The Trident: Rest in peace

This publicity photo of the Vince Guaraldi Trio — with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin
Bailey, drums — likely was taken during the combo's early 1962 booking at The Trident.

Alas, another link to Guaraldi’s past has disappeared. I just learned that the newest incarnation of The Trident closed on December 31, thanks to this San Francisco Chronicle article.

Back in July 2020, I wrote an extensive post about the history of this Sausalito venue, which was intertwined with Guaraldi’s early career for many years.

 

As a brief recap — with a few fresh details — in late May 1960, the owner of Sausalito’s French restaurant, Ondine, opened a second dining establishment on the ground floor of their building, at 558 Bridgeway Street. The new supper club was called The Yacht Dock, reflecting the fact that customers could arrive by boat, if so desired. (Which, you must admit, is pretty cool!)

 

Guaraldi and his trio are known to have played that venue at least once, from June 9 through mid-July, 1961. After that booking concluded, the Yacht Dock closed for renovation by new owners Brad McNutt, the Kingston Trio and their manager, Frank Werber. The venue reopened on August 8, newly christened as The Trident. Arriving by boat remained a popular option.

 

Guaraldi and his second “classic trio” — alongside Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums — played there six nights a week, until December 3. They returned on January 7, 1962, and remained the headliners until July 1.

 

Monty Budwig had moved on when Guaraldi got his next Trident gig, from November 6 through January 6, 1963, and was replaced by Fred Marshall. Guaraldi’s live album, In Person, was recorded midway through that run, on December 4.

Portions of Woody Allen's 1972 film, Play It Again, Sam, were filed at The Trident (but, alas,
Guaraldi wasn't around during shooting).

Subsequent known Trident bookings included:

• April 16-May 12, 1963, with Marshall and Jerry Granelli, drums;

 

• June 25-September 14, 1963, with Marshall and Granelli;

 

• February 4 and 11, 1967, sidemen unknown;

 

• April 11-May 7, with Kelly Ryan, bass, and John Rae, drums;

 

• July 9-21, with Guaraldi’s new Electric Umbrella Quartet, alongside Jimmy Stewart, electric guitar, Bob Maize, electric bass, and Bob Dominguez, drums;

 

• August 13-18, with the Electric Umbrella Quartet; and

 

• October 23, 1972, sidemen unknown, sharing the bill with the Cal Tjader Quintet, in a benefit for South Dakota Sen. George McGovern’s bid to become U.S. President.

 

By then, the Trident was several years into its re-invention as a free-spirited rock joint. It closed on November 21, 1976 (not in 1980, as the Chronicle article incorrectly reported, no doubt having sourced that date from the Trident’s own occasionally inaccurate web site history).

 

The building reopened in 1980 as a tourist venue dubbed Horizons, which closed in 2012. The owners of San Francisco’s Buena Vista Café bought the property in 1997, with the eventual goal of reviving The Trident, and it reopened under that name in October 2012. So, that second incarnation lasted just over 13 years … which isn’t bad for a restaurant, in these tough times.

 

The Marin Independent Journal ran a nice story about the Trident’s history, last Friday; it goes into considerable detail about the numerous musicians and film stars who frequented the venue … although, oddly, the final paragraph encourages readers to “stop by to pay homage,” which would be a challenge at this point!

 

Will the building be transformed into something else?

Stay tuned…