Josephine Malti

Josephine Knight Jackson Malti

Once in a great while our lives are blessed by a friendship that is delightfully simpatico: Jo was this rare friend to so many. Josephine Malti was a cultured concert pianist with a ready wit, contagious laugh and the warmest of smiles.

Jo died unexpectedly in San Francisco on July 31st. She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, as the middle daughter of Ollie and G. Leslie Jackson (known by his friends as Les). Her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. J B Knight, settled in Corpus Christi after making agricultural investments in south Texas. Jo adored her grandmother Addie Flake Knight, "Me maw" as she was a great observer who spoke her mind. Jo would often share Me maw's wisdom with her friends. Jo called them "me maw-isms".

Josephine found her way to the family piano at the age of four and thus began her musical life. She had an illustrious piano career in Corpus Christi and spent her high school summers studying music at the Aspen Music School in Colorado. Jo's high school classmates voted her Most Likely to Succeed and gave her a glamorous full-page photo in the WB Ray High School Annual. Jo attended Bennett College, Millbrook, NY then transferred to Mills College, Oakland, CA to study music under Darius Milhaud and Alexander Libermann. She graduated in 1962 with a degree in music. Upon graduation, Jo stayed in San Francisco to continue her studies with Alexander Libermann.

Jo was passionate about her Texas roots and spoke fondly about her farm outside of Corpus Christi and the Robertson family who farm the land. Ollie would visit Jo in San Francisco always bringing Texas treats for Jo and her Texas friends to feast on. Jo was very close to her Texas cousins Robert and Anne Knight Hoey and would visit with them each year. Jo married George M. Malti in 1973, and the couple resided in San Francisco. They later divorced but Jo remained close to his family.

Jo's musical career was vast. She spent numerous years as a solo recitalist. She cofounded the Greenwich Chamber Players, a consortium with a piano trio at its core and concertized in the Bay Area and the Napa Valley during the 80's. In 1992 she returned to solo piano and began a 9 year stint as accompanist for the musical groups The Doo Wah Divas and Ain't Misbehavin'. The ladies of those groups were all the dearest of friends, they called Jo "Jelly Roll Malti". They were very popular and played at many local events. She had style and substance aplenty with a vast repertoire of tunes. She was known for her spirited rendition of Debussy's Golliwog's Cake Walk, played brilliantly with an infectious twinkle in her eye. She was an extraordinarily thoughtful, beautiful, and gracious Texas lady with a fabulous sense of humor. She was always known for her chic style and wearing her favorite coral lipstick.

Jo was a member of the French-speaking lunch group, the Town and Country Club and the Burlingame Country Club. She was passionate about Chamber music. She was fluent in Italian, French and Spanish. Jo was spiritual and a follower of Christian Jungian dialogue. She attended summer programs at the C.G. Jung Institute in Switzerland. She loved to read and attend retreats at the Mercy Center in Burlingame. The later part of her life, she loved to spend time and travel with her love, the late Gordon Bellis.

Cousins Robert Knight and Anne Knight Hoey survive Josephine. She will be memorialized at the Knight/Jackson plot at the Bartlett, Texas cemetery with her infant sister, parents and grandparents. She will be sorely missed by her numerous friends.

At her request there will be no funeral service.

Donations in Jo's memory may be made to the San Francisco Music Conservatory to support piano studies. San Francisco Conservatory of Music, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA 94102


For inquiries, please contact the successor trustee, c/o Farrand Cooper, P.C., P.O. Box 7329, San Francisco, CA 94120.