzJunkie!

Thanks Singin' -- I hope to get down to that tasty jam haus in the future!

Originally Posted by hearsay

I heard about this a few years ago from a bass player who had studied with McBee. He is really upset about this. It's got to be tricky considering international laws and stuff, I don't think he's got any chance of them changing the name, but hopefully he can get some money for his trouble.

Yeah, it's upsetting that he's upset about it and I'm sure that, all in all, he just wants his name free of shabby-chic-feminine-fashion... but, I don't know, my insincts might have been to grab a McBee-Bikini and swim with it.

[Dennis Gonzalez]

Dick Hyman.

Think about it.

[Erik Lund]

And here I was thinking all those "Cecil McBee" bikini tops I bought were going towards the man...

Just adds to the problems of a closet full of bikini tops...

[Dennis Gonzalez]

I wondered if those bikini tops had gotten you in trouble, my boy.

Stefan's been askin' about ya, as has Mom.

[hornplayer]

Originally Posted by Ennis Snavely

Now he knows how Howard Johnson feels.

Not really.... "Johnson" is one of the most common surnames in the USA, and Hojo's was started by a man with the name of Howard Johnson. Not so for "Cecil McBee's!"