Meeting Eva’s brother Dan Cassidy

In the previous installment of the prologue, the author of the Eva Cassidy biography attended the musical ‘Over The Rainbow.’ When he receives an email from Eva’s brother, everything takes a completely different turn.

Dan Cassidy emails me to say he is willing to come and see me. We settle on a date: November 23. At 5:00 p.m., I take the HiSpeed train from Rotterdam to Schiphol, a trip of less than 30 minutes. The weather is terrible; the rain is lashing against the windows in the strong wind. I’ve given Dan my phone number, but I don’t have his.

Additional audio and videomaterial on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOTe3kZ8hmU

Thanks to the new rail line, everything goes smoothly, and the train rolls into the underground station right on time. Dan’s flight was supposed to arrive at 6:10 p.m., but to my surprise—and, to be honest, my alarm—the monitors indicate that the flight from Manchester has landed half an hour earlier. The strong wind turns out to be working in the favor of air traffic. According to the signs, passengers are supposed to exit at Terminal 4. Once there, another sign indicates that they can also use Terminal 3. People are trickling out of both exits, mostly businesspeople. When I check the time on my phone, I see a message from an unknown sender. That must be him. ‘Hi Johan. Am at arrivals three. Am in black coat carrying white bag. Thanks.’

Eva & Dan Cassidy

I walk around a large group of passengers, keeping an eye out for black coats and white bags. Sure enough, there’s a man my age, dressed entirely in black, staring at his phone screen. Around his wrist, he’s wearing a little white plastic bag. The first thing I notice is how thoughtfully he speaks and how American his accent is. His flight was pretty bumpy, Eva’s brother tells me. We pass a Starbucks, and I ask Dan if he’d like a coffee. ‘I’ll have a regular,’ he says. Dan may be American, but he’s not one for all the trimmings. Fine by me—I also find the Starbucks menu too extensive.

As we take a seat at a table, Dan explains that in Iceland he mostly performs as a sideman and that, as a result, he almost never gets to play what he really enjoys. In England, he has two bands: a swing quartet and a folk duo with singer and guitarist James Hickman. In the UK he has an apartment in Shrewsbury on the Welsh border. As an American, he had to get used to British manners: ‘They’re easily shocked or even offended, though you don’t necessarily notice it right away.’ He also performs in the U.S. from time to time, but the audience for his music is much smaller there. He has even performed twice in the Netherlands: in Tilburg and at Safari park Beekse Bergen.

Shrewsbury

On the train to Rotterdam, I notice that Dan is both shy and determined. He speaks calmly but decisively and doesn’t let himself be easily interrupted. It reminds me of how I’ve come to know his sister Eva. She was modest, yet always knew exactly what she wanted. Dan’s light blue eyes resemble Eva’s. He looks at me without averting his gaze, yet still holds something back. He recoils from too much enthusiasm, and that must be why he feels so at home in northern Iceland. Dan would love to play on the continent more often, he tells me.

He was interviewed at length by some Hollywood filmmakers. Someone had written a screenplay that his parents Hugh and Barbara weren’t too happy with. On top of that, it caused problems with Blix Street Records, and as with so many projects involving Eva, nothing ever came of it. Inevitably, we talk about his parents’ lawyer. Her ruthless, profit-driven approach has alienated many of Hugh and Barbara’s friends and family. She plays a leading role in Eva Cassidy’s estate and is listed as a co-author of the Songbird book, although her role in the writing process was marginal. Still, Dan acknowledges that his parents have suffered greatly in the past from people who were after their money.

By now, the train has arrived in Rotterdam, and we walk the last stretch from the station to my home. After dinner Dan talks for hours about his sister, and gradually the contours of Eva Cassidy’s personality begin to emerge. ‘When was the last time you spoke with my parents?’ he asks. ‘Right up until their lawyer took the stage,’ I answer truthfully. ‘I think it’s important that you meet them sometime,’ Dan concludes. ‘You really need to talk to my mother. Write her a letter!’

Johan Bakker